eKourier July 2016

Kennards Kourier It’s Not A Junket

July 2016

M omentum16, our strategic conference was held in April 2016. The purpose of the conference is to challenge existing direction, explore new ideas and renew our strategy for the next three years. It was held off-site in beautiful Mittagong, over three days, bringing together a committed Team of KSS people to do just that. The participants at this Momentum were a true reflection of all levels of the business from Centre Managers to Assistant Managers, THQ Team Members and for the first time we were joined by our Board of Directors. This created a rich basket of ideas, that brought a diversity of perspectives and resulted in the coming together of a valuable collection of plans and objectives. As I’ve spoken to many people over the years, regarding their views on off-site strategic planning, I’ve often heard a common response along the lines of they are simply a ‘junket’ for people from an organisation, usually hierarchical, that enable management to get together and spend days away from work drinking and having fun. They then return with some kind of document filled with ‘motherhood’ statements dressed up as the future direction of the business that nobody understands. I have a totally different belief and experience to this perception. As I reflect over Momentum16 and previous Momentum programmes, I believe all our

allowed the group to get to know each in a relaxing context, preparation for the intensive strategic sessions. We have a unique culture at Kennards that we should never take for granted but should continue to foster and indoctrinate further into the fabric of our business. I receive feedback like this often and it continues to demonstrate to me why we invest so much time and resources into growing our people and culture the way we do. I always come away from these events feeling refreshed and enthusiastic about what lies ahead. I credit this to the ideas and suggestions put forward by Team Members during the program and the conversations I have outside the programme that are all positive and focused on one thing only, making Kennards a better business and a better place to work. The secret sauce ‘Engagement’ runs through the entire organisation. We are all working for a common cause this gives me confidence our objectives have the greatest chance of success being adopted across the business. I would like to take to this opportunity to thank everyone involved in Momentum16 for making this year’s programme a huge success. In saying that, now the real work begins. I’m looking forward to progressing and implementing the ideas and strategies from the programme and bringing them to life within the business. Darren Marshall General Manager

Momentums have been positive, productive and valuable for the people attending and for the business. This got me thinking, why are we so different to so many other people who believe they are a waste of time? I believe our facilitators of Momentum16, gave away the answer to that very question.

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The secret sauce ‘Engagement’ runs through the entire business.

‘ The Team at Step Change who facilitated this year’s programme expressed that they have never experienced a group so focused and engaged. Engagement being the secret sauce; the golden ingredient for a successful and productive strategic planning event. Step Change went further to say that in their experience facilitating planning sessions with many organisations there are very often cultural and political issues internally, that restrict a unified focus to genuinely improving the business, to the point where often people are not able to sit next to each other because they don’t get along. Yes we had some time out over the three days that involved bush walking, canoeing, dinner and a beverage or two. This took our minds off work for a short period and

1 Kennards Kourier July 2016

WHO’S WHO

Team Member Profiles

In this issue It’s Not a Junket

Kelly Lang Assistant Manager - Onekawa NZ

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Team Member Profiles

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10 Questions with... 3 Lighting Up The Room 4 Say Goodbye To Yellow Pages 5 Customer Feedback 5 Momentum Outcomes 2016 6/7 It’s Your Night 8 Farewell Bev Brooking 9 Ripe For The Picking 10/11 What Makes A Storage Hoarder... 12/13 Holding Keys And Codes... 13 Oils Ain’t Oils 14 Learning From The Mystery Shopper 15 Expansions And New Sites 16 Spotlight On... 17 One Voice 18 Sleep Under The Stars 18 Nev’s Notes 19 Kennards Community 20 Next issue Deadline: September 16, 2016 Editor: Sharon Dux Upcoming events 8/8 - Royal QLD Show - Logan City/Moreton Bay (Browns Plains & North Lakes Centres Only) (QLD) - PH Hours 10/8 - Royal QLD Show (Brisbane City Centres only) (QLD) - PH Hours 13/8 - Kennards Self Storage Annual Achievement Dinner 26/8 - Gold Coast Show - Burleigh Jct only (QLD) - PH Hours 25/9 - Daylight Savings Starts (NZ) 2/10 - Daylight Savings Starts (NSW/VIC/ACT/SA) 3/10 - Labour Day (NSW/ACT/SA) - PH Hours 3/10 - Queens Birthday (QLD) - PH Hours 21/10 - Hawkes Bay Anniversary Day(Napier / Onekawa /Hastings Closed) (NZ) 24/10 - Labour Day- Mt Eden, Three Kings, Wellington PH Hours, All other NZ Centres Closed (NZ) Email: sharon@kss.com.au Distribution: October 14, 2016

Career background: Prior to Kennards I was a Child Care Consultant for Barnardos Kid Start. Marital Status: Not Married. Any children? No kids. Hobbies/interests: Eating, wine and spending time with my animals. Do you play any sport or have any special talents? I ride horses.

