Shipping Container Storage: An Honest Guide from a Self Storage Owner
What we have learned since moving into self storage
Alliance did not begin as a self storage company. We originally worked in transport and haulage, and storage gradually became part of the service we offered alongside it.
Over time, I realised that haulage was not where my real passion was. Much of the work involved dealing with large, faceless companies. Self storage was different. It brought us into contact with real people, often at important or stressful times in their lives.
Some customers are moving home. Others are dealing with a bereavement, clearing a property, renovating or trying to create more space. Many are starting a business or have reached the stage where that business is growing faster than the room available at home.
We made the full move into self storage in July 2017. Since then, one thing has remained constant: our job is to make storage as simple and stress-free as possible.
Customer service is a huge part of that, but security comes first in the background. A CCTV camera might look like just another camera to a customer. To us, it is one of the most important parts of the business. We invest heavily in monitoring, access control and new technology because customers are trusting us with belongings that may be valuable financially, emotionally or both.
We have also learned that people often keep their units for far longer than they originally expected. Once they experience the convenience of being able to drive directly to their own unit, they begin to see how useful that extra space can be.
This guide contains the advice we give our own customers every day. It is based on what we have genuinely seen work—and occasionally what we have seen go wrong—rather than information copied from other storage websites.