Extra Space Storage

Denise, the manager, and Marty were awesome to work with. They were most helpful in deciding which unit I needed and also made the payment process quick and easy. Each time I had a question, either one was always willing and eager to help. They knew me by name and even remembered certain details about me that I didn’t expect them to. I wish them and this establishment success for many years to come!

Great space, great service, great people! Easy access, reasonable rates, clean — Happy Customers (my mom, Sandra and I). :)

This place is awesome, plain and simple. First class customer service, Marty and Denise are friendly and super helpful. No problems whatsoever. Would recommend to anyone and everyone!

really clean facility, friendly staff. i was there for a couple years and it was exactly the storage experience i wanted to have. i have been in one other facility in the area and it was dingy and dark and unpleasant so this was a great indicator of how this type of business should be.
and, denise is, in fact, great!

So this occurred on Saturday, March 15^th. After reading reviews about this location, I made it a point to go with this location and read how helpful Denise was at this location. What made my decision easier was using a coupon code upon doing an online reservation which gave me my 1^st month free on my 5×5 unit (priced at $ 53). I decided to print out the email confirmation along with a screen shot showing the price and the 1^st month free b/​c you never know when it comes to things like this. So herein lies the frustrating part.
I was greeted by Denise opening the door and greeting me and thought this is a great start to my experience. Then I gave her my name and she looked it up and saw I reserved on line. Then I mentioned I have my 1^st month free as stated in this email confirmation, etc. She took a look at the paper then told me that b/​c there were a limited amount of units available, she couldn’t honor the 1^st month free. My argument was then why did it take the coupon code online? Her response was: «Well it does say see Manager for details». So I said, «So bascially your telling me, you can apply the coupon code online for a month free but it could change once you physically step into the store?» Then I kept on hearing «I’m sorry for the inconvenience», «I’ve been here for 6 years and I work on getting my customers the best price» but nothing to the effect of honoring the deal or doing something to offset the $ 53 fee.
The worst part about it was when she said «I can give you the one month free but you’d have to move into a larger space». Why would I do that? I wanted a 5×5 space and that’s that.
I was ready to move from my current space near Midway Airport to this location and glad I checked in 1^st before I grabbed my stuff.
I will never recommend this location or company to anyone looking for a storage unit ever.

I keep getting emails from Extra Space Storage, telling me I can win a prize if I write a review! Suffice it to say, I am super stoked to tell you my experiences with this company. I live in a condo in Chicago, and have very limited storage space. Whatever doesn’t fit, has to go into public storage. I have family members that move around quite often, and since I’m the one who normally stays put, their stuff stays here with me. So, this necessitated my need for 2 storage lockers. One is a 5×5 locker, for all my power tools and painting supplies. Another one, that is 5×10, holds other random household stuff, that my family members want to hold for now. Starting in 2009, I paid $ 57 for the 5×5, and $ 98 for the 5×10 lockers. It was cheaper than other competing public storage companies in the area. It’s a bit of a drive from Bucktown, but again, it was cheaper. Well, 4 months later, the rates for the 5×5 and the 5×10 went up 8.8% and 7.1% (yes, I did the math in Excel, and I have the credit card statements to prove it). Fine. We all have our expenses, inflation, taxes, whatever. Another 6 months, the 5×5 rate goes up another 8%. The month after that, the 5×10 rate goes up 9%. Following year, the rates go up 7.4% and 7% for the 5×5 and 5×10, respectively. I’m hoping you sense a pattern here, as other reviewers have alluded to. All told, after 2 years, my monthly rate has effectively increased a minimum of 25%. TWENTY FIVE PERCENT. It currently comes out to an extra $ 480/​year since rental inception. I’ve been too busy to actually move everything, but my project this fall is to sell off whatever items aren’t needed, and cancel my rental units. I’m assuming the constant rate increases is just their business model. They make the calculation that people are too busy, bothered, or whatever, to move their stuff to a new storage location, so they keep jacking up their rates like it’s going out of style, because they know the occupants are hard pressed to make any sudden changes.
A couple other things: I had to go back to this location several times, to fill out a new credit card billing form, because they kept screwing it up. They would send me a letter stating that my storage units haven’t been paid. Sorry, but they *were* paid, *YOU* were the ones who screwed up my billing data. It’s hilarious that their first reaction is to blame the customer, when it’s their own staff that created the problem to begin with.
And finally, this public storage is literally across the street from Skokie’s sewage treatment facility. So, it literally smells like poo, everywhere in the facility. Let’s just say my trips there are as short as humanly possible.
In short, I can’t wait to cancel my storage units there, so I don’t have to deal with their constant rate increases, and the thought of driving into an olfactory wall of poo every time I have to retrieve something from my locker. If you don’t believe me, drive to the intersection of McCormick and Howard with the windows down. Take a big whiff. Then go into this location, and ask how often, and how much, they’ll increase your rental rate every 5 – 6 months.
So Extra Space Storage, how do you like them apples? Will I win a prize for my awesome review?
************* additional info ****************
I went there a few weeks ago, and the keypads were all malfunctioning. There were several people standing by the doors, because no one could get in. Everybody was locked out, no one’s code worked! Someone said they heard an employee would be coming by within 20 minutes to fix the problem. I came back 2 hours later, and it still wasn’t fixed.
How is this acceptable business practice?

I was initially attracted to this storage facility because my mother had a unit. It is a secure climate controlled unit but that’s where perks end. My first issue came when I noticed mouse droppings on my antique piano and had to clean it thoroughly in the unit. They didn’t say much about taking care of this problem. The next issue was a few months after getting a unit, i received a card explaining my rate was increasing by $ 8. Really? I don’t get a locked rate even for a year? When I called the staff informed me it was a corporate decision and basically too bad and by the way would I like to make a payment early this month. Absolutely not! Stay away people. They know that once your stuff is there it’s a hassle just to go and get it out due to their horrible policies.

We recently rented a small 5×5″ storage unit from Extra Space. Denise, the store manager, was extremely helpful. She took us through the facility and showed us several units. She explained the process and gave us suggestions about renting and choosing a unit.
The facility is nicely kept. Denise was picking up small pieces of paper and other random items as we walked through.
I was leery about using this facility at first. I asked Denise about the increase in rent after 6 months. She said that this is standard practice. She did tell me that we would receive a notice if this was to occur.
We signed the papers and were able to move in right away.

I rented a space in April ’08 and in September ’08 they raised my rent 10% without telling me. They say they sent a mailing 30 days in advance, but I didn’t receive it. That’s understandable. but then I asked why they were raising my rent only 5 months after I moved in the manager told me it’s «standard practice» to increase the rent after 5 – 6 months and then again after 9 months. None of this was shared with me before I signed the contract. The company is baiting people in with a low rate, not a promotional rate mind you, with the intent of increasing the rent knowing that you aren’t going to go to the expense of renting a truck to move your stuff somewhere else.

I’ve used this storage company before and I was very happy with their service. They have very good incentives for new customers, I got my first month free. They have great facilities, including a great security program. Their prices were great and I felt safe storing my things here because I knew they would stay safe at their monitored facilities.