Favourite book/s: A Child Called It, The Lost Boy, A Man Named Dave. Favourite movie: The Fault in the Stars. Favourite restaurant/food: McDonalds Where did you grow up? I was born in Hawkes Bay and grew up with my twin sister and brother. Any pets? I have a dog Louis and a horse named Tyson. Favourite holiday destinations: Gold Coast; nice weather, beaches and shopping.

Fritz Holt Assistant Manager - Moore Park NSW

Career background: I’ve spent the last 10 years in retail. Before that an English Teacher, Bartender, Martial Arts Instructor, Club Bouncer, Web Master and a Tyre Mounter. Marital Status: Married. Any children? Max who is four years old. Currently his special talent is tricking people to give him candy! Hobbies/interests: I enjoy going to the Movies, Pubs and trying new restaurants. I also enjoy travel and have visited 15 countries in the last 20 years. Do you play any sport or have any special talents? I was Nationally ranked in Judo

10 years ago in the U.S.A. Favourite book: The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. Favourite movie: Army of Darkness. Favourite restaurant/ food: Steak and Potatoes. Where did you grow up? San Diego, California. It was much like Sydney but with better roads and more fog! Any pets? Not at the moment. Favourite holiday destinations: Ireland.

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WHO’S WHO

10 Questions... With Michael Macheledt - Development and Construction

What changes have you seen in KSS over the years, within your area of construction? Interestingly the basis of unit fit out hasn’t changed, that just goes to show that KSS got it right years ago! The change we are now seeing is the prominence of the multi storey centre with modern lifts and high rise concrete structures up to and soon over five levels. How is KSS viewed in the Property Development Industry? Like our other raving fans we have similar fans in the industry. From Vendors selling property through to Builders and Professional Consult- ants, we have an excellent reputa- tion on doing what we say. I am often approached from suppliers wanting to work for us as they have heard very good things about us. What aspects of KSS do you find make it a great place to work? What are your hobbies and favourite things to do? Ride my bike down to Woonona beach, play golf and follow the Roosters in the NRL. To sum up Kennards with one word would be? How about a three word slogan in recognition of the Federal Election - Freedom, Prosperity, Responsibility. The positive attitude of the people around me.

Architects Office in Canberra before setting up a private practice in Bathurst (where I was born). We moved to Sydney where he continued the expansion of his practice. My first job was mixing cement for our house extension at the age of 12 years and that’s when I got the bug. Like most father’s he was very influential, I guess what he really instilled in me is a positive work ethic and being dragged out of bed at 6.30am being told there’s no bludging around here! What would be the biggest project you have ever worked on be it in or outside of Kennards? The single largest project was a 350 unit residential development in Northmead, this required a Rezoning in addition to the normal planning work and even a meeting with the then Minister for Planning. The largest KSS project would be Penrith as apart from the seven storage buildings we also built the roadwork’s and infrastructure. The most rewarding is Pymble, it’s amazing. The transformation from a Government Laboratory to a gleaming KSS centre, walking around today you wouldn’t know it as anything else. Having worked in larger company’s how does this compare to Kennards the smaller family owned business? Mirvac was interesting in its all-encompassing method from land acquisition through design then construc- tion and sales however the larger the company became the more bureaucratic and departmentalised it became with Teams almost at war with each other. This is in stark contrast to the collabora- tive culture fostered here in KSS.

When did you first start working with Kennards? May 2005, just after the Millers acquisi- tion. I previously worked for various Architects until changing course to work as a Development Manager for a Parramatta based residential developer.

Have you always worked in construction?

