RESPONSE TO U-STOR-IT COMMENT BELOW ON APRIL 14, 2015
You'll notice my original review was posted in July of 2014, I stayed until April 4th because I had no where else to take my belongings and eventually accepted the outrageous expense, but after seeing that the pattern of rate increases was coming LESS THAN 12 MONTHS from the first one I realized I needed to abandon what I could and shove the rest of my belongings into my small apartment until I move to a house in 2016 so I wouldn't be giving you one more dollar.
Here is what you provided me for my $70, then $89, and now $99 dollars a month (between April 2014 and April 2015) so others can make up their own mind.
1. 1 indoor 10x5 closet.
2. No response to the e-mail I sent to lisle@u-storit.com on June 3, 2014
3. 2-3 week delayed phone reply from the area general manager after I came in the office asking to speak with her multiple times.
4. Saturday office employee on April 4, 2015 who would not fully complete my unit vacate since it was a few minutes before closing time.
5. Other office employees that sit on Facebook during the day.
6. Harassment through comments on yelp by other U-Stor-It associates that post bogus reviews to bump up your average recently.
Sounds like a great value, I should really change my review to 5 stars, what am I thinking? You can hide behind your comment below claiming that you are staying competitive however when you mail out your Rate Increase Notices, it says NOTHING about that, instead it says you are raising to provide great customer service and high standards (see all of my great customer service return above). Really you are just running a business on the ethics of greed. Why don't you respond to my actual claims on your poor customer service?
UPDATE ON APRIL 1, 2015:
Lisle U-Stor It raises the rent 10 more dollars so they can keep providing me with the great customer service I deserve. Their customer service is not calling you back for weeks and ignoring emails. Definitely worth another 10 bucks a month. Looks like someone needs to keep lining their pockets.
PREVIOUS REVIEW:
I have been a customer of the U-Stor-It Lisle location for 2 years but felt I should warn customers of other U-Stor-It locations. When I began renting my 10x5 storage unit the cost was $70 a month - a bit steep in my opinion but the storage unit is indoors which was fine.
On May 29, 2014 I received a "Rate Change Notice" in the mail stating that "In order to maintain our high standards and provide you with the customer service you deserve, we find it necessary to increase your monthly rental rate effective June 28, 2014. For any questions about your notice please call your U-Stor-It Clybourn facility manager at (312) 255-9900."
The rate change went from $70 to $89 a month!! 27% or $228 more a year for a 10x5 storage unit over the course of a year, out of the blue.
First I called the Clybourn number provided. Whoever answered the phone there acted as they knew nothing about it and said I needed to contact the Lisle manager and said they would forward my number to them, I waited, a little over a week, no response from Lisle. I then emailed my dissatisfaction to the lisle@ustorit.com email address, again, almost a week, no response. Next I went into the office and talked to the manager Duane, he gave me the song and dance about cost of living increases, yada yada, I pushed more and said your bills have gone up 27% in 2 years? He fumbled around and said, "well we are trying to stay competitive with the other storage facilities" and proceeded to tell me how much more my unit would cost down the street. I thought staying competitive was keeping your costs low and I asked him, "so basically this is a cash grab, your competitors are charging more than you so you want more money too?" He said "yes." I explained my displeasure, said they are lying to their customers about providing better customer service since I couldn't even get a phone call back or an email, and demanded to talk to an owner or a manager.
Long story short after another phone call, and two more visits, one in which I made Duane call the regional manager in front of me, where he pushed back from the desk so I couldn't hear what she was saying, I heard him leave a phony VM message while I hear her in the background saying "HELLO? HELLO?" and I called him out on that saying this was BS, she was on the phone, he told me thats how her voicemail message sounds. Finally a week later she calls me back saying she was out of the country, mildly apologized for my displeasure but basically said the same thing, we want more money because others are getting it.
I'll be moving my stuff out promptly but wanted to share my plight with other potential customers of this company and ALL of its other locations. Lies and not returning calls and e-mails for weeks is not how you treat customers. Honesty, good customer service, and fair pricing increases are how you should run a business. read more