Before I get into the pros & cons of this business, I would love to say how much I LOVE JOHN, who I believe is the groundskeeper. 3 stars for YSSS & 4 because of John (He's 5 stars!). He is incredibly kind, helpful, & sweet. The day I was moving my stuff out (after being a client for 5 years) the company locked me out (prematurely). Carla, the worker who was inside said she'd let me in, but said it was up to me to figure out how to get out because it was time for her to clock out. John, was very kind and helped me get out. He has been there for as long as I can remember and is always so helpful, especially when he lends out the dollies & carts. Always smiling & polite. Great guy. We need more Johns in this world.
Here are the pro's & con's followed by my story.
PROS:
JOHN!!!
Options to have a room inside an air conditioned building.
Clean.
Electrical outlets near storage rooms. ( Mine was right next to one.)
Dollies & carts available to use while facility is open.
Big elevators that can fit many items and furniture pieces.
Donation bins for clothing on the grounds.
CONS:
7-10% rent increase EVERY year.
Inaccurate information given over the phone.
Personal codes to get in AND out building.
Keypads to punch in codes are not car friendly (most of the time you have to get out or use a long pen to punch in the numbers).
Hours are limited and they usually close at 7pm, which is a little early considering many day jobs are over around 5:30pm.
No trash cans or recycle bins near or inside the buildings. ( this one REALLY bothered me)
My personal story:
I chose this location because it was very close to my house at the time during the time I was living in Norwalk. I rented a room that was inside of a 2 story building (building I). It was a 7 x 10 and was very clean & roomy. On a hot day it wouldn't be very hot inside. I don't know if it was air-conditioned because it didn't feel cold and chilly, but def cool. On days I had school at Cerritos College I would often head to my storage facility with french fries & a sundae from McDonalds & set up my laptop and watch Netflix. I had an office chair and a dresser in there so it was a nice set up. I had free data, so I wasn't using their wi-fi. That would of been a cool perk!
Anyways, every year they would hike up the rent. I initially started in 2013 with a bill that was less than $100. It is now May of 2018 & my bill ended up about $130. My dad recently moved from Temecula to Downey & said I could keep all my storage stuff at his house since I had returned to grad school and had been trying to find ways to save money. He told me he would be aiming to move during Memorial Day weekend in May. So, in April I called Your Self Space Storage (Norwalk) & spoke to Carla? Carol? & told them the situation. She told me that I need to give a 2 weeks notice when I am ready to move out. The most important question I needed to ask was whether or not I needed to pay for May's rent. When I asked she looked up my personal account.
She told me that my bill was due on the 19th of every month & the company gives an 8 day grace period to allow you to pay your rent before assessing any late fees. She told me if I could have all of my stuff moved out by the 27th then there was no need to pay. I was happily surprised. So, on May 14th I called and gave my 2 week notice, they asked when my stuff would be gone and I told them by the end of May, on Memorial Day weekend I would be packing and making trips to take all my stuff out.
On May 25th I went to take my stuff out and when I went in to punch in my code I was denied access to enter. My 2 weeks hadn't even come yet (technically it was Day 11) & they already locked me out (I'm assuming because the 19th past and my bill wasn't paid - but the 8 day grace period would have been on the 27th). When I went to tell them that I was locked out and needed help getting in because I was moving out, I was met with attitude and questioned with why I haven't paid. I explained what the lady on the phone told me and the lady in the office (Carla) looked at me like I was crazy or making this information up. Instead of trying to be helpful she just tells me she'll let me in but I had to figure out how to get out. She ended up forgetting to let me in and another car let me in as Carla close the office gates to leave for the day.
It took me 2 days to get all my stuff out and when I came back on a Sunday (when the office was closed) I was like GREAT how am I going to get in??? Well, I figured my code was made up of my storage number and the number of the letter I was in. Letter I = the number 8. So, I typed in someone else's storage number in my building and hoped for the best. First time I failed, & second time I succeeded. So thanks Ricky in 2**!!
If Carla would have given me a temporary pass or asked how long I needed,etc I would have been happy with my 5 years of service. Unfortunately, it just left me with a bad taste in my mouth. read more