GRAND BAZAAR, GREENACRE STORAGE KING

My name is Rita Cran; I’m a Sales Consultant at Storage King Greenacre. Something you wouldn't know is that my maiden name is Szekeres. I was born in Hungary but came to Australia as an eight year old child.  My family fled the communist uprising and arrived in the lucky country in 1960 as refugees, brought out on a ship by the Red Cross and the Australian Government.

My tale isn't uncommon in Greenacre – a melting pot of ethnicity, rich in culture, tradition and epic stories of adventure, love and loss in making Australia home.   The suburb is located 17 kilometres south-west of the Sydney CBD. The facility hides amongst the hustle and bustle of the colourful industrial area and stands as the Grand Bazaar of the storage world. Covering 3,930 square metres with 312 units on offer, Storage King Greenacre captures the exotic local trade and migrant residential sprawl.

Storage spaces are bursting with everything you can imagine, from the holdings of plumbers and electricians, muddled with people’s personal belongings from divorces and office relocations, to the more ornate silk clothing, traditional carpets, and exotic oriental imports. The Greenacre storage facility is the ultimate cultural experience.

As of the 2011 Census, almost half of Greenacre residents were born outside of Australia, with top countries of birth being Lebanon and Vietnam. With this said, three quarters of people speak a language other than English at home. Knowing this and my own story, it helps put things into perspective when serving customers. Not being quick to judge and lending an ear that is kind to accents reveals more than the need for simply storage space. Whilst I hand-pick a cubicle to house and protect my customers goods and guide them through the merchandising display; in exchange they navigate their wallets, pulling out photos of loved ones still parted by seas, often taking me on an imaginary journey as they tell me with pride personal stories and the rich history of their countries. Often, my customers spoil me and tantalise my senses by brining traditional sweets and fresh baked breakfasts, making their stories come to life.

Good customer relationships are not only something that has helped me in my role, but has also made it interesting, enlightening and enjoyable. 

Being on the other side

By Priyal
SK Camperdown West

Since joining this company 5 years ago, this was the first time I had the opportunity to be on the other side of the Storage King desk - a storer. It all started when my partner and I decided to move house. For anyone that's moved house - it is very much like the gift that never stops taking!

In between  moving out of 1 house and  moving into the new one, there was about a month gap. So I said to my partner “Hey let’s move the stuff into storage and move into my parents for a month” (it sounded like it was going to be easy at the time - how wrong I was!). I really wanted to experience storage from a customer’s point of view. So I did the whole walk in the facility on my day off and got Jack my colleague to show me around. I even asked a few questions for my part. After looking at a few units we decided to go with a 13sqm unit.

You actually don't realise just how handy tea chest and crystal boxes are until you start packing. But a special mention must go for the port-a-robe box. We saved so much time and space by not having to fold clothes (or in my partner's case - not having to chuck it into a box!). Later when we needed to get to the clothes all we had to do is go to the storage unit and open the box. 

Sometimes we forget just how much stress our customers are under when they come to us. The morning of the move at 8.30am the removalists called and said they were 15mins away, we started going through all the things we had to move and going through the cupboards making sure we had not missed anything. Then it occurred to me that I have more things than I had anticipated - and so we hurriedly tried to repack and reorganise - all the on the fly!

You will be pleased to hear that the move went smoothly (more or less).  Wish I could say the same about living with my parents :)

Storage facility turns 20 years at Lawson

In a relatively young industry, at Storage King Lawson we are proudly celebrating our 20^th year of providing quality self storage to residents of the beautiful Blue Mountains. 

With gradual expansion since 1993, we now have 245 units over two sites, various vehicles for hire, and a total of 5 staff members currently employed. Our staff are all Blue Mountains residents with local knowledge and experience.

We are excited with the commencement of building works for a first storey extension which will add a further 55 units to our facility. 

   

Customer Service

 Peter Illman

SK Henderson

Customer Service …

A subject of great debate – good customer service, bad customer service, exceptional customer service! What is Customer Service? We have all experienced good, bad, and exceptional customer service! Bad customer service usually means you will not return unless you have no choice. Great customer service means you return and continue to support this organisation.

Just today I listened to a talk back debate around the generally poor level of retail customer service in New Zealand. In these difficult times why is this so prevalent?

