The SMELL!!! If you care anything about your belongings, DO NOT rent space here! I found this…read morestorage facility shortly after moving to Salem, little did I know that trusting them to safeguard keepsakes would be a horrible idea.
Located underneath a Grocery Outlet store, and adjacent to the Union Gospel mission, I wish I would've known the area better. People have been living in their units, storing food (rats/mice), and the recent smell is enough to make you gag walking in. The rats traps and poison should he warning enough.
Hours of operation are currently 9:00-3:00, off Sunday & Monday, which means if you work regular business hours, there is nobody there to assist you. You can now access from 6am-8pm, but it used to be 8a-8p.
While moving my belongings in, I drove over the ramp that leads up the delivery dock; no barrier, yellow paint, sign, or warning. Extreme negligence on their part! They've since put a couple of 'cones' to identify it.
Second was the removal of carts in the lobby to help move items. Apparently someone left one outside, now everyone goes without. Stupid - just charge the tenant. I pay enough to have a little convenience.
The last episode has put me over the edge! There was a bucket catching water outside of my unit. I opened it and noticed that a large vintage (irreplaceable) print was soaked. I was making a quick stop over lunch and popped into the office to let the manager know there was an issue. She was busy with a new customer so I told her I had to run and would be back. She said she would have maintenance cover it to prevent further damage. This was early March. I returned on Saturday but she was out, so I spoke to new person who took photos and looked inside my unit to see the dripping water coming from the ceiling, and said he would have maintenance address the issue. I was also there to discuss a late fee on my daughter's account due to a glitch in their text notification system. Of course he and nobody else in the office has authority to make any decision so nothing can ever be resolved when you do get to speak to a human. "We have to take this up to our District Office for a decision".
Fast forward two months (I don't go there often) and I go in to see that the bucket is gone, but it smells like fish and there are flies everywhere. Of course it's after hours and nobody is there to assist - NO after hours service number, so if you have an emergency - TOO BAD!!! They don't care to be bothered, but will certainly continue to take your money.
There was no sign of maintenance, and more water pooled in my unit on the top of my shelving rack that stored three highly collectible LANE Acclaim end tables (photos posted). One of them was black, moldy and split at the seam. Needless to say, I was furious at the neglect, having made them aware months in advance!
I walked up to the grocery store to find a manager (as the facility gave the excuse about it not being their responsibility, but never fail to charge me). A manager walked down with me, saw the mess as I pulled the top pressed wood board off. The nasty water spilled onto items below as I made note of other damage (I have three large Patrick Nagel prints stored, one of the frames is now splits from moisture). He mentioned that he would call someone to look into it. In the meantime, he provided tarps and helped cover things temporarily.
I emailed the storage facility but got no response for four days (Tuesday), as nobody can be bothered if their office is closed. The site manager (with no authority) called back, and admitted fault for not making sure maintenance followed up and mentioned the second person I told was not fully trained. She also said that the flies could be because a woman with a unit next to me had incontinence issues and stored soiled items, but that it was up for auction. You heard that right, they're selling a unit full of urine/excrement (people buy these online and cannot SMELL it)! I think this might be a Health Department issue at this point.
After voicing my anger and frustration, she gave me her district manager's name and number. I finally got a call back and an apology from him after restating the above, before he said that he would then need to talk to HIS boss to see what could be done.
Should I be compensated for two month rent while my belongings were being destroyed? Should I have to file an insurance claim and pay a one thousand dollar deductible despite their awareness of the issue? I have yet to find out what they'll do, but was told they might be able to discount on a comparable unit but could definitely not assist with the move - that's on me, of course with no carts out after hours!
I don't trust them or many of the people that frequent the area, and will be looking at other options. Beware of Cedar Tree Management properties. The manager already mentioned that she's going to another location, so one can only expect the staff 'support' to get worse!
