Greetings from MSSOA President Jara Mease 2nd Annual MSSOA Sp

The purpose of this newsletter is to give you an update and report
on the “state” of your State Trade Association.
Missouri Self-Storage Monitor
2014-2015 MSSOA Board of Directors
March 2015
Executive Director Janet Richter President Jara Mease Vice President Denny Lee Secretary *Kathryn East Treasurer Sherri Kempf
Directors: Sherry Garvin, Brian Haskins, Ed Holt, *Randy Hoover, Charles Hunt, Larry Kempf, Luke Nixon, Mike Powers,
Jim Whitesides, Cheryl Williams, Tim Wilson, *Associate Board Membet
Greetings from MSSOA President Jara Mease
I hope you are all surviving this winter! Spring is near, which hopefully means we will be busy renting units! The
MSSOA Board of Directors have been hard at it these last few months planning our Spring Regional Meeting , the 16th
Annual Meeting and Trade Show, and growing our membership.
Some of us also attended the Trachte Seminar in Kansas City, this was a very informational meeting. I would like to
thank Trachte for their continuous support of the MSSOA.
2nd Annual MSSOA Spring Conference
If you are in the Springfield area
member or nonmember we would
love to see you at our Regional
Mark your calendar for April 22, 2015 Starting at 9:00 am
nd
Meeting on April 22 .
This year’s conference will be held at the
Ramada Inn Oasis Convention Center Springfield MO
This is a free information meeting,
lunch will be provided. Members
please pass the word to all your
nonmember storage facility owners
in your area. See ad on this page
for more information.
2546 N. Glenstone Ave., Springfield, Mo. 65803 www.ramadaoasis.com
2014 attendees received valuable information on a
number of topics from professionals in our industry and
this year should be no different.
Our 16th Annual Trade Show
planning is in full swing! We are
very excited about our 2015 Annual
Meeting & Trade Show. Make plans
now to attend August 9-11 2015, you
won’t want to miss this one!
Look for information and registration
at mssoa.org and ad on this page.
I look forward to seeing you all at
one or both of our upcoming events.
If you have any ideas or suggestions
for the MSSOA please don’t hesitate
to contact me or the MSSOA office
573-480-0454 or [email protected]
Topics covered in this year’s conference are as follows:
1) Disaster Planning and Recovery (Sherry Garvin)
2) LED Lighting Applications and Cost/Benefit
(Southern Sun Electric)
3) Financing Acquisitions and Expansion (Ozark Bank)
4) Legal Update-New Statute Changes (Attorney Stan Masters)
A question and answer period will follow each presentation
The conference is free of charge and even includes a great lunch.
We strongly encourage all members and non-members alike to attend. This is a
great chance to learn and network with your fellow self storage owners and
potential owners.
Please register as early as possible
by visiting our web site @ www.mssoa.com
or by contacting our association office at 573-480-0454
Jara Mease MSSOA President –Owner Crane Mini Storage & All Around Self Storage
IT IS SHOW TIME IN CARDINAL NATION!
Are you planning to attend the 2015 Missouri Trade Show August 9-11th?
If not, mark your calendar today. You won’t want to miss this event.
It is a whole new ballgame!
MSSOA is changing the show schedule and we started by having the event at the Hilton Ballpark St. Louis.
Please come and support our exhibitors! You will have the opportunity to visit with more Exhibitors than ever before.
You will see our dedicated exhibitors and a team of new ones!
Our Guest Speaker is Dr. Gina Bueneman-Cooper with Cooper Management Training and Consulting.
Her topics include Positively Amazing Leadership, Positivity Stressed Out and Positively Amazing Communications.
Also new for 2015, we are hosting a poker charity event on Sunday evening
which will benefit the local St. Louis Shriner’s Hospital.
Register today with the enclosed registration form for early bird rates and save!
Sunday August 9, 2015
Texas Hold ‘em
Poker Tournament
To Benefit Shriners
Hospital St Louis
Monday, August 10, 2015
Tuesday, August, 11, 2015
Roundtables
Annual Membership Meeting - Lunch
Various Speakers
Exhibit Hall and Cocktail Party
Educational Training – Guest Speaker
– Dr. Gina Bueneman-Cooper
Various Speakers
Stan Masters – Attorney –
The Masters Law Firm
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Why join the MSSOA?