Great Customer Service is about ‘going the extra mile’ for your customers – what does this mean?

A recent example of great customer service that I experienced was when my bathroom tap came loose – the custom clamp that holds the water hoses together and clamps the tap to the basin had broken – the first 2 plumbing merchants I visited did not stock this brand, and were not interested. Why should they be interested? I would probably never return, and never need taps again in my life? The third merchant did not stock the brand either – in fact nobody stocked the brand! But the Customer Service Consultant was determined to help – he found a similar clamp in his spares drawer, and then to make it work sold me a $5 packet of washers. “It may not work, but its worth a try” Well it did work, even though it was mission impossible to get ones hands up under and behind the basin! Of course, next time I want plumbing / bathroom products I will immediately know where to go!

Why? Because they solved my problem and were willing and happy to spend some time to do it!

And to illustrate that great Customer Service does exist I have one more example;

Recently I needed a puncture repaired. Yes, I got pulled in by a clever advertisement offering to do this for free. I thought, maybe a gimmick but worth a try? I arrived on a Saturday 15 minutes before closing time – within minutes my tyre was repaired……but even though they were getting ready to close, all my tyres were checked and inflated to the correct pressure, along with advice re tyre wear, my windscreens were cleaned and my tyres all painted! I will of course return to purchase tyres when I need them, not because the puncture repair was no charge, but because of the great customer service and easy environment they provided!

(not to mention the trouble I went through last time I needed some tyres!)

It goes without saying that businesses who are genuinely interested in providing great Customer Service are the ones we all wish to deal with! 

Pittwater and Coffs Harbour Regatta 2013

By Damian Devine

Middle Harbour Yacht Club’s Philip Dash’s Beneteau First 40 Just a Dash has won the IRC division in the 2013 Club Marine Pittwater & Coffs Harbour Regatta one point ahead of Daryl Hodgkinson’s Beneteau 45 Victoire as the regatta drew to a close today in Coffs Harbour.

Philip Dash’s Beneteau First 40 Just a Dash wins IRC in the 2013 Pittwater & Coffs Harbour Regatta – photo by Damian Devine

With a trifecta of thirds and a 10th today in the four race regatta, Dash did enough to end his campaign on 22 points, knowing that he had to finish within four places of Victoire to lift the coveted IRC regatta trophy. Hodgkinson, who sailed well managed to finish sixth today to finish on 23 points, but not enough to overtake Just a Dash. The Mark Tinworth and Mark Waterhouse Beneteau 44.7 Le Billet finished a further point back on 24 points with a fourth place today. Double points were awarded for the Club Marine Pittwater to Coffs race, the first race of the regatta, in the overall point score.

In PHS, it was a clear four point win to Peter Hewson’s Sydney 41 Storage King Wallop from the Lake Macquarie Yacht Club who had to hold off a flying finish from Mitchell Gordon’s Sydney 38 The Goat who finished with two bullets in the final two races of the regatta. The Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club’s Bruce Hogan and Tina Clifton’s Marten 49 Perpetual Mocean mentoring seven crew from the RPAYC’s Youth Development squad were third, a further four points back. A great result for the youth team.

Daryl Hodgkinson’s Beneteau 45 Victoire were second IRC – photo by Damian Devine

Daryl Hodgkinson’s Beneteau 45 Victoire were second IRC – photo by Damian Devine

The ORCi title went to another RPAYC boat, Le Billet a three time previous winner of this regatta under its former owner. They won on a count back from the overnight leader Just a Dash after finishing second today with Just a Dash finishing seventh. With a better overall result over the four races posting a first and two seconds they did enough to claim the title. Steven Proud’s Kernan 44 Swish was third, also four points back.

Only one of the two races scheduled was completed on the final day of the regatta as the race committee flew the AP flag early today with humidity, clouds and rain dominating the skies over Coffs Harbour preventing any breeze to shuffle in.

The 20 boats competing in the final race had to wait two hours for the skies to clear to allow the breeze to fill in before the AP flag was lowered. Racing got underway shortly after 1pm in a fairly soft 6-8 knot ENE. The course was the 20 nautical mile Solitary Island race.

