CSI Mini Storage

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Bruce P. 8 years ago

I am really pleased by my experience with CSI Mini Storage thus far. Last week, we visited the facility to check out the storage units. The office was staffed by a friendly woman named Darling, who answered all of our questions patiently and explained everything to us in an honest and straightfo ...Morerward manner without any pressure to upgrade to a bigger unit, etc. When the time came to view the spaces, a quiet older gentleman named Jose took us around in a golf cart. He patiently showed us a couple of units, and when he overheard me express some concerns to my partner about some ants I saw marching through the first unit, he immediately broke in to reassure us that he'd get that addressed right away. Indeed, as he drove us to view the second unit, he paused by one of the workers who was up on the roof of one of the storage containers and sent him to the first unit to take care of the ants issue asap. My favorite thing about CSI, though, is the free moving service. The day we needed to move our stuff, three workers showed up in a large box truck. They called ahead to let us know they were on their way and showed up promptly at 9am. The three men, Robinson, Chuy, and Jose, were super friendly (not only to us but to each other, laughing and joking as they worked, which reflects positively on CSI--the staff are all really NICE, which is so refreshing), and they worked VERY quickly and efficiently (as in they blocked three hours in the morning for us and finished everything in less than 90 minutes, from the moment I opened my apartment door to the moment we slid the storage unit door shut). They handled all of our furniture very carefully and used large furniture blankets and straps to keep our furniture secure in the truck so that nothing would get damaged. When they moved heavy items, they called each other for help and slowed down when going up/down stairs and through tight spaces. I saw the review that Renee D. wrote below, and I can understand how frustrated she must have felt. However, I think she had an unlucky experience with one worker who was dishonest and ruined the company for everyone. I spoke with the movers after they were finished and asked if they did moving work on the side, because I wanted to get their contact information so that I could hire them for my move out of the storage unit next year. They thanked me for the positive feedback but politely declined because they said that after the Renee review was posted, all of the CSI movers were asked not to take side jobs anymore. I understand why CSI would ask that of their movers, but I think it kind of sucks. I doubt these workers are able to make a ton of money doing free moves on behalf of CSI Mini Storage, so it seems harsh to forbid them from taking on side jobs during their free time, especially when they're so nice and do such a good job! Plus, I WANT to hire these three guys for future moves, and because of Renee's experience, I will need to keep hunting for good movers. Boo... Anyway, tl;dr: CSI Mini Storage in Richmond has friendly, honest, hard-working staff and their facilities are generally clean, secure, and well-priced.

N P. 8 years ago

I needed to put everything into storage for a couple of years, and chose CSI. I just moved out, and wanted to share my experience over that time. I first spoke to Harvey at the front desk a couple of years ago, and found him really on the ball. He helped to arrange my move, and a couple of g ...Moreuys showed up and move my 2 bedroom house into storage for free. I had everything in boxes and ready to go, and they were able to do it in the allotted 3 hours. I chose a 30' ? space, which was only 190/month. This allowed me to have an aisle to access everything since it was for long-term storage. It was clean and never leaked. I visited the unit dozens and dozens of times, but never found the interior temperature too high. This unit had some of the metal painted right before I rented it, and the fabric picked up this odor. It aired out after a few days or washed out right away. The yard is open until 9 at night, so could access the unit after work. A bit surreal-spooky in the winter dark, but never saw anything dangerous or shady. My only complaint is that on holidays the yard is closed. Billing was by email, automatically charged to my credit account. When my credit card was cancelled, they called me to update. When I vacated, I was hoping that the same movers could help me, but they were too busy and I had to make other arrangements. Incredibly, I was returned a prorated portion of the last month's rent. Overall, highly recommended, and I would gladly use CSI again. Very professional outfit. It is industrial part of Richmond, but never felt unsafe in two years. I felt that my stuff was totally safe from theft and the elements. Office staff very courteous. Billing was impeccable. Five stars.

Charlene C. 7 years ago

Pros: I was able to get a 40 foot container with LIGHTS and POWER for a great price, and they advertise that YOU CAN USE IT FOR A PROJECT SPACE! I don't know of another local vendor offering such a thing, only more expensive small industrial spaces such as Activespace. One of my neighbors has a ...More small robot manufacturing shop in his container. My container stayed dry inside throughout the El Niño rains of 2016. The on-site handyman, Jose, is excellent and CSI had better be nice to him or I'm hiring him away from them! What a hard worker, you can see him busy all over the facility all of the time. I had to use his services when one of my own locks jammed shut inside of one of those armor boxes, locking me out of the container. I got instant service! He had to cut the lock with an oxy-acetylene torch, and I got the standard charge of only $10 for that. Once I left off one of the required locks during a short break and the facility caught it in an inspection and put their own lock on. I called them, and Jose came around to take it off right away. You must have a lock in the lock box, and a lock on the bars of the right side. I looked pretty carefully, and didn't see any theft reports. It is a sad reality that many storage thefts are inside jobs of the facility employees. But the CSI folks all seem very nice, and not at all like the skanky folks I've met on the staff at some other storage facilities. CSI seems to have the budget and management necessary to avoid staff problems. Cons: In an attempt to cover their risk, their contract says you're not to store more than $5000 worth of items in their units without written authorization. That's not realistic. They offer some sort of storage insurance, but in my case it would cost as much per month as the storage unit itself. I do see some security problems at the facility: other vehicles often blow through the security gate without entering their own code when I am entering or exiting. Sometimes people are walking around the facility who might work there, but are not wearing any obvious identification. And once I saw two high school kids wearing backpacks who appeared to be walking through the supposedly-secure storage lot, past my unit, on their way home from school. The disk locks they sell in the front office are probably adequate, but they seem to be in packages that have been opened previously. Perhaps CSI has copied the keys for their own convenience. I replaced mine with Abus Diskus locks with the "Plus" cylinder, and was able to buy 5 keyed the same. These are more difficult to pick than the conventional lock, requiring a tool specific to the brand. Nothing is going tor resist that oxy-acetylene torch or something that can saw the door bars, so ultimately we depend on the facility security. There are a few porta-potties available for customers on the lot. That's a little skimpy, they have enough space in their buildings on the site to offer customers a real toilet. Especially when they are marketing project spaces. I did not use the move-in service. From the commentary of other customers it's clear that it is just a truck and perhaps two guys who won't enter your home. You'd better be ready with everything packed and on the curb when it arrives. And of course they have no incentive to help you move out, so don't expect their truck then. For most people, hiring cheap local movers would be a better idea.

Sergio Draper 7 years ago

Incredibly inexpensive (literally half the price of Extra Space Storage in Berkeley which also has a mandatory extra charge for insurance). They arrived on time to pick up my stuff for free. The first 2 months are half price. Great, clean unit. What else could you want? The only small con is tha ...Moret they are about a 15 minute drive from my house; I'm in their area frequently so it's no big deal at all.

Kim T. 6 years ago

Honestly- this company was great until I had to deal with the office staff. I have never been treated so rudely than I have by a woman named Joanna who works there. The general manager sat there and watched her be completely rude to me. I had just paid them $535 the day before and they treate ...Mored me like a was a nuisance and they didn't want my business in the least. She was LESS than professional or helpful. When I called the following day to get the owners name, Jaonna answered the phone and when I asked her name, she hung up on me. I will NEVER give my hard earned money to a company that thinks it's ok to treat customers this way. I'm sure there are other storage companies out there that would be happy to be kind to me and I would much rather spend my money in places where I won't get hassled unneccessarily when I'm trying to conduct my business or talked down to by the staff.