I started out in this business knowing nothing. I had spent
the majority of my life in another, unrelated field.
Acknowledging that I would have to use the skills which I
had developed in another arena, I knew that I had to start
networking quickly.
Actually, I was looking for a
manufacturer of storage buildings. While researching on
the computer, I saw that there was such a thing as the
Missouri Self Storage Owners Association.
Time went by, and eventually I sought out the name of a
board member because I had some questions about the
business. This board member became an invaluable
resource. He helped me to outsource various aspects of
the business, not only from building materials but also
insurance and other advice. It was through him that I first
learned about the MSSOA rental agreement, which I still
use today. He showed great interest in me and my
property, and when he visited was enthusiastic and
supportive.
I remember the first annual trade show I attended.
Walking in a room filled with people already in the storage
business, I listened to them one by one talk about what
was going on at their business. I realized that this was
valuable information that I could use. There were
handouts that defined the laws of the State, what I can and
cannot do as an owner. There were vendors with
computer programs, credit card processing machines,
locks, gates, security cameras, and a whole lot more. I left
that meeting two days later with knowledge, contacts, but
most of all the confidence that I could do this.
It's been fifteen years, and every trade show I learn
something valuable for my business. I would like to share
this resource and my enthusiasm with others. Anyone can
google a topic on the computer, but with the MSSOA I have
built relationships. The ability to network through and
grow with the MSSOA has helped me personally and
professionally, and I hope that it will help you, too.
Ed Holt – Membership Chairman
Air Tight Storage, Columbia MO
To join, go to www.mssoa.org and become a member
online or you can call the office at 573-480-0454
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Shriners Hospital for Children St Louis
Is the Charity of Choice for the MSSOA
On Sunday August 9th we will start our
Trade Show off with a
Texas Hold ‘em Poker Tournament
Proceeds go to St Louis Shriners Hospital
Buy in is just a $100.00 donation
Come on – Join us – It will be a lot of fun
while helping the kids at Shriners
Register at www.mssoa.org
-- NOTICE –
All ads in this Newsletter are from
Vendor/Exhibitor MEMBERS of the MSSOA.
Each of them has registered early for the
2015 Trade Show in St Louis August 9-11, 2015
Your Board of Directors has a target of 35-40
different exhibitors for you to visit with at our
2015 Trade Show and MSSOA Annual Meeting!
MSSOA trade show is the place to network with
several different vendors all in one location.
Let’s Be Frank –
Is Your Service Valuable?
"The customer experience is
the next competitive battleground.”
-Jerry Gregoire
Pale in Portland
I was flying cross country to a conference in Portland, Oregon. You
know that feeling you get when you first notice the flu coming on?
About one hour into the flight I felt like I was going to be sick… very
sick!
I remained in the lavatory for a very long time. I asked the flight
attendant if she minded me staying in there for the remainder of the
flight. She smiled and agreed. I felt like a zombie and didn’t want to
infect the other passengers. After landing, I somehow picked up my
luggage and took a commuter train to the Hilton in downtown Portland.
I painfully made it to the front desk where a friendly gentleman greeted
me with a smile. “Welcome to the Portland Hilton,” he said. “You look
like you have been traveling quite a bit today.” I stared at him with
ashen eyes and replied, “No, I am miserably sick. I think I have the
flu or some bug. I will sign anything you want and fill out any form…
later. I just need to get to my room to collapse in now.”
He introduced himself as “Frank” and asked my name. “Mr. Mathis,
that bellman over there will be glad to take you and your luggage to the
room where you can relax. I will be glad to check you in now for your
convenience and comfort.” A few grueling minutes later I was in my
room and in bed. I took out my cell phone and called home. “I am sick
and coming back home in the morning.” I needed something to eat and
was about to call room service. But suddenly there was a knock at my
door…
I was greeted by a young lady in a Hilton uniform with the name “Erin”
on her lapel and a room service tray in her hands. “Mr. Mathis, I
understand we aren’t feeling well today.” I thought, “No kidding!” She
continued, “Frank at the front desk told us you are ill, so he requested
this meal for you. There is a hot bowl of vegetable soup, crackers, a
soda, and some mints to settle you stomach.” I just stared at her in
amazement. Then she said like a mother would say, “Now Mr. Mathis,
you eat all of this soup, or you won’t get well soon, okay?” “Okay,” I
said. Then she handed me a get well card that Frank, the front desk and
kitchen staff had signed. She told me to call Frank if I needed anything
else and left. Have you ever felt embarrassed and emotional when
someone was showing compassion and concern for you? That was me.