With the fleet pushing for the line with a minute to go, they majority looked to be early at the start with a general recall on the cards, however it wasn’t to be as they jockeyed for positions and in the end only two were given individual recalls, The Goat and Occasional Coarse Language. The top of the leader board boats Just a Dash started in the middle of the line with Le Billet next to them and Storage King Wallop (PHS), and Victoire more to the committee boat end with each keeping a close eye on another with their regattas on the line.

The boats then set off on a long reach to the island with some opting for the inside lane closer to the beach whilst others like Victoire and Wallop and a bunch of others tacked early for an outside lane looking for some additional pressure.

The boats rounded Solitary Island in a little under two hours with Bruce Hogan’s Marten 49 Perpetual Mocean leading Stephen Proud’s Swish as they set their kites for the journey to the finish line inside Coffs harbour. The two pushed each other all the way on the downwind run home with nothing between them.

In another extremely close finish, Perpetual Mocean covered Swish in true match racing style as they neared the harbour entrance and then gybed a few times inside the harbour to cross the line seven seconds in front of Swish, taking line honours in a time of 2hrs 46mins 59secs. Bruce Staples Farr 40 Witchcraft was third.

On corrected time, Witchcraft sailed a beautiful race in conditions that suited, won in a time of 3hrs 22mins 37secs by one minute nine seconds ahead of Mitchell Gordon’s Sydney 38 The Goat with Storage King Wallop third.

Today’s IRC race winner was the Farr 40 Bruce Staples Witchcraft – photo by Damian Devine

In PHS, it was The Goat representing the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in a corrected time of 3hrs 16mins 11 secs from two RPAYC boats, Shaw Russett’s Tailwind a minute 30 seconds behind and Garry Holder’s ID 35, with their first podium performance of the regatta.

In ORCi it was Witchcraft four minutes ahead of Le Billet with Swish third.

An elated Philip Dash, skipper of Just a Dash said on winning the IRC regatta title, “fantastic, absolutely stoked. It’s our first offshore regatta and the first long passage race we’ve done with this boat, so to win it we’re thrilled.”

“We didn’t get a brilliant start today next to Victoire but we got out OK and we tacked and then they tacked on us. It was very soft, only 6-8 knots which didn’t suit us and we were not looking pretty at all and I thought we may have blown the whole thing, but we managed to just hold on which was good.”

“The crew were fantastic, there was half a dozen of the regulars who sail with us every week and we’ve moulded into a good team and we had two local Coffs guys who came on board with plenty of offshore experience and fitted in very well to help us get this win. I look forward to coming back next year, I’ve enjoyed the whole thing, it’s been great,” added Dash.

Going into today's final race, the Novocastrian boat Storage King Wallop led by one point in the PHS division from Just a Dash and had to ensure they finished one place higher than Just a Dash, which they did with Just a Dash posting a 13^th today and Wallop a fifth.

Peter Hewson, skipper of Storage King Wallop from the Lake Macquarie Yacht Club, who last competed in this event in 2004 said dockside, “this is a good PHS boat that appreciates tight reaching conditions. We have a new set of Quantum sails which has helped our upwind performance and we’ve been happy with our boat speed.

“We’re over the moon on this win, it’s just fantastic, in fact it’s awesome. To win any regatta is not easy, you really have to be consistent. When you get the bridesmaid tag you always reflect on the little things you could have done better so we don’t have to do that this time, which is great. We stuck to our game plan today and had two good IRC boats either side of us in Victoire and Le Billet and we managed to sail well, picking the shifts and ploughing ahead to achieve a good result. We had to keep a close eye on Just a Dash today knowing there was only one point separating us. It’s been a great regatta, we’ve all had a good time and enjoyed ourselves immensely and we hope to be back next year to defend the title.”

Peter Hewson’s Sydney 41 Storage King Wallop won the PHS Division and were crowned the Australian PHS Champion – photo by Damian Devine
So with the 2013 Club Marine Pittwater & Coffs Harbour regatta now over, everyone’s looking forward to the 33^rd running of the regatta.

With a welcomed downwind race in the 2013 Club Marine Pittwater to Coffs Harbour yacht race that clocked 15 knots, the race offered up a new line honours winner in Bill Wild’s RP55 Wedgetail in a time of was shining, we’ve had a wonderful, wonderful time. Thanks to the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, thanks for bringing the regatta to Coffs Harbour and we look forward to the 33^rd year.”

