Public Storage

I reserved online, arrived to find the office closed for 30 minutes. The 2 girls showed up and I have to say — the friendliest people I’ve ever met in DC. They were awesome. I made 5 trips that day to get all my stuff in storage. They helped me find a great unit, the security seems very well done. I would only recommend to the owners that they invest in more carts and that one person stays in the office. I had to wait quite a while each time I needed a cart, when you’re moving lots of stuff in multiple trips it can be a bit stressful. But, overall, a great experience because of the staff.

What began as a great experience with this storage facility has rapidly gone downhill in recent weeks. The pros: Units are clean, new, and well-​maintained. Access feels secure with codes required for the gates and elevator.
Now, the cons:
(1) On recent days flatbed carts have been difficult to find or completely unavailable. The manager told me that they have a problem with people locking carts in their units. Whatever the reason, it is highly inconvenient, and the grocery carts they’ve provided as a temporary measure just don’t cut it.
(2) Often only one staff member is on duty at a time, so when they go upstairs to help a tenant or go on break, nobody is in the office to help you. I was left standing on the pavement for 45 minutes yesterday, waiting for the office to reopen.
(3) They are not transparent enough about fees. When I moved in, I was told that using their insurance was mandatory, even though it duplicates my existing homeowners’ coverage. I ended up calling my insurer on the spot to get verification in order to force them to back down.
(4) They tell you that they will prorate the first six days of the month if you move out early, but they don’t tell you that AutoPay enrollees aren’t eligible for this benefit. It seems to me that they are punishing their best customers — those who pay online automatically every month. I ended up having to call both the corporate office and the District Manager to get this issue appealed, but now I have to make a second trip to the local office to finalize the refund — I just hope someone is there to let me in. They also offer the option to pay over the phone, but this incurs a $ 20 «convenience» fee.
In a nutshell: This was a decent unit while my stuff was just sitting there every month, but moving out has been a nightmare.

I rented a space at this facility for nearly two years and was pleased with the condition of the facility. Taryn, Natasha and LaToya were always helpful.

For La“Toya and Taryn, they were awesome and super friendly! We enjoyed their companionship and they show how they care about our storage needs! We are very impressed and confident in these people. Thank you very much!
Kirk, Cheryl, and Tabitha Anderson
Gallaudet/​Minnesota

I had just arrived from Boston to my DC new apartment. The movers were 60 minutes out when I realized that not all of my furniture would fit into the new place. I quickly called Public Storage, spoke with a representative, and reserved a space. Upon redirecting the movers to Public Storage, I pulled into the S. Capitol St. location. Not the prettiest place, but clean with decent security.
Taryn — who handled the paperwork, gave me a tour, and showed me the ins-​and-​outs of the locker — was very cool and extremely helpful.
I agree with the review that mentions the cost and fees sneaking up on you, and am hopeful that I don’t experience a break-​in as others have in years past. It’s been a little more than two weeks. So far, so good.
5 stars for Taryn and 3 stars for the facility and pricing, so an overall rating of 4.

I have used the Capitol Hill Public Storage twice now. Both times I had to prepare for a move. The service there is always great and Taryn always goes above and beyond to help make the move more bearable and less stressful. As we all know moving is a nightmare! Thank you. I highly recommend this location.

I just started a rental unit with this storage place so we will see how things end up when I cancel.
Overall, the initial phase was fine. Price wise, it adds up because they make you add insurance, admin fees, etc. which aren’t included in the estimated cost so that is a little misleading.
Taryn was very helpful and knowledgable. Some of the other staff. not so much. Bored and didn’t want to be at work which was obvious. I appreciate taryns help though so ask for her!
There are dollies available and you can pull your car pretty close to the elevators inside.
Average storage unit.

Great customer service, clean, convenient… but the elevators are broken every time I visit and there are only 4 carts for the entire building of over 500 units. ???

I would have rented elsewhere had I had the common sense to check out these reviews, so that’s my fault. It is pretty easy to deduce that I am disappointed with the service that I continue to receive at this location. What is the purpose of providing an email address if they cannot alert you of things like «the elevator being out of service» for a whole week? I went there twice (5 days apart) to try and take store my stuff on a third floor unit only to find that the elevator is out of service and that maintenance has been notified. This sign was posted 5 days prior. When I went inside to inquire about the status, I received cold stares and court responses. Meanwhile, I am paying rent on the unit. The two female staff members there are extremely rude and unapologetic about it. What happened to good old customer service? Don’t rent here if you would like to be treated like a paying customer.

Wasn’t all that happy when my storage unit was broken into. Was even less happy when they cut the lock off the bent door and informed me that I would have to pay to replace it.