So I began to slowly eat the hot soup. It took me an hour to eat the
whole meal. Erin was right… I began to feel better. Finally I took a
warm shower and went downstairs to thank Frank. But his shift had
ended for the weekend. My scheduled check-out was Monday morning,
so I knew I wouldn’t see him again. I stayed for the entire convention
and had a great time, feeling much better. When I arrived home, one of
my first missions was to call the Hilton home office to tell them how
impressed I was with Frank’s and the staff’s service to me. The
gentleman at the customer service help desk was amazed at my story.
He immediately called the Hilton in Portland to relay the story. Within
an hour he called to say that Frank’s manager had called in the staff and
publically thanked Frank and everyone who signed that card for their
excellent customer service. He said, “That is what we strive for at
Hilton, and Frank proved that we are being successful.”
Valuable Service
Frank showed what customer service should be all about. He
exemplified three characteristics that everyone should practice to make
their organization’s service valuable.
1. Valuable service is proactive, not policy driven. Frank got me to
my room immediately instead of quoting a policy to me about how
many documents I had to sign to get into my room. He didn’t argue
with me. Your people should practice actively listening to customers
instead of quoting the policy manual. They should be proactive in
discovering needs and meeting them. They should fear poor service
more than what their management will do if they don’t abide by
company policy. Do your people take action to satisfy customers or are
they waiting for your permission to make you look good?
2. Valuable service is personal. It should meet the needs of your top
customers. They are the ones who bring in the most business. Interview
them and ask what you can do to please them more. Why not? They
bring in the most income and influence many others to follow them.
Most companies ask every customer what they want. That’s okay, but it
takes too much time and you wind up with too many opinions from
people who won’t return to your business. But your most influential
customers already like you, frequent your business and will be more
eager to be your primary advocates. Your business is more than just
service to them. To reverse a line from The Godfather,
“It’s not business, it’s personal.”
How can you serve your most valuable customers to make them
primary advocates for your business?
3. Valuable service is “remark-able.” It should motivate people to
remark about how wonderful it is. Frank’s efforts and concern were so
amazing that I couldn’t forget it when I got home. The first thing I
wanted to do was tell people about it. Twitter, Yelp and Trip Advisor
have thousands of people every day remarking about your company’s
service so others will know. You can’t ignore the impact social media
has on your business. What are you doing to generate and encourage
positive remarks? I know businesses, like spas and retail merchants,
who reward feedback with coupons and discounts. They know how to
encourage customers to write great reviews on social media. What can
you do that is “remark-able” in a positive way? Ask your team to come
up with creative ideas based on their one-to-one experiences with your
top customers. You will be surprised at their feedback.
Quite Frankly
One year later, I returned to Portland to give a presentation. The client
booked me at another hotel three blocks from the Hilton. I took time
one afternoon to walk down the street to see Frank and thank him in
person. I walked into the familiar lobby and was greeted by the desk
clerk. I asked for Frank. She told me that there was nobody there by that
name. I explained that Frank was a desk clerk who I had met over a year
ago. “Oh!” she said, “I know who you are talking about…. I am sorry,
but he is no longer employed here. He is the manager of the Hilton over
in Vancouver.” “He is?” I asked. “Yes, about eleven months ago, he
received a promotion directly from the corporate office.
Everyone was surprised at first, but his service record was so great, they
promoted him to manager ahead of schedule.” I knew why Frank was
promoted so fast.
How valuable is your service? Is it proactive? Does your service reach
your most valuable clients personally? Are people remarking about
valuable service? If not, what can you do to empower your team and
turn it around I kept the note below to remind.
me what valuable service looks like and means to me.
