Thanks to Remote Manager, Delphos Self Storage owner Travis can successfully manage his four locations, work his electrical engineering job full-time, and still enjoy plenty of quality time with his family.
Delphos Self Storage is a four-facility portfolio located in rural Ohio. Delphos operates on three primary brand promises: a great customer experience, a responsive team, and a secure facility.
Founded: 1998
Portfolio Size: 4
Based: Delphos, Ohio
Interviewed: Travis, Owner
Products
Use Case: INSOMNIAC Live! Call Center, INSOMNIAC Live! Remote Manager
Delphos Self Storage is an Ohio-based operator serving the Delphos, Middle Point, Van Wert and surrounding communities. Determined to provide an inviting place for families and businesses to store their items, Delphos Self Storage invests heavily in the latest self storage technology to secure its facilities and create a seamless rental experience. It also takes great pride in its friendly and knowledgeable staff.
When current Delphos Self Storage owner Travis purchased his first location in December 2022, he wanted to make several upgrades to deliver on these promises and had quite the work cut out for him: He had to create a new website, incorporate a property management software, install security cameras, implement credit card payment options, source 100% renewable energy and more. Now, Delphos police & Van Wert Sheriffs also patrol his four locations to keep them safe and secure.
These upgrades worked. His phone was ringing off the hook to the point that it became a problem: He and his wife both had demanding full-time jobs and could not answer every call.
“When we first bought the business, I answered the phone,” Travis says. “I think phone calls, emails and text messages need to be answered as quickly as possible. Because of social media, people require instantaneous gratification and we don’t want to lose them as customers just because we didn’t meet their expectations.”
That’s when Travis turned to an outsourced team to answer his self storage calls and found INSOMNIAC® Live! Remote Manager.
As industry experts report a national decrease in self storage occupancy rates with an average of 83.99%, Delphos Self Storage maintains a much stronger average of 92.43% in January through May. Remote Managers also closed 1 in 3 new rental opportunities presented to Delphos Self Storage in the same period.
“It’s not the 100% I was used to when I first joined the industry at the height of demand,” Travis confesses. “But my rates have fared much better than others in my community, and it’s bouncing back.”
“Before Remote Manager, I used to get text messages and calls in the middle of the night regarding just about anything, even setting up autopay. Now, those calls and texts are routed to the INSOMNIAC call center and Remote Managers.”
— Travis, Owner of Delphos Self Storage
Delphos, Ohio may have 7,000+ residents, but it is known internationally for its manufacturing center. With the average manufacturing plant work shift of 10-12 hours, it is no wonder why Travis fielded so many late-night calls, which peaked between 6 – 8 PM.
“During that time, the phone will literally not stop ringing,” he explains. “We extended hours with the call center. That was a big plus for us, because our competitors weren’t doing that. It’s been helpful to at least answer the phone and help. If we can’t, we can at least point them in the right direction seven days a week.”
Since the Live! call center is headquartered in Arizona, Storage Counselors and Remote Managers can accommodate later calls from Delphos, Ohio: An especially attractive benefit for Travis, who will take every extra minute of sleep after he and his wife welcomed their first child into the world in early 2024.
“Before Remote Manager, I used to get text messages and calls in the middle of the night regarding just about anything, even setting up autopay,” Travis explains. “Now, those calls and texts are routed to the INSOMNIAC call center and Remote Managers. If someone is available to take their call at that time, great. If not, a Remote Manager will call them back first thing in the morning.”
Travis also has a facility caretaker pick up any onsite work that his Remote Managers can’t physically perform, such as overlocks and facility maintenance.
Learn how you can outsource your onsite store management with a team of dedicated, remote full-service store managers you can scale up or down to meet your facility needs. Watch this webinar on-demand now from our product team to learn about a call center solution available now, Live! Remote Manager.
One of Delphos Self Storage’s key brand promises is customer experience, the foundation of any good company that simultaneously can be tough to pull off.
“I don’t think people understand the actual amount of work that it takes to be a steward of people’s belongings,” he explains. “It’s more than collecting rent checks and giving them a service. You’re managing 300+ people, and that’s 300+ personalities.”
Delphos Self Storage has two Remote Managers: One working at OpenTech’s Phoenix headquarters, the other in OpenTech’s second call center location in Ohio. “Ohio residents have a certain way of speaking,” Travis says. “All states do. One of our remote managers, Ann, lives just 2 hours away from our facilities. She speaks the talk. Both of them are so helpful, and I’m just grateful for them.”
If Travis ever wants to make a change to his service or recommend an area of improvement, he can do so in a weekly meeting with his customer service representative and call center management.
“I’m just a small operator in a big pool,” he says. “They gave me full control of my service. That’s a great feeling. In my electrical engineering job, I am my work’s only design engineer and I often don’t have a say in my designs. There’s something to be said about the way they manage the program.”
He continues, “I very rarely recommend contractors to anybody, and OpenTech is a contractor to me. This is one that I would recommend and put my name on it. I take pride in my word. If I say something, I mean it and I’ll do it. I recommend OpenTech to anyone looking for a remote manager solution.”
Juggling a successful full-time career, four self storage locations, rental properties and a new child while maintaining relationships is not something many can do or dare to attempt, but Travis is able to balance it all with some help from his dedicated Remote Managers.
“I appreciate everyone at the Live! call center,” Travis concludes. “They answer the phones for us while I am with my family. I get to spend time with my wife, my newborn, my dog. I get to do other things I like to do, and I’m working toward our retirement at the same time.”
Do you need an extra set of hands to help manage your facility? Contact OpenTech today to see if our Remote Managers for self storage solution makes sense for your operation.
