OpenTech Partners with Managers to Ensure All Call-in and On-site Customers are Served Immediately
PHOENIX, Arizona – November 12th, 2010 – OpenTech Alliance is pleased to announce that the Pegasus Group, which owns and manages the Central Self Storage portfolio of 28 facilities, is hiring INSOMNIAC® AssistantManagers to compliment their on-site staff. The INSOMNIAC AssistantManagers are being put in place to assist the on-site staff as they are being asked to allocate more of their time to marketing strategies such as updating craig’s list, managing social media functions, outbound prospecting for commercial tenants and keeping in touch with current customers. The new breed of AssistantManager teamed with the on-site staff offers a better customer experience and the next level of customer convenience in the self storage industry.
The INSOMNIAC AssistantManager™ comes with a team of professional self storage sales agents to reserve units, process payments, and answer customer questions, as well as an on-site self-service kiosk to rent units and process payments – when the manager is busy performing other duties or the office is closed. The new AssistantManager can help multiple people at once and works 16 hours a day for a fraction of the cost of a traditional employee.
The Pegasus Group is based in Walnut Creek, California and is an investment management firm that has been purchasing, developing and managing properties for over 25 years. With real estate including; hotels, marinas and mobile parks, the bulk of the company’s property holdings are in self storage. The company has 28 facilities in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada and New York. The properties range in size from 500 to 950 units with the majority of them having around 700 units. All the facilities have on-site managers, electronic gates, and SiteLink Web software.
Pegasus started installing kiosks four years ago and now have them at their facilities in AZ – Phoenix(2), Chandler(2), Mesa, CA- Corte Madera, Concord, Lafayette, Milpitas, Alameda, Pleasanton, Rohnert Park, Village West Marina, Walnut Creek, NV – Las Vegas, NY – Island Park, HI – Kanehoe with plans to install more. Now with the addition of the INSOMNIAC Live! AllCalls service, Pegasus is implementing what OpenTech refers to as the INSOMNIAC AssistantManager.
“OpenTech has been a valued partner of ours for the last four years, we think the integrity of their people and the quality of their products and services is unbeatable. It was a natural next step for us to give them our call center business. We trust them with our customers and really appreciate how they partner with our managers,” said Margaret Martin, Executive Vice President of the Pegasus Group. “Our managers are expected to handle all the facility business, which has them wearing many hats. So, we have hired Megan (the INSOMNIAC AssistantManager) to relieve some of the pressure and ensure we are not missing an opportunity to rent a unit or service a customer.”
The integration and synergy created by the kiosk and the call center has added consistency and provided another level of convenience to Martin’s customers allowing her business to thrive. She knows that the average age of her customer base continues to become younger and younger and not only grew up with technology but expects it. “Customer service and convenience go hand in hand. In all of the locations where we do business, we are the only facility that can offer rentals and payments 24/7.– Megan gives us that,” added Martin. “If we don’t offer that to our customers someone else will.”
It did take some time for facility managers to embrace the kiosk. “It’s like all new initiatives, especially technology – they fight it until they realize how easy it makes their lives,” commented Martin. She insists that the kiosks have paid for themselves and with the cost of benefits, taxes and worker’s comp fees going up she stands to save even more. Sean LaGrande, a project manager at the Pleasanton, California site (582 units) knows the value the INSOMNIAC AssistantManager brings to his facility. When a customer is new, “the first thing I show them is how to operate the kiosk,” said LaGrande. “It’s so user-friendly and convenient – customers love it.” LaGrande notes that he can run to the bank and handle other company errands without worrying that he will miss a prospect or customer because he knows Megan is covering for him.
OpenTech Alliance, Inc. is the leading developer of innovative self-storage solutions. The company products and services include 7 models of INSOMNIAC Kiosks ranging from $5,500 to $18,000, INSOMNIAC Live! call center services and the INSOMNIAC Self Storage Network for online storage reservations. OpenTech products and services improve customer convenience, reduce operating costs and increase revenues for self-storage facilities. For more information or to see an online demo, please visit www.opentechalliance.com or call (602) 749-9370.
Press Contact:
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OpenTech Alliance, Inc.
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NOTE TO EDITORS: OpenTech Alliance, the OpenTech logo and INSOMNIAC are trademarks of OpenTech Alliance, Inc. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners. INSOMNIAC is protected by U.S. patent number 5,946,660.