It all started with my Dad’s Architectural Practice, one of my first jobs for him was printing plans on Saturday mornings – well before cad came along. It took me a while to get to where I wanted with several architectural drafting jobs before becoming a Team Leader at Mirvac on an exclusive 38 home subdivi- sion in Belrose NSW. This gave me my first taste for property development and not long after became a Development Manager at Dyldam who where a family business turning over approximately 1,000 units per year. From there I made my one career failure and accepted a role at a Newcastle developer, I didn’t last long and can now reflect on the negative and toxic culture present. I then started at KSS never looking back. Tell us more about your father and his career and how this influenced you? My father was a German immigrant who first worked with the Government

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FEATURES Lighting Up The Room

strength, but by the strength of his convic- tions and his undefeatable optimism. What an inspiration. He lit up the room wherever he went. Inspiring stories about an inspirational human being, we can all take away learnings from how we inspire ourselves and everyone around us. Muhammad Ali lived all of the Kennards Values to the max: F un – all the time. R espect – he always respected his opponents, even if it did not look like it. He had a plan as to how he was going to fight and knew they were the best around. E thical – he refused to go and fight in a war he did not believe in and suffered significantly for his beliefs. E mpower – he empowered people around him constantly. D elight – say no more, everyone that saw or heard him was delighted!! O penness – one always knew what Ali was thinking or feeling. M emorable – his memories will live on forever. Anthony Rous Chief Financial Officer

R ecently one of the greatest human beings of all time passed away – Muhammad Ali. Ali was arguably the greatest boxer of all time as well as an entertainer. I believe we can all take away something from Ali’s positive energy and can do attitude.

with a 15th round knock out. Sylvester Stallone watched Wepner’s fight against Ali and shortly afterwards wrote the script for Rocky. Ali, just like the Greek Gods had his vulnerabilities, they were massive. But wow, did this man believe in himself.

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MUHAMMAD ALI LIVED ALL OF THE KENNARDS VALUES TO THE MAX.

‘ You can call it hubris, arrogance, or whatever you like and all of that would be true if it were not for his unbelievable record as a Boxer and a Human Rights Advocate. Often I have self-doubts, wonder if I’m really making a difference, being the best partner, or parent, or friend I can be. Then I think of Ali, who went into every fight, both in and out the ring, not just with his lightning speed and pure

Below are two extracts about Ali and his energy, enjoy. After putting Ali on the canvas in the 9th round of the 1975 title bout, Chuck Wepner went to his corner and said to his Manager, “Al, start the car, we’re going to the bank, we are millionaires.” To which Wepner’s Manager replied, “You better turn around, he’s getting up and he looks pissed off.” Ali would go on to win

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FEATURES

“Gave me exactly what was advertised. Clean, accessible and affordable storage facilities. I paid only for the period used and the unused portion was refunded. Your staff, Philippa and Eric at Chatswood were most helpful and very professional.” “Joel and Max at Mona Vale gave us excellent service. And accommo- dated our needs in whatever way they could.” “Great service. Lots of trolleys to help move things. Easy to access lifts. Easy access to the storage unit. Every person at several Kennards places I have been to have always been friendly and helpful. The whole process was quick, easy and simple.” “Very good. Brilliant customer service at Panorama with a great understanding of what can be stressful for some people on their circum- stances for moving/storage. I used your complimentary free trailer hire for my first day of moving in which helped out immensely..Thank you.” “Kennards Rozelle have been brilliant. Especially one staff member Jai. He has always been willing to help and greet me with a smile even if I was just racing in to grab something and go again. I am also extremely happy at the refund I got for not using the full month of payment. It is a very rare thing that a company do that. Mostly they just say you’ve paid too bad... But so pleasantly surprised at how easy and lovely it was to get a refund. I will recommend Kennards to friends in need of storage in the future.” “Very good service at Thornleigh, clean unit, use of trolleys makes it easy and fast. Good to know there is 24/7 access if needed. Such a hassle free experience. We are very pleased we chose Kennards.” “Excellent communication. All staff were fabulous to deal with. I was totally happy with everything at Vermont.” Customer Feedback

2016 Marks The Year We Say Goodbye To Yellow Pages Directories

A fter many decades and tens of millions of dollars with Yellow Pages we have finally pulled the trigger on the demise of advertising in this platform. It may surprise many that getting a good Yellow Pages advertisement was crucial to the success of our business. We would agonise over content, maps, layout and book position. Advertising layout proofs with mark-ups would be fired back and forth, by fax then by email.

changer for consumers and business.