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Support the companies who support
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www.mssoa.org
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Have you been in
the business for
years?
Thinking of
getting into the
business?
If you are interested
in the Self Storage
Industry in MO we
encourage you to
join us at our spring
conference in
Springfield MO.
APRIL 22, 2015
See article on page
one of this
newsletter!
Questions on
LED Lighting?
Disaster
Preparedness?
Financing?
Legal Issues?
If your answer is YES
You won’t want to
miss this event!
More information
in article on
page one.
MSSOA
Post Office Box 384
Winfield MO 63389
IT’S A WHOLE NEW BALL GAME!
IT’S A WHOLE NEW BALL GAME!
“People rarely succeed
unless they have fun in what
they are doing.” Dale Carnegie
Wanna have some fun?
Join us at one or both of our upcoming
events! See page 1 for details
Legislation Update
Your Missouri Self Storage Owners Association serves
you in many ways, one of which is to monitor pending
legislation that may affect our industry, or if necessary
initiate legislation intended to improve the environment we
all operate in. As you recall, last year the MSSOA in
conjunction with the Self Storage Association successfully
initiated legislation that updated and improved the "lien
laws" that govern our ability to exercise the lien we have on
a tenant's stored belongings. (Important side note: if you
are not using the MSSOA Model Rental Agreement, you
may not be in a position to exercise those lien rights! Start
using it today!). Those improvements benefit all of us who
operate in the self storage industry in Missouri, so you are
earning an excellent return on your dues!
There are currently two issues that the MSSOA is
attempting to resolve legislatively, the first being clarification
of a storage operator's right to offer "pay with rent" renters
insurance to our customers, and the second being the
removal of the unnecessary requirement to advertise a self
storage auction in local newspapers.
The first step in the renters insurance issue has been taken,
as our lobbyist has worked with State Senator Paul Wieland
to introduce legislation (SB 503) that clearly defines our
right to offer renters insurance, and the circumstances
under which we may do so. The heart of the issue is that
for most (but definitely not ALL) types of insurance, a
license of one form or another is required in order to sell
it. The exceptions typically exist in cases where
conventional brokers and underwriters do not or choose not
to offer insurance - think of extended vehicle warranties, or
travel insurance for example. So for the public good,
exceptions are sometimes made so that members of the
public will have options to mitigate various types of risk and it is our opinion, and the opinion of state legislatures in
many other states, that renters insurance offered by self
storage facilities warrant specific authorization for this
product. From this point we will work with representatives
of those who have opposed this exception in the past (the
independent agents association) to try to find a solution that
works for everyone involved. From there, the bill will work
through the machinations in Jefferson City this spring.
As for the issue relating to newspaper ads for storage
auctions, the heart of the matter is that operators have lived
with a requirement that was relevant at the time the
legislation was initially written, but which is no longer
relevant for most of us. At certain times and in certain
places a newspaper ad was the best way for an operator to
"get the word out" about a pending auction, so that it could
be conducted in a "commercially reasonable" manner
(generally thought to mean that there are at least three
independent bidders in attendance at the auction) that
brings a "fair" price for the items being sold. For most of us,
however, circulation of local papers has dwindled at a time
when information is more commonly shared in other ways:
many operators advertise auctions on their websites,
auctioneers advertise auctions on their websites, and with
the popularity of various reality shows relating to storage
auctions, attendance at auctions is robust and is unrelated
to the newspaper ad. The idea would be to permit the self
storage operator to choose from virtually any type of
advertising that results in a "commercially reasonable" sale,
rather than legislatively mandating a method that wastes
money and in most cases is not effective. We have not yet
introduced legislation, but the options at this point seem to
be 1) file a bill addressing our specific situation in the
House, 2) identify an existing bill to which our proposal
might logically be added, or 3) to solve the problem more
broadly by filing a bill in conjunction with other organizations
who are subject to mandatory advertisements in local
newspapers that cost tremendous amounts of money but
serve no purpose.
Thank you for your membership, and if you have ideas,
relationships, or knowledge that may help the MSSOA
advance these two causes, please reach out to us and let
us know!
Jim Whitesides - Ace Storage