Real Crazy Questions - Our Self Storage Managers Answer
With stores all over South Africa and fielding over 25,000 enquiries last year alone, Stor-Age has grown into the most recognisable self storage brand in South Africa. Along with our growth we have seen an up turn in the number of people that are looking for storage space. This in turn has led to some rather humorous requests from customers. Thankfully it is these sorts of interactions that keep us on our toes and add some variety to our day. Here is a selection of some of the more... 'colourful' queries we have had.
Request: "Can I sleep in my unit for a week because I currently have nowhere to go?"
Stor-Age staff: Cindy Fourie let us know "…and that same night security called me to tell me that the client signed in just before 19h00 and refused to go out because she wants to sleep in her unit!"
For the record: No, you cannot sleep in any Stor-Age unit.
Request: "Can I store two tombstones? The tombstones are going to the Eastern Cape but my mom doesn't want to send it until the funeral and I am too scared to keep it in my garage."
Stor-Age staff: Pamela September gave us some more detail "She asked if I was scared of having the tombstone at the facility. It was hilarious because we were both laughing about the whole situation."
For the record: You can indeed store tombstones in self storage.
Request: "Can I store my python?"
Stor-Age staff: Grechen Seas explains further "He said he would give us the frozen mice if we can drop them in the snake cage/tank, and we must feed it once a week. He was going away for a month!"
For the record: No live animals or plant material may be kept in storage
Request: "Can I rent the unit next to my brother’s? I want to break down the wall in between."
Stor-Age staff: Letitia Van Staden politely explained that we could not destroy any property but that they could perhaps share a larger unit.
For the record: We have various units sizes available and don't generally break down walls to extend existing units.
Request: "Can I store bodies?"
Stor-Age staff: Riana van Zyl was a little shocked "I Of course thought it was a joke until the person said he wants to start a funeral home but the people in his township wanted to burn his house down because they think he is being disrespectful to their culture and they were complaining about the smell. I told him he cannot store bodies and he still tried to convince me by saying he will put them in freezers and he will come late so that it won’t scare other tenants away. This is really a true story- now when I go through the lease with tenants I always add 'Nothing alive and nothing dead is allowed to be stored.'"
For the record: We do not allow the storage of dead bodies under any circumstances.
A long serving store manager Taufiq Palmer has also had some interesting conversations with customers.
Customer: Do you have airtime?
Taufiq: Sorry, no unfortunately we do not sell airtime.
Customer: (Storms out screaming) No wonder you never make money... because you never have stock!
Customer: How much do you charge to cut a key?
Taufiq: Sorry we don’t cut keys, we rent storage space and sell packaging materials.
Customer: Now why do you sell locks?
Taufiq: To lock the storage units.
Customer: Turns around and leaves.
Customer: How do I get to your seventh floor?
Taufiq: We only have four floors sir.
Customer: Why is my number 728 then?
Taufiq: It's on the fourth floor sir. Let me take you there.
Request: "Can I sleep in my unit for a week because I currently have nowhere to go?"
Stor-Age staff: Cindy Fourie let us know "…and that same night security called me to tell me that the client signed in just before 19h00 and refused to go out because she wants to sleep in her unit!"
For the record: No, you cannot sleep in any Stor-Age unit.
Request: "Can I store two tombstones? The tombstones are going to the Eastern Cape but my mom doesn't want to send it until the funeral and I am too scared to keep it in my garage."
Stor-Age staff: Pamela September gave us some more detail "She asked if I was scared of having the tombstone at the facility. It was hilarious because we were both laughing about the whole situation."
For the record: You can indeed store tombstones in self storage.
Request: "Can I store my python?"
Stor-Age staff: Grechen Seas explains further "He said he would give us the frozen mice if we can drop them in the snake cage/tank, and we must feed it once a week. He was going away for a month!"
For the record: No live animals or plant material may be kept in storage
Request: "Can I rent the unit next to my brother’s? I want to break down the wall in between."
Stor-Age staff: Letitia Van Staden politely explained that we could not destroy any property but that they could perhaps share a larger unit.
For the record: We have various units sizes available and don't generally break down walls to extend existing units.
Request: "Can I store bodies?"
Stor-Age staff: Riana van Zyl was a little shocked "I Of course thought it was a joke until the person said he wants to start a funeral home but the people in his township wanted to burn his house down because they think he is being disrespectful to their culture and they were complaining about the smell. I told him he cannot store bodies and he still tried to convince me by saying he will put them in freezers and he will come late so that it won’t scare other tenants away. This is really a true story- now when I go through the lease with tenants I always add 'Nothing alive and nothing dead is allowed to be stored.'"
For the record: We do not allow the storage of dead bodies under any circumstances.
A long serving store manager Taufiq Palmer has also had some interesting conversations with customers.
Customer: Do you have airtime?
Taufiq: Sorry, no unfortunately we do not sell airtime.
Customer: (Storms out screaming) No wonder you never make money... because you never have stock!
Customer: How much do you charge to cut a key?
Taufiq: Sorry we don’t cut keys, we rent storage space and sell packaging materials.
Customer: Now why do you sell locks?
Taufiq: To lock the storage units.
Customer: Turns around and leaves.
Customer: How do I get to your seventh floor?
Taufiq: We only have four floors sir.
Customer: Why is my number 728 then?
Taufiq: It's on the fourth floor sir. Let me take you there.
Posted by Stor-Age Self Storage - 30 January 2015 | Take A Break