Searching for solutions online is a way of life now, so the extinction of the Yellow Pages now seems inevitable. Yellow Pages enjoyed a monopoly and they held no restraint in their pricing over the years. As advertisers we felt captured as our spend escalated. Our personal dealings and negotiations reached very high levels of the Yellow Pages organisation including the CEO and Board of Directors, but there was little willingness to respond and make the medium better value. KSS is data rich and we were able to clearly show the deteriorating value of their product. The destructive cycle for Yellow Pages as a business started with the withdrawal of major advertisers (making the medium less meaningful to consumers); all the while Yellow Pages were desperately clinging to their high prices in an effort to maintain revenue. Ultimately this lead to advertisers withdrawing each year. This spiral continued and worsened. In 2016, they are surprisingly still producing and distributing a Yellow Pages book but imagine it wont be long before the CEO or Board pull the trigger on the poor thing. Sam Kennard Managing Director

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Searching for solutions online is a way of life now...

Google was born in 1998 and the game changing ‘Smart Phone’ was created in 2007 with Apples introduc- tion of its first iPhone. The smart phone is a generational defining concept. People now have the power of a high performance computer in their pocket. In addition, the cost of mobile data usage has become more and more affordable. It is truly a game ‘

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FEATURES Momentum Outcomes 2016

M omentum16, our Strategic Conference was a successful, three day event held in May at beautiful Mittagong south of Sydney. Team Members from all levels of the business attended the conference. They were selected after submitting an expression of interest, requesting to participate in the conference. Many positive applications were received from Team Members; regrettably there were only limited spaces and not everyone who applied was able to attend. Day One involved a fun Team activity, a gentle bush walk on the “Three Views

Trail” through Morton National Park ending in a beautiful vista overlooking Tallowa Dam in Kangaroo Valley. Following this, many elected to walk to our next activity which was canoeing on Lake Yarrunga. Luckily the walk was downhill as it was a little further than everyone expected! The group enjoyed lunch by the lake (with some rather large friendly goannas) and then it was time to hit the canoes. The group started with wonderful enthusiasm, pairing off to collect their canoes. Unfortunately after the initial enthusiasm, things began to unravel. Andrew Kirkham our New Zealand Operations Manager tipped his canoe as

soon as he hit the water. From the look on his face you’d have thought he was about to die. Everyone was on the water, paddling without instruction and not realising for many this was a whole new experience. Lynda and Sharon paddled in circles and Wayne and Glen went straight to the other side of the Lake to hide. There were head winds that sapped the energy early from a lot of our canoeists, so many elected to call it a session and head back to terra-firma. There was a small band of merry people who battled the elements and canoed up the river and back for the full amount of time. Most of the Team enjoyed a swim in the lake and then it was back to Springvale House Mittagong for a self-cook BBQ and refreshments. The day’s activities allowed everyone to relax, take their mind off the day- to- day routine of work while getting to know each other in preparation for the next two days of strategic planning. Day Two, our first strategic session commenced, facilitated by Glen Bartlett and Jeff Cooper from Step Change, a marketing and strategic facilitation company. Alex Simpkin also from Step Change was in charge of capturing all the creative ideas shared over the course of the next two days. First up we challenged our Dream of becoming a Famous House Hold Name like “Vegemite” or “Coca Cola”. After

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FEATURES

some courageous discussion the dream remained as the guiding aspira- tion for everything we do. Step Change then asked a question of us, what gets you out of bed in the morning to come to work? What motivates you to come to work? What is your purpose? We were then set on a path to come up with our mojo for coming to work each day. This was heavily debated ranging from helping people through life’s events, navigating change to finally land on a purpose which was;

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Create the Space for Change

Underneath these strategic pillars we developed measurable objectives and actions that will see each of the pillars become a reality. On the last day Step Change delivered an educational session on Invisible Marketing, which tapped into the psychology of how consumers buy on an emotional level rather than a rational level. A recap and presentation of the strategic outcomes were then presented after which we then prepared to head home. Overall it was a very positive three days that achieved some solid outcomes for the business which will guide us over the coming years. An outline of the five strategic pillars, objectives and actions will be circulated across the business soon. Our next step is to assign Champions to each of the pillars. This time round we will be looking for additional support for the champions by creating Teams around each of the strategies. This will spread the respon- sibility and allow more involvement by Team Members to give each strategy the best chance of success. I’m looking forward to the future possibili- ties of what will be achieved. Darren Marshall General Manager

