Public Storage

So I called the police who tried codes they had. None worked. He talked to them and spent two hours punching in codes to no avail. No one in that company told me of any plan to get me out of there. At around 11, I parked my car in the back and the police drove me home. The next day I called Public Storage about 20 times. Literally. I was nervous about my car being towed while I was working. At about noon I took Uber and got my car from Public Storage. When I got there the alternative gate was opened because the normal gate was malfunctioning like I told them. I went inside and told the employee that I had to leave my car overnight. Her response was “Oh, so that is why your car was there this morning” I was waiting in line to talk to her about how I had to take Uber and how I believe the company should pay for it. She then said to me “So what do you want?”

Stunned at her unempathetic response, I just left and got out of the line. It was so rude. When I went home I wrote a review both on their Instagram page about what happened to me and them on Yelp and Google. The Public Storage Instagram blocked me. The next day (Thursday) I got a call from Public Storage District Manager Jillian **. The very first sentence out of her mouth was “how do you feel?” Bewildered by that question, I said, “I feel fine.” Second sentence was to tell me that she called me because she saw my review and then told me to delete it because it would hurt her performance. Taken aback by the same apathy I got from the woman when I picked up my car, I said, “I would think about it.”

I didn’t think they did anything to justify me removing the bad review. Because to me, if I knew someone got stuck in a facility I was in charge of and I couldn’t find that person, especially a woman, I would call that person ASAP to make sure they are okay. She didn’t do that. The other ‘manager” who supposedly checked up on me didn’t do that. The woman working at Public Storage when I picked up my care couldn’t care less as well. Jillian also told me she talked to me that night I was stuck. So she knew I was stuck there. No excuse why she waited till a negative review to check up on me. She then went to tell me she had someone come to check on me two nights prior. She never told me of this person that night that I called. In fact, I left that place believing no one would come to open the gate for me and that Public Storage, including Jillian **, shrugged their shoulders and left me there.

Later when I got home, I saw a self-gratifying email District ** Jillian ** sent me where she said things to the tune of ‘I am sorry I tried so hard to help you and you couldn’t be helped’, ‘I am sorry that I sent someone and when they came you were not there’ “I…, I…, I…, I…”. I emailed her back and asked her why she never told me that she sent someone to help me? I got off the phone with her thinking no one would come and that they didn’t really care. I got off the phone with them STILL accusing me of leaving late, and still giving me new codes to put in the access system, after telling them multiple times that the gate was malfunctioning. She emailed me back saying she told the police officer she was going to bring someone.

I told her, “Why would you tell the police officer and not me? It makes NO sense. I am the paying customer of this storage facility who happened to have gotten locked inside because of a malfunctioning gate. But you tell a third party, who never told me, that you are bringing someone. I am a woman stuck outside of a gated facility that has NO lights, pitch dark and I’m frightened. Also the police officer told me himself that I should call them the next morning and let them have it.”

I told her I won’t remove my review to help her work “performance”, which I took to mean her BONUS check would be affected by me leaving a bad review. Her response to me was to tell me that her boss knows everything and sat there with her during her phone call where she told me to remove my review so she could get a better performance score. She also told me she has tried time and time again to apologize and make my experience pleasant. In the same email she told me about a man named Dilraj who “who left his 6 month old BABY at home with his wife to drive to the property.” And I found that comment about the baby to be not only laughable but asinine. REALLY?

I felt like she was guilting me by saying he had to leave his 6 month old to come get me. He is a manager doing his job. I am sure he doesn’t take his baby to work. And I’m sure Jillian doesn’t take her daughter to work. I don’t take my kids to work. No one does. That is how it is. I never complained to her about leaving my family to be stuck, nor did I say how when I went home my family was asleep. Because I never blamed her nor Public Storage for being stuck there. Because I know it was a mistake. When you are a manager you are responsible for unintended problems that arises. That is what Dilraj and Jillian ** signed up for. She then told me she offered to pay for my Uber fare because she felt sorry for me, but she can tell that cannot turn my experience around.

No you should offer because you are LEGALLY responsible for paying it. You are not doing me a favor. I sent my receipt to her MULTIPLE times with NO reimbursement. I have tried calling her, because I felt her emails to me were her self-serving way of telling her bosses what she did, instead of conversing with me. She doesn’t pick up. In fact she stopped communicating with me. Half her emails were also about how “my boss knows everything” “I am forwarding this to my boss”. Which tells me she never meant to pay me back in the first place. Her whole purpose in contacting me, which she admitted to when she first contacted me TWO days after the incident, was to make sure I remove my review, for her to get a lucrative payday. When I didn’t her boss and her obviously came up with a plan to ignore me, because they were going to lose money due to a bad performance review.

Jillian ** knows better. She worked at Target as a team leader for 3 years after working there for another 4 years, and knows customer service. I’m sure having a degree in English from Stony Brook University didn’t help much but she has worked in customer service enough to know that you don’t dodge a customer for 7 months. I didn’t know how to go about it because it was obvious she was upset, but why should I remove a review for a woman who did nothing but SCOLD me about someone leaving their BABY at home to take care of a customer who was stuck at a place for 3 hours at night? Having been a manager before. I would have made it right with my customer. And made sure to follow up. She hasn’t contacted me, but I have made attempts to contact her. To me she is retaliating by ignoring me.

Please do not use this company. Jillian ** is a horrible District manager and the worst manager of ANY company I have ever dealt with. When I left Public Storage, my items had water damage ALL over them and also water was all over my items. And there are BUGS. I called them about that several times, and they never pick up. Public Storage directs phone calls by if you are a current renter or not. If you are not people will pick up, if you are good luck getting someone. Once you are a customer they don’t care. Jillian needs more training in being a manager. She has failed big time.

This company has put this traveler in a very tough spot. I have a flight booked and nowhere to store my travel trailer and truck. When it was brought to my attention that I no longer had a storage spot I thought they would work with me to resolve the problem but they refused to return my calls until I made a formal complaint and at that point, after 6 voicemails they were still unable or unwilling to help. I should have read the reviews on this company first. So I learnt a valuable lesson myself. Read reviews. This company is not worth it!! Even with their teaser rates to get you interested it's not worth the aggravation.

I decided to call them and after 30 minutes, I finally reached a live person. As soon as I stated the reason for the call, the call was disconnected. I never could reach a live person again. I decided to take it to Facebook. I posted my dissatisfaction on their page and was told they were looking into it. 7 hours later, no reply. Now the holiday weekend has started so I doubt I'll hear anything until Monday. Even at that, I'm not holding my breath. Shortly after I rented the unit, I actually asked what would happen if I paid in advance and an increase went through. They said not to worry. Increases are usually only 10 - 15%. Riiight. So now I have a storage space full of stuff and a bill that is nearly double what I signed up for. Ridiculous.

In August, I was made aware that ALL of the items in my storage unit were sold, unbeknownst to me. Because I was in the process of relocating, EVERYTHING that I owned was sold. My furniture, appliances, electronics, clothing, files containing sensitive information, photo albums, etc. I have documentation to support the fact that Public Storage made a SERIOUS error in selling my items. I am enlisting the assistance of an attorney to file a major lawsuit, if anyone else has experienced a similar issue with Public Storage, please contact me. A Class Action Lawsuit can be initiated.

No one takes responsibility of any sort and they don't give out the name of their risk management representative! Worse company and customer service I have ever dealt with. Public Storage has no problem through raising rates every few months by about $35! Started with about $100/mo in 2014 and paying almost $300 in 2018.

My real problem with Public Storage didn't come until my move-out day. I walked into my unit and the light bulb was burned out. The unit is pitch-black because it's an interior unit, but I wasn't too worried about it at first - I'll just head to the office and they can change out the light bulb, right? I walked back to the office, passing an employee who is sweeping the aisles. I had driven past the same guy as I drove back to my unit. He seemed busy and didn't look up as I passed, so I kept moving to the office. I get to the office and the door is locked, and no one will be back for another 45 minutes. Again, this is more irritating than anything. Apparently I just have bad timing.

I walk back to my car/unit to wait, but on the way I see the same guy still out sweeping. Now, my unit is all the way down the aisle from the office, but it's in the same building, which means this guy could see me enter the PS facilities, go to my unit, head to the office, and then head back toward my unit. He jumps in his golf cart to drive away as I approach, and I have to step toward him and give a bit of a shout for him to stop. Now this is where things get fun.

"Excuse me, do you change light bulbs?" "Nope, I can't do that." "Uhhh...?" "We're all out and I can't order any more." "I'm sorry to hear that, but I'm trying to move my stuff and can't see anything." "Well. What am I supposed to do? I'd have to go out and buy light bulbs out of my own pocket." This goes back and forth a bit, before I finally tell him that this really isn't my problem, asking for a light bulb is well within reason given that I'm paying for a unit with a light in it, and I'd appreciate some solution. I ask if there is someone returning to the office soon. Nope, he's it! He finally agrees to grab a light bulb from another unit to put in mine for the time being. That's a perfectly acceptable solution! I'm not sure why that was so difficult to come up with.

As a side note - these bulbs are up way higher than I am able to reach, so this isn't something I could have just done on my own. This guy had to use a long pole to get the job done. Unfortunately the new (re-used) bulb wouldn't work either, and he determined that there was an electrical issue in my unit. Again, no solutions. No one he could call, and no flashlights or anything similar for me to borrow. He left me standing in the dark to figure it out for myself. Not only was this employee incapable of engaging in any sort of problem-solving, he also watched me struggle to find someone in the office and would have buzzed right by me in his golf cart, knowing full well that he was the only employee on the property at the time. I pulled my bird-dropping covered possessions out of my unit, and I swore to never use this company again.

This is not an unreasonable request just to be compensated for items lost from a company who rakes in millions a year. You would expect Public Storage to have fair business practices and have a fund for duped customers like me. This should be normal practice! I calculated the damage and it came to $2300. This amount is nothing to Public Storage. Items lost were mostly gently used baby items (I was saving for my next child) including a car seat, bassinet, pack and play, baby carriers, and my things including dining room chairs, speakers, wick basket, air beds, among other things.

To my absolute horror their insurance company Sedgwick (or Orange Door) does not cover Vermin and could only compensate for $250. This adds serious insult to injury. I then wrote to all the executives individually including Ronald Havner, John Reyes, Debra **, and they did not care that I was just asking to be compensated for baby items lost. Seriously what a lack of heart!

I cannot express my absolute horror at the way I have been treated by Public Storage. I would like to ask that Public Storage fairly compensate me for my lost belongings. Informing renters that a rodent risk exists and that separate insurance to cover possible damage if necessary is critical. I was not told at the time this was necessary. I would also like to urge that Public Storage take the courtesy to alert renters when rodent problems are evident (there were droppings all over the second floor) in the facility so that renters can check in on their belongings. Furthermore, regular cleaning of older facilities such as Butler Road is necessary. I am now renting at Cube Smart and have been impressed with their facilities which are spotless as they are regularly cleaned.

My cc was charged. She told me everything was fine and to let her know when I got to the gate if the access code worked. IT DIDN'T! so I used the code form the other unit I have to get in because I didn't have time to go back in and wait any longer being that my moving guys had been waiting the whole time I was there unable to continue not knowing where I wanted my items placed. All while on a schedule and not to mention we were EXHAUSTED from unpacking two 26" trucks.

I went back to the unit to continue unpacking when the employee came to the unit and TOLD me that I needed to come back to the office because of something that she did wrong (made the account in my mom's name that my other unit name is in) so AGAIN I had to go back. When I got back to the office she again was on the phone being instructed on how to correct the issue this time I was there for 15 minutes. She told me that they reversed the charges and I needed to present my cc again to be charged AGAIN! I told her that now those funds will not be available to me for 3 days and that, that is a big inconvenience for me.

I told her that I would need to leave because I had to return the two trucks that I have and I was VERY close to the time of the return. After waiting a few more minutes I couldn't wait any longer. She said everything was ok. I left she then RAN to my car tapped on my window and TOLD me that I HAD TO COME BACK IN that there was some paperwork she didn't have me sign. NOW I'M PISSED!!!

I WENT BACK IN she was still on the phone being walked through on how to retrieve the forms. after getting up looking in the file cabinets and couldn't find any. They came through via fax she said she'll have to use those and that I'd have to come back to the facility and sign the originals. I got my two moving trucks back late and was charged an additional day. FOR BOTH which caused me more financial strain, the next morning was called by a different employee asking can I come back to the facility one day this week because they have no payment for the unit.

No one called me at the end of the month, and considering I have almost nothing left in my unit, I assumed they were able to cut it without issue. Then I continued to be charged the following month. When I tried to call about it, the employee was extremely difficult and told me that she couldn't help me. I asked for the manager's phone number and only got it after telling her that I wanted to speak directly with her manager.

I left messages for the manager and called a few times... No response. He finally called me back and - to put it nicely - was not pleasant to speak with at all. I explained my situation and he clearly only cared about the money. Every time I tried to explain that I was having a difficult time closing the unit at all, instead of getting a human response, he told me that I still owe money and can't get out of it. I told him multiple times that I understand, but I am trying to close the unit and they are not letting me. I wanted to know if there was another way to close it or if they would at least admit that the system was faulted and have some human decency. I was interrupted multiple times for the manager to tell me that I owe money. I will now have to take a day off work to bring a locksmith out on my own dime on top of paying additional months' cost for the unit because they won't close it.

On Monday I finish moving and she said I still have a balance that I have to pay the full month. I said I'm not paying a penny anymore but still they sent me an email that said that I have to paid the whole month. This is an abuse to the consumer. Please avoid this place is bad bad bad. Here is a letter I got on the email. "When you moved out of your storage space on 12/01/2018, you left a balance of $360.00 on your account. You’ll find your Balance due Details below, which includes any additional fees that were applied upon full inspection of your vacated storage space. You’ll need to pay this amount in full within 10 business days to avoid further collection efforts."

Original Review: I have been trying to move out for the last two month that they increase my rent from $330 to $382 dollars, I have an unit in the fifth floor but since the elevator never work is impossible for me to go up and down on the stairs. I ask at the front desk when are they gonna fix it but they don't know when they are gonna fixed it either. I also sent a complaint to the company and they completely ignore me. I'm very frustrate They increase the rent, they charge late fee on time but I can't move out because they have a problem.