eKourier July 2014

FEATURES

The Benefits of Insurance

Customer Feedback

“Thank you for the service I’ve received from Kennards in Palmerston North over the last five or so years. From the time I started at Kennards in 2010 (from memory), Sue Solly was very accommo- dating during that very difficult time in my life. I’ve since changed job and have moved from Massey to Victoria Univer- sity in Wellington. I also understand that Sue has moved to the Kennards store in Wellington. I’ve yet to catch up with her but hope to some day. Although I’ve found a storage unit closer to my flat in Tawa, I know there is a Kennards in Porirua, which isn’t far. Thank you again.” “Recently I signed up with Kennards Self Storage, I was overwhelmed by the customer service that I received. From the initial visit seeing the storage units to the sign up in the following days, which I managed to be late for. The staff at the centre were professional and polite, special mention to Amelia, who stayed back late to help me sort out the contract well past her knock off time. I felt that Amelia went beyond what her work should have been to look after me. I would definitely recommend Kennards Self Storage in the future. Keep up the good work!” “Steve/Ben thanks so much for your terrific customer service. Money went back to my account so soon. One good thing about the move was having confidence my belongings were in a good place. Cheers.” expectations. Really helpful and friendly, and really good policy as well with what you don’t use, you get your money back. Keep the awesome work going guys.” “This is the 3rd or 4th time I’ve used your storage facility and each time the service has been exemplary, hence the reason I keep going back and recommend your establishment whenever I get the opportunity.” “I used the Blaxland Rd centre at Campbelltown recently and the customer service was beyond

A recent fire in April caused by arson at a Wellington storage facility again highlights the benefits of Insurance with storage customers. While fires are uncommon, they are a realistic risk to our business and while we can have all the best fire preventative systems in place, an incident like this arson attack could happen at any centre any time if someone is determined. The learning from this incident is to ensure good communication and education at the initial time of storing on the features and benefits of insurance. This can avoid the mass misunder- standing and complaints that arose as the media covered stories of people losing their valuables being left with nothing. When a new customer signs up, often Insurance cover is not emphasised enough and objections are not tackled. If insurance cover is not taken, then the customer will miss the benefits of coverage for fire, lightening, explosion, earthquake, storm and water damage/ leakage as well as malicious damage and theft through forced entry. Of course when one of these unfortunate events occurs, it focuses the mind immediately but by then it is too late. So as you read this, take the opportunity to think, do you really know the features and benefits of our insurance cover – K Doc 10587 covers this. With this knowledge comes the confidence.

I have asked a number of sites who achieve 40%+ new customer insurance take up, why are you so successful? A common answer was, when they come to check the Storage Agreement and sign off, they get to the Insurance section and just ask – “What value would you like to insure your contents for?” If needed educate them first then deal with objections. Knowledge of what is covered breeds confidence in approaching Insurance Cover. The coverage protects both the customer and the company from events out of our control. This is also a timely reminder to ensure that if a customer does not wish to take advantage of insurance to ensure you get there signature in the decline section of the Agreement. This is gold class protection in the unfortunate event that something happens like this fire, as many people conveniently think we will cover them. The signature in the decline sections confirms we have performed our duty of care to ensure the customer is educated and informed. In this recent fire, the storage operator did not do this and most of their customer complaints are the customer thinking

the storage operators building insurance would cover them.

We are currently trialling our new insurance coverage and rates, it will be exciting to see how this goes. Andrew Kirkham NZ Operations Manager

7 Kennards Kourier July 2014