With coloured pens and Post-it notes we started to fill the wall with ideas and suggestions of possibilities for the future. We then split up into groups to workshop the strategies and capture and discuss new ideas that we then placed onto a board. Once we narrowed down what was important, each of the groups had a captain and were required to expand on the idea and present back to the group. No idea was left unchallenged as our facilitators went through each Post-it note idea asking the group to keep it, ditch it, or if interesting explore further. This was a fun and interactive session that some felt Sam Kennard had way too much say in when voting but we can leave that for another day… Our end results looked like this, a five pillared strategic plan to; 1. Deliver a multi-channel five star “customer experience” 2. Distinguish and communicate “Kennards” value advantage 3. Attract, keep and develop the best people 4. Maintain our uniqueness through Culture

‘ This wrapped up nicely what we do and why we do it; we are creating space for people navigating their changing lives as they journey through life’s obstacles such as moving house, travel, family downsizing and upsizing. It also encompasses people in businesses that are starting out, small to medium enterprises growing out of storage into a bigger more successful business or maybe the opposite. Our purpose covers every aspect of a potential need for storage by a customer. Following this we then reviewed our existing strategic direction to determine what was still relevant and what was not. We then framed the strategies into context for the current business environment.

5. Create a connected digital workplace

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FEATURES It’s Your Night!

Customer Feedback

“Everything from my first contact with Kennards Abbotsford through to moving out was seamless. The customer service was amazing!” “This is the second time I have used your facility at Marrickville and both times I have been impressed. Enough can’t be said of both Adrian and Adam (and the other guy I see occasionally, sorry forgot the name). The customer service is fantastic, always a smiling face, friendly and very helpful, they are a credit to the company. Thanks again for all your help.” “The service we received from your staff at Rozelle was always excellent and friendly. Nothing was a problem.” “Elle and staff always friendly, smiling and helpful. In one instance given lift to public transport when dropped bike into storage. Very much appreciated and beyond expectations at Warriewood.” “Everyone I dealt with at Kennards Waterloo was extremely friendly and helpful. The service was convenient and reasonably good value.” “Customer service at Waterloo was beyond excellent. Phil, Kemal, Ray and Alex (along with some others who were newer and I didn’t get to learn their names) all went above and beyond, and were also just friendly and lovely.” “The way Andrew showed me the storage at Wentworthville and explained the measurement really helped me a lot to have a good idea about what kind of storage would be perfect for my stuff. Thanks for the great customer service especially Andrew and Scott.” “Excellent front desk communication at Wollongong, set up and invoicing. Money back on boxes is a great idea.” “Prompt courteous attention, easy and quick to open account, good access arrangements, storage is safe, secure, protected and clean at Panorama.”

Best you clear your calendar for this one! Saturday the 13th August hosts Kennards 43rd Annual Achievement Dinner – literally short for “the night of nights”. Those who have been will know exactly what I mean when I say the vibe is amazing. It’s just like the Grammies but with a little less red carpet. The clapping, whistling and camaraderie of watching peers achieve Gold, Silver and Bronze SCOTYS, Service Awards and Adding Value Awards is truly something amazing.

Meet your Team, chat, catch up and get involved, (guess what you have a lot in common) it’s a chance to share stories. We’ve all got a storage experience to tell.… I’ll let you finish that one on the night. This year we’re aiming for the biggest turn out we’ve ever seen but we can’t do that without you. Good food and good company and a chance to hang up the uniform and enjoy an evening that says ‘thank you for being a part of Kennards Self Storage’.

This is your night to enjoy!

Fiona Harding Business Development Manager

It’s what we are here for to support one another in something great!

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FEATURES

Farewell Bev Brooking

Customer Feedback

time to leave. In classic fashion, Bev wanted to quietly move on without fuss and ended her last day training a new Team Member in Hawkes Bay.

“Very good at Huntingdale. Dane has helped to run through the facility initially. Then, David has helped me to set up the rental and running through the procedure of accessing the storage area. Both are friendly and helpful.” “The staff were so friendly and helpful at a time when I was a little stressed. Emily, Debbie and Matt were great. Kennards trailer was available and really big and in great condition. Made moving my stuff easy. Having never experi- enced using storage before I found everything so easy and straightforward.” “You guys do everything well from start to finish. You were always there to help no matter what. Great team at Campbelltown.” “Very good. Web site was the easiest to use, the clearest and the most informa- tive. You were the most competitive. The staff were the best to deal with at Kunda Park.” “Very good. I dealt with Lisa and found her attitude and customer service extremely good. She gave the impres- sion that nothing was a problem and was extremely willing to listen to what your requirements were and make constructive suggestions.” “Staff extremely efficient and helpful. Complex very clean I am very pleased I went with Kennards.” “I found your staff at Belmont friendly, courteous and helpful. And as important you had staff available over the weekends for me to talk to and it is what made me choose you over another storage company that was closer to home. I cannot fault your service. For my needs everything was what I needed and better than I expected.” “Very good. Staff members at Klemzig were very helpful and friendly, having never used storage before I found the whole experience stress free.”