Rob Curtis, Commodore of host club The Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club summed up the 2013 Club Marine Pittwater & Coffs Harbour regatta saying, "The regatta turned into its true name, the warm water regatta. I mean the weather coming up to Coffs and the race itself was sensational, we got blown up here all the way and when we arrived the clouds cleared, the sun was shining and we have had two beautiful days of sailing. “

“The results were very, very close, reflecting some great racing and I think opening up all the handicap divisions to all competitors was the smart thing to do and created some great racing. Thanks to sponsor Club Marine and Corey Yeung who is so supportive of what we’re doing particularly when yacht racing and staging regattas like this is becoming more costly, so we appreciate their support and it has helped make it a top class regatta.

“My personal thanks to the Coffs Harbour Yacht Club, the marina, John Bacon for the use of his marvellous vessel the Matthew Flinders as the radio relay vessel and start boat up here, the race committee and the army of volunteers involved and to everyone who has made this a great event. I look forward to seeing you in 2014."

For the regatta results visit http://www.rpayc.com.au/results/2013/coffs/coffsseries/series.html

19hrs 53mins 3secs and a triple handicap winner in Syd Fischer’s TP52 Ragamuffin (IRC, ORCi and PHS). This, coupled with the ensuing four races in Coffs Harbour has ensured the 2013 regatta has been another great regatta.

The prized Navigator’s trophy was presented to the Farr 45 Pretty Woman’s Michael Lockley for the third year in a row, proving he’s no fluke. This year he was out by a mere one minute 20 seconds, for the final 20 nautical miles from Nambucca Heads to the finish, recorded with Marine Rescue at their final radio check.

In closing, Coffs Harbour Commodore Garry Ennis said, “we’ve been blessed, we’ve had great weather, great sailing, the wind was blowing, the beer was cold, the rum was flowing, the yachties are happy, sun

By Damian Devine, Club Marine Pittwater Coffs Harbour Regatta media

  

The start of today's final race - photo by Damian Devine

"People ring each day and ask..."

Iain - Riccarton

People ring each day and ask

How much for a box?

We're so much more than that, we sell

Peace with every lock

When your car is broke you take it

To the workshop or the dealer

When your house or life are broke

You can come to us, we feel ya'

It's what we do each day

To bring a smile to someone new

That makes me love to help you all

We're all the same, it's true

We all have dramas, large and small

Celebs are people too

What I love about my job

Is that the most important person is YOU...

“I sell peace of mind”

 M. D'Alessandri - Essendon

I find every time I am asked what I do for work, I say this “I sell peace of mind”

Now you might be reading this and say “Is he dreaming? How does he sell peace of mind?”

I agree it sounds strange but go with me on this journey.

A box is just a box on the outside but once you put your goods in it, it becomes so much more, it has a value to you that someone else may never know. Also the box has to keep your item safe and dust free.

You’re going to need the right box for this item of value and you need to pack it correctly in the box, maybe you need bubble wrap, some tape to close that box up and keep it together. You may ask me how to pack the item in the box. Would that give you peace of mind?

Now imagine not just one box but let’s say 50 boxes and each has something of value in it. Place a value on it, go on.

Now if you decided to take out insurance on the 50 boxes plus some other items you’re placing in storage, wouldn’t that give you a peace of mind that your goods are now safe.

Now place it all in one location, let’s say a storage unit, does that give you a little more peace of mind.

But before you put it in the unit you need to know how to place it in the storage unit, you don’t want those boxes falling over and breaking. You also want to fit some larger items in the storage unit. You don’t want to waste the space you have chosen.  So you may ask us for some advice on how to pack the unit.

But how did you get the boxes and the larger items to the storage facility? You thought about packing them in your car, didn’t you? But after considering how you would need to stuff the boxes in your car, how many trips you would have to make to the storage facility and how much fuel you would have wasted, you think maybe I should get a truck, as you’re going to need it for the larger items.

But before you could look up a truck rental shop on your phone, I offer you our courtesy truck. 

You know taking that truck will give you peace of mind that your goods will be safe while you are transporting them.

Told you, “I sell peace of mind”