Life Storage of River North

The absolute worst customer service that I have ever received. After a couple of years using this storage facility, they changed my access code without my knowledge. It changed from a four digit code to a 9 digit code that they switched without my knowledge. I’ve called and emailed several times over the last year, but no one ever gets back to me. In the rare case that I do speak to someone on the phone when I’m at the facility trying to get in, no one seems to know how or why my access code got changed. Last year I rented a truck and hired two people to help move things into my unit. It was after normal business hours and I was not able to get a hold of anyone to let us in. It was a huge waste of my time and money.
If this was my business and this situation happened to someone, it would be my number one priority to contact the person, change the code back, and I would give that client at least one month free for the huge inconvenience my company’s mistake caused. They have not tried to fix the situation at all– No one from the company has called or responded to any of my requests, yet they always, ALWAYS have time every month to charge me over $ 200. I will be moving my things out very soon if I’m not contacted.

This is a review highlighting the strengths of both a service provider (Life Storage on Ohio) and the service providing the provider: Unilocal.It’s a case of the system working the way it should work. Like a previous poster, I too am «decluttering» my condo prior to selling it. I have storage space at a Public Storage facility farther afield, and needed additional space closer to home for short-​term, quick access.
Having been «satisfied» (neither enthused nor discouraged, honestly) with Public Storage, I assumed that such facilities were all cut from the same cloth. I found another Public Storage facility on Elston (see separate review forthcoming) and was so poorly treated upon arrival, that I canceled my reservation and returned to searching for another space. I searched Unilocal and found reviews of Life Storage on Ohio that were positive so I made a reservation for a unit.
I was initially doubtful of the viability of using a River North /​Downtown facility. My thoughts were that: the location could be traffic-​y and hard to access; costs would be prohibitive and access could be limited to «business» hours. All were proven wrong immediately.
The facility has 3 entry points (door off of lobby, entrance on Ohio and entrance through Alley between Grand and Ohio via Franklin). The alley entrance features drive-​in bays to load/​unload: two interior and two covered from the elements. Already a huge improvement over my PS space elsewhere.
Next nice distinction: carts are abundant and readily available, whenever needed. You don’t have to be made to feel like a criminal by dropping off a Driver’s License with the PS office to borrow their ugly orange cart (Yeah, I reallllllllly want to steal one of those!!!) Yesterday, I pulled in the interior bay, shielded from the nasty weather, grabbed a cart, and loaded 15 boxes into the elevator just 10 feet away. I was in and out of my unit on the third floor within 10 minutes.
Costs were competitive and — in fact — better than my other PS location. Should I need to extend my short-​term run, I would likely consolidate both units into Life Storage space as it’s actually much cheaper when looking at larger space. Additionally, access hours are 5am-​11pm with 24 hour access available. I haven’t explored the additional costs of 24 hr access, but it’s nice to know it’s available. My other location cuts off access at 9pm, so I’m already gaining 21 additional hours of access with Life Storage.
Being in River North, I did notice a mix of corporate and non-​corporate end-​users. I like the mix. I think it’s important for a facility to have to respond to the needs and demands of different customer types so that they don’t leverage their policies to exploit certain segments. Their staff are also trained in responding to a variety of conditions and needs and — from what I experienced — elevate their game accordingly.
And that was the final pleasant surprise of the whole experience. Arriving to a clean, well-​lit, well-​designed space complete with free WiFi and coffee to complete my paperwork was a joy. I was expecting to be taken out to a cinder-​block shed with a bare lightbulb (sorry PS, it’s true) to do the rest. Instead, the experience flowed effortlessly and courteously. Bianca helped me and she was efficient, professional and gracious — when’s the last time you associated those attributes with a storage facility?
So, thanks Public Storage on Elston for being so abrasive that you forced me to cancel my reservation. Thanks, Unilocal reviewers for sharing their experiences. And, Thanks Life Storage — and Bianca — for accurately reflecting the feedback from the community. Isn’t this how it’s supposed to work?

My husband and I got a storage unit here when we listed our condo for sale and wanted to ‘declutter’. We shopped around a lot for the best price and best reviews.
We were so happy with our choice to rent a unit here. The staff couldn’t have been nicer, the units are clean, well lit, the parking out front is convenient, and there was always a dolly available for us to lug our crap up to our unit.
The thing I liked the most about this place was the ability to create a code and be able to punch it into the keypad to grant entry 24 hours a day. It’s my stuff and I should be able to access it whenever I want, right? A lot of the storage facilities we looked at didn’t allow that but Life Storage did. It made everything so much more convenient.
The price was great too– we got 50% off our first 6 months with no minimum rental period. I would recommend to anyone that is looking for a reliable, safe, clean storage facility!

I only stored my belongings here for one month, but it was great. I had a nightmarish experience with a storage building before which involved animals making it into my dresser, so needless to say I was nervous about storing anything ever again. Life Storage was a dream come true. Their facilities are SO clean and nice. There are always enough parking spaces, as well as several garages in back for moving trucks to back into. Each customer has a private code to enter the storage unit during long hours all week. Everyone who works there is super friendly and helpful. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a storage unit, it was well worth it.

I’ve really enjoyed my time with Life Storage so far. I have also stored with East Bank Storage (nearby facility) and here’s a comparison:
Life Storage comparison:
(+) Longer hours, because of the cool electronic log in system
(+) Staff is also really nice, but clearly corporate and not such a family-​feeling
(+) Temperature control
(-) Other people can be rude. They leave carts all over the place and don’t put them back. Not such a sense of responsibility.
(-) More expensive
(-) Layout is not as intelligent as EBS (one small elevator, one move-​in spot for trucks, long distance between unloading and elevator).
East Bank comparison:
(+) The people make the business. Gordana is amazing and really nice. Tony is always wonderful. Petko is really sweet and won’t let me even touch boxes because I’m pregnant. They feel like friends of the family.
(+) Because Gordana, Tony, and Petko make you feel like family, the other people around you are really great too. They return carts, chat with you when you run into each other.
(+) Service is great. They received a ton of packages for me and held them without giving me crap. The setup is really intelligently done — esp the big elevators (2 of them) and the spots where 4(!) trucks can drive up and load/​unload.
(+) Great value.
(-) Hours are more limited
(-) No temperature control (a real problem for the upper floors — really hot in summer).

I’d like to try and make this short and to the point, Life Storage — River North is awesome!
I did A LOT of research when Iooking for a storage facility. I needed a place to store everything from my 2 BR condo, I looked at about 4 places and finally decided on Life Storage RN.
The facility is new, new, new, clean, clean, clean, it’s well lit and I feel safe being there by my self. There are parking spaces for when I need to run in and access my storage, I have my own private code to get in & out, security is great, the docks for the moving vans are big and spacious, and the manager & staff have been so friendly & helpful. I dealt mainly with Scott and Peter, if you have any questions, they are the best!
They also have some pretty good deals so check their website. I can’t recommend them enough!