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When I look back over all those years, B2 was one of those ultimate Team Support Managers that any Team would want.

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I was saddened at the start of June to finally see the semi-retirement of Beverley Brooking from the New Zealand Team after 10 years in the business. Bev was commonly known as B2 since we had two Beverley’s in the Team at the time we acquired the New Zealand business back in December 2007. Bev was also the first Team Member in New Zealand to achieve 10 years’ service and be the last Team Member remaining in the business since KSS expanded to New Zealand – so B2 was one of many firsts! When I look back over all those years, B2 was one of those ultimate Team Support Managers that any Team would want. Nothing was ever an issue; she was always positive and would turn up to work in any location at a moment’s notice. It was almost like one phone call and set and forget with Bev. She mentioned to me many times how she loved the variety of people and visiting all the New Zealand locations, Bev was like a second mother to the Team at times. At the start of this year, Bev approached me to say it was time to plan her succession. Bev and I always had an understanding that she would give me as much notice as she could when it came

Bev has a busy couple of months in front as she takes a well-earned holiday with husband Doug to see family in Perth, followed by a month in Bali and returning to a loaded camper van in Perth and trip up to Darwin, you could never say she does things by halves! This travel prevents her attending the Achievement Dinner this year, however we did have our own “Hands in Cement” moment to celebrate Bev’s 10 Years’ Service Award in the business. Bev was a loyal and committed Team Member, we wish her all the best in retirement. But in classic B2 form, she has kept her name badge and uniform and is on standby in Tauranga if there is ever any short term cover needed, you could almost say B2 is ‘Locked Up’ in the business for life, ha-ha! Andrew Kirkham Operations Manager NZ

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FEATURES Ripe For The Picking

Here’s what we have been doing:

gain high exposure to women who love wine. Come on girls!!! Training Our Teams Initial market and competitor analysis revealed that our competitors had highly trained and passionate wine enthusiasts working at their centres. We undertook the project of training our Team Members over a three year period. The training aimed to make non wine lovers into wine cellaring specialists. In some cases we were able to create new wine lovers!!! With a new found knowledge of wine our Teams increased their wine enquiry conversions from 65% to 85%. Managed Cellars vs. Private Cellars vs. Wine Fridges In recent years the off site wine cellaring industry has gone from strength to strength, and customers are now opting

We only advertise in two magazines that attract high end wine enthusiasts; Gourmet Wine Traveller and James Halliday Wine Companion.

Google target marketing – SEO.

Writing Blog articles to help our

organic ranking on Google.

Award sponsorship to align

ourselves further with James Halliday, who is incredibly influential in the wine cellaring arena. A small snippet in the TV show, People of the Vines, featuring Tyson Stelzer. An email offer to all of Halliday’s members saw us gain almost 100 new wine customers.

O ur latest wine results have shown the wine cellaring market continues its strong growth again in 2016. The total rented cellars grew by a whopping 255, the occupancy moving from 80% to 87% and into the high performing range, all this is in addition to the income growth of over 20% on previous year. It’s fair to say this has been the biggest year we have seen and tops off a five year positive growth period. The growth has been driven by our commitment to increasing brand awareness of our product and training our teams to be “Wine Cellaring Special- ists” and the best in the biz! Our Brand Awareness And Marketing Program A survey completed by our customers exposed where they buy their wine, what magazines they read, what social media they follow and much more. This survey helped us to refine where we were spending our marketing budget each year and what else we can do to attract customers. The main aim of the programme is to attract customers, by increasing brand awareness of our wine cellaring product in the right locations.

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The survey highlighted that a mere 10% of our customers are female. So this year we are working closely with the Women in Wine awards, to help ‘ They enjoy spending time rummaging through their cellars on a lazy Sunday afternoon and having access to their collection when it suits them. for private cellars over having small wine fridges at home. Wine fridges were the hot new item to own around a decade ago. However they are not recommended

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for long term wine cellaring because; the cost to run the refrigeration unit is high, most do not offer a humidity controlled environment, the glass doors allow light to effect the wine and the fridge vibrations affect the sediment in the bottle. When talking to our customers I often find they have a small wine fridge at home to keep their ‘drink now’ wines and the long term cellared wines are stored safely with us until they are ready to enjoy. Now onto managed wine storage and the most important element to know is; it is totally unlike private wine cellaring, as are the customer types for both. Think of managed wine storage as warehousing, it comes at a high cost. Managed wine cellaring customers are happy to pay a high price to have their wines managed for them. There is a cost to put the wine in, pull the wine out, pick the wine up or deliver the wine. In addition, there is no chance you can drop into the cellar at the last minute to grab a quick bottle for dinner. Kennards customers like being the only person to access their unit and manage their own wine treasures. They enjoy spending time rummaging through their cellars on a lazy Sunday afternoon and having access to their collection when it suits them. In most Kennards cellars, this Now that occupancy has achieved a stable high performing status, efforts can focus on improving returns by improving rates. This can be done with regular rate reviews to find and action the opportunities that will improve return and maintain occupancy. More Space… We are currently pricing new wine cellars for Hawthorn, Fyshwick and Miranda. means they have access 24/7. What’s Next For Wine Cellaring?

Lynda Walsh Wine Cellaring Business Development Manager

11 Kennards Kourier July 2016

FEATURES What Makes A Storage Hoarder Want To Store At Kennards?

A hoarding disorder is a persis- tent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions because of a perceived need to save them. A person with a hoarding disorder experiences distress at the thought of getting rid of the items. With this an excessive accumulation of items, regardless of actual value occurs. Hoarding disorders affects emotions, thoughts and the behaviour of people. Hoarding ranges from mild to severe forms. In some cases, it may have little or a lot of impact on our personal life which can seriously affect a person’s functioning on a daily basis. People with a hoarding disorder often don’t see it as a problem. In the homes of people who have hoarding disorder, the counter tops, sinks, stoves, desks, stairways and virtually all other surfaces are usually stacked with stuff. And when there’s no more room inside, the clutter may spread to the garage, vehicles and yard, and in the Kennards case, a storage unit or two or three or four etc. Clutter and difficulty discarding things are usually the first signs and symptoms of hoarding disorder, which often

surfaces during the teenage years. As the person grows older, he or she typically starts acquiring things for which there is no need or space. By middle age, symptoms are often severe and results in people needing space – storage space. As a Kennards Manager of storage space, it is important to recognize signs and symptoms of a hoarder. Eventually these hoarders may become delinquent because of the amount of excessive storage space required resulting in substantial storage rents. In the majority of cases we’ve all experi- enced a storage hoarder:

useless items, such as trash or napkins from a restaurant. • Moving items from one storage pile to another, without discarding anything. • Difficulty organizing items, sometimes losing important items in the clutter.

• Shame or embarrassment.

• Limited or no social interactions.

People with hoarding disorder typically save items because: • They believe these items will be needed or have value in the future. • The items have important emotional significance — serving as a reminder of happier times or representing beloved people or pets. • They feel safer when surrounded by the things they save. A hoarding disorder is different from collecting. People who have collections, such as stamps or model cars, deliber- ately search out specific items, categorize them and carefully display their collec- tions. Although collections can be large, they aren’t usually cluttered and they

• Persistent inability to part with any possession, regardless of its value.

• Excessive attachment to possessions, including discomfort letting others touch, borrow, view items or distress at the idea of letting an item go.

• Keeping stacks of newspapers, magazines or junk mail.

• Letting food or trash build up to unusually excessive, unsanitary levels especially in our storage units.

• Acquiring unneeded or seemingly

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FEATURES

Holding Keys And Codes For Locks, A Risky Business H olding keys or knowing the code to a customer’s lock on their storage space has been happening for many years. Most at fault. If the customer decides to take KSS to court to recover their losses and the customer is successful this will set a precedent across the industry that Self Storage is a bailment relationship.

don’t cause the distress and impairments that are part of hoarding disorder.

Risk factors include:

• Age. Hoarding usually starts around ages 11 to 15, and it tends to get worse with age. Younger children may start saving items, such as broken toys, pencil nubs, outdated school papers and broken appliances. Hoarding is more common in older adults than in younger adults. • Personality. Many people who have a hoarding disorder may also have a temperament that includes indecisiveness. • Family history. There is a strong association between having a family member who has a hoarding disorder and having the disorder yourself. • Stressful life events. Some people develop hoarding disorder after experi- encing a stressful life event that they had difficulty coping with, such as the death of a loved one, divorce, eviction or losing possessions in a fire. • Social isolation. People with a hoarding disorder are typically socially withdrawn and isolated. In many cases, the hoarding leads to social isolation. But, on the other hand, some people may turn to the comfort of hoarding because they’re lonely. Hoarders also get into a lot of arguments with family members regarding the clutter and often feel depressed or anxious due to the clutter. Other examples of hoarding are animal, and bibliomania (book) hoarding. Even though it is not clear what causes a hoarding disorder, genetics, brain chemistry and stressful life events are being studied as possible causes. The early detection of a storage hoarder at our facilities is important. Even though our ‘Kennards’ storage hoarders may be good for business in the short term, but it may also be bad for business in the long term when delinquency procedures occur and more life stresses for the storage hoarder happen. Wayne Birch Operations Manager VIC

people feel that holding the odd key or code to a customer unit is not a big risk and good for customer service. What can possible go wrong when we are simply helping a customer with their storage space? You may be surprised, that access by holding keys or combination to just one unit can change the laws of storage as we know them and expose KSS to financial risk. I would like to share a story with you that shows how one act of kindness at a centre can have a big impact on the industry; There was an ‘alleged’ break in at one of our storage centres last month. The customer notified the Team that her combination lock was found open on her door and the door open. She did not allow us to take the proper steps required to investigate the theft and moved out of the unit soon after. The customer insured their goods for $20,000 and followed with a claim for almost $19,000 loss. The insurer, declined this insurance claim because there was no forceful entry into the storage unit, which forms part of the insurance Terms and Conditions. The insurer notified us that the centre held the code to the customer’s combina- tion lock and this has created an issue with regard to duty of care, because the Storage Agreement conditions stipulate that the Storer is solely responsible for securing the unit and goods therein. Having access to this storage unit puts the company in a bailment position. In this case, because the customer has alleged a loss through theft, the company now carries the risk for this loss. Should the customer now make a claim against us, we are required to prove that KSS is not

The Storage Hire Agreement is a licenced use of space whereby the storer places their own items into that space, secures the space, and maintains the only key(s) or means of access to that space, thus denoting a licenced use of space which is vastly different and is definitely not a bailment situation. It only protects us from bailment conditions providing we follow the Terms of the Agreement. One important element of this is not having access to the space. By holding keys and codes we are breaking one of the most important Clauses of the Agreement. No Access to the Space means the customer is required to prove that the Self-Storage Operator is at fault. Access to the Space, the Self-Storage Operator bears the burden of proof that they are at fault. Proving you are not at fault is extremely difficult and often impossible, for this reason we should never have access to a customer’s space the risk is just too great. For Kennards, we choose to hold keys or codes and accept the additional risk for our National Account customers. National Accounts live under a separate National Agreement that acknowledges bailment and therefore protects the Self Storage Agreement from scrutiny before the courts. So we ask you to consider how many keys and codes you have at your centre; what’s your risk and what will you do to remove it? Lynda Walsh Operations Manager NSW/SA

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FEATURES

Oils Ain’t Oils

Customer Feedback

“I needed storage for a large household lot. I looked around the Tauranga/TePuke area...looking at what was on offer and at what cost.. Facilities all looked good.. one newer one was my first pick as it was also the cheapest...by about a $100 a month. However they were full and even after a month I was not assured on a unit. I returned to Kennards as I particu- larly liked the friendly welcome I had been given and I had received follow up phone calls as they knew I had not been yet committed. I was offered a larger unit at a more attractive per square metre rate so I made the commitment. I bought packing material and arranged a moving contractor Peter that they endorsed. Yesterday the ‘move-in’ was completed without a hitch ! We were treated courteously and the accounts parts was quickly and correctly expedited. In a nut shell ..I have been extremely pleased with the whole experi- ence. My thanks to all those staff.” “I am very impressed by the friendly service and helpful advice as well as the simplicity of the rental of storage with Kennards. Would readily recommend Kennards at Macquarie Park.” “We needed storage for twelve months so we contacted Kennards and two other storage facilities with over three months notice. Chose one and kept ