VOXMobileStreamlinedSolutionsfor…

ExtraSpaceStorage

Extra Space Storage uses managed mobility services to help its team of over 1200 property managers

work more connectedly and efficiently.

With a nationwide footprint that spans 35 states, the District of Colombia, and Puerto Rico, Extra Space

Storage is the second largest self-storage operator in the US. Through their professional approach to

storage, Extra Space Storage seeks to reinvent the storage industry and the storage customer

experience. Their focus is a customer-oriented, safe, and attractive self-storage location where

customers can maintain and easily access valued personal possessions and business assets.

THE CHALLENGE

Moving toward a streamlined, customer-centric storage experience entailed increasing Extra Space

Storage’s responsiveness and efficiency at over 1200 locations. Each location featured a live-in property

manager, who was responsible for everything from signing leases to overseeing vacate procedures,

performing maintenance to conducting security checks. Storage locations can cover hundreds of

thousands of square feet, multiple buildings and hundreds of units, and it was often hard for property

managers to cover their facility’s duties and still be accessible to greet guests in the front office.

However, maintaining a presence in the front office was critical, because over half of all storage buyers

are walk-ins off the street.

Traditionally, landline telephone-based call boxes connected with bulky industrial cordless phones

served as the property manager’s go-anywhere link to the front office and solutions for covering the

street entrance. Walk-in customers could press a button and reach the manager no matter where they

might be on the property. But the call boxes were antiquated, the industrial cordless phones were costly

and prone to lengthy repair processes, and the landlines that supplied the connection between the two

were expensive and sometimes hard to procure.

Acquisition of independent chains or competitors’ existing storage facilities is one of Extra Space

Storages growth strategies. Aligning these new properties to the traditional call box-and-cordless

systems proved to be a significant delay. It could be months before landlines were installed and the call

box systems ready for use. When corporate leadership realized simple communications processes were

affecting their operational efficiencies and customers’ leasing experiences, they outlined a series of

desired improvements.

• Reduce communications downtime. Find technology or telecommunications solutions that

were robust enough for the storage lot environment and rigorous enough for daily use by the

property managers

• Decrease onboarding time for new facilities and new managers. Streamline the process for

adding new facilities to the Extra Space Storage brand family, and change or discontinue

processes that cause slowdowns.

• Transform business processes through better technology. As part of a customer-centric

experience, identify process improvements that could make leasing space from Extra Space

Storage easier for the customer and more efficient for the property manager.

Extra Space Storage had explored mobile before, but the daunting task of requisition and management

for over 1200 separate mobile lines and devices at their diverse nationwide locations was not appealing.

The logistical complexity of the solution,

partnered with the physical difficulties of

the challenging storage lot environment,

was outside of their realm of expertise,

and more than they wanted to handle.

THE SOLUTION

Extra Space Storage contacted Vox Mobile with their business communications challenges. After

extensive consultations and site visits, the following recommendations were implemented:

• Update Tech: Replacement of antiquated call boxes and cordless landline phones with mobile

devices. Smart mobile devices would be able to provide the same connectivity while providing

additional benefits of function for mobile documentation and lease sales processes.

• Standardize Devices: Ubiquitous distribution of ruggedized smart mobile handsets.

Waterproof and hardened against impacts, dust, and vibrations, a complete deployment of

Kyocera Brigadier handsets provided durability and functionality in all work environments.

• Account Management: Full repair/replacement support. Complete device lifecycle controls,

plan and device administration, and repair/replacement supervision meant Extra Space Storage

received efficient, streamlined management of their mobile account without the need for the

additional overhead that comes with corporate staff.

Despite their challenges of logistics, environment,

location, and legacy processes, the team at Extra Space

Storage was able to find an encompassing solution with

Vox Mobile. Vox delivered…

• Simplicity. Standardized phones, standardized

account management, and standardized procurement

processes alleviated the logistical headaches that came

with having multiple landlines with multiple landline

carriers across the country.

It wasn’t unheard of for repairs or replacements on our

call box and cordless solution to be backlogged weeks

or months due to the need for specialized technicians.

– David Decker,

Director of Operations,

Extra Space Storage

A CUSTOMIZED SOLUTION:

• Update Tech

• Standardize Devices

• Account Management

THE VOX MOBILE SOLUTION DELIVERED:

• Simplicity

• Responsiveness

• Scalability

• Responsiveness. New lines, repairs, or replacements could all be handled in a matter of hours or

days, not weeks or months.

• Scalability. By understanding Extra Space Storage’s growth plan, their desire for efficiencies of

process, and their corporate culture of customer-centric service, the Vox Mobile solution could

grow with them as they worked toward their corporate goals.

THE RESULTS

The partnership between Extra Space Storage and Vox Mobile has produced a number of valuable and

transformative results.

• Faster customer processing and response. Property managers who field walk-in calls while

working out in the lot can now prepare paperwork via their mobile device as they return to the

office to meet the customer. Customers can e-sign their lease agreements and get copies

emailed to them, expediting the leasing process.

• Real time data collection and reporting. Processed leases, customer payments, maintenance

reports and other documents are now uploaded in real time, allowing for better operational

management and quicker responses to issues.

• Faster turn-up times. Mobile devices for new facilities can be turned up in a days and

replacements can be drop shipped overnight, meaning facility and property manager

communications are never compromised.

• Better device response. The ruggedized handsets handle the environmental stresses of the

storage lot, and the basic security features of the device reduce theft and prevent loss.

• Increased scalability. Smart devices allow connectivity to proprietary facility management

systems through custom application program interfaces (APIs) for greater efficiency, and

integration of point-of-sale software will soon allow mobile payment processing.

About Extra Space Storage:

Extra Space Storage is a publically-traded real estate investment

trust headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the second largest

self-storage company in the United States. It has 11 regional

offices; a footprint that covers 35 states, the District of Columbia,

and Puerto Rico; and over 1200 storage properties.

Extra Space Storage takes a professional approach to self-storage,

featuring attractive, convenient, and secure facilities operated by

professional managers. The company strives to provide clean, customer-friendly facilities that provide a

safe location for valued personal and business possessions.

Vox Mobile has helped streamline a very

complex process.

– David Decker,

Director of Operations,

Extra Space Storage