While I’ve had a unit there for 2 years without incident, this past weekend I was called and notified that «my unit had been tampered with.» Yes, broken into. Yes, items missing. They closed the office and left without once checking in with me at my unit to assist me in securing my unit for the night, so I had to leave it with a broken door for the night. I filed a police report and was told that there were regular and frequent reports of breaking into units at this facility. It is not secure!

It has been only 1 month since we moved our stuff in here. What is wrong with these people???
Pricing and move in were pretty fair and uneventful. We chose this location as it was easy for us to get to while in between apartments. Upon move in we were given a security code to operate the outside gate and interior elevator. Any code worked, we used ²⁄₆ of the numbers and it worked. Apparently this has now been fixed, but in upgrading their system our number was deactivated. Neither secure nor helpful.
The major issue is we were broken into 1 WEEK after moving in. No other units around ours were touched. They took all the high value easy to grab items that weren’t in rubbermaid bins, that we know of. The staff is completely incompetent and rude. The call I got to inform me of the break in wasn’t that my unit was broken into, but that it had no lock and when would I be coming to put one on. REALLY?! The entire sliding part of the door lock was bent and busted like someone took a hammer to it, that doesn’t look suspicious?
Dealing with the staff there since has been painful and aggravating. On visit #1 with police to the unit, I was told the door lock itself needed to be replaced (obviously) and I asked 3 times to clarify that I did NOT need to do anything else until that was completed. I received a call 2 weeks later wondering when I would be in to replace the lock they had put on temporarily. I asked if the door was fixed, and was told they wouldn’t have touched the door WITHOUT me being there. UGH. The door was still lockable even with the bent metal so I wasn’t rushing. I scheduled to come down on the following weekend so I can witness them opening my unit and put a new, and much more expensive, lock on it.
A few days before that visit I am called again and left an urgent message. They again want to know when I am going to come replace the lock. I call back and admittedly am very annoyed at this point. I point out my scheduled visit which should be noted on my account, and am told the sliding door lock has been replaced.
wha wha whaaaat?
–But, I was told you wouldn’t replace it unless I was there? It’s been weeks now since we came and you’ve told me different stories every…
–The district manager replaced it.
-…what? ok, but you said you wouldn’t replace i…
–THE DISTRICT MA-​NA-​GER replaced it. I didn’t touch it.
–Well I assumed when you said «you», you were referring to Public Storage, the company you represent
–I DIDNT TOUCH IT THE DISTRICT MANAGER
(me hanging up)
Will be moving our stuff out to a less convenient location so I don’t go berzerker on these fools.

went today to rent a unit and Taryn was very friendly and helpful. All was very easy and organized! (especially after encountering a very rude sales person at the U-​Haul Storage down the street)

My husband and I recently moved to the Eastern Market/​Capitol Hill area. On our move in day we found out that our living room furniture wouldn’t fit through our doorway! We were in a pinch and needed a storage unit ASAP! I looked up the closest one I could find that had a good deal and found this place! It was so easy to reserve a unit. I did it online prior to the store opening and received a confirmation call soon after the store opened. Everything was set up right away. Fast, Easy and Affordable! Teleaka helped me find the size unit that I needed and was so friendly and accommodating! I totally recommend this storage facility. It’s super convenient; I never thought we’d find something within the city limits that we could afford!
Thanks Teleaka for all your help!

Moving can be stressful, but the staff at S. Cap’s Public Storage made it seem seamless. We worked with Taryn and she was amazing. She was patient with us and also knew what she was talking about. This is the best Public Storage location!

Worst staff ever!!! They were rude the entire time I as there and wouldn’t open the gate to let me exit! I will not reccomend them to anyone!

I needed to buy some boxes, and I looked it up on Unilocal what was close. I saw the reviews were terrible but I thought– screw it– I need boxes. I went down there and my experience was perfectly fine. I treated people working there with respect and patience and I was treated in kind. I was helped to my car with my purchases– a ton of packing material.

The staff was ready to serve and offer suggestions for storage needs. I have made serveral recent visits to my unit and am satisfied with the space, lighting, elevator and dolly accessibility. I am not completely satisfied with the limited hours of access. I had to delay my move to a time in which the storage unit is available.

I agree that the staff is horrible but I got on here tell people about the lack of a working elevator! It was broken for MONTHS so I had to wait to take a good deal of my belongings there. I went last week to pick up a small item and was overjoyed to see that it was working! So today I packed up my car with all the items that I waited to bring to the storage unit. I unloaded my car, found a dolly (which are not easy to find), and went to the elevator only to discover that it was not working again! I called the manager and was basically told «yea, it happens, nothing we can do, nothing you can do.»
Id like to move my stuff out but can’t with a broken elevator!

Horrible staff, worse buisness hours. Also, they have a leak in their roof that damaged our stuff and makes the place smell musty. Go across the street to u-​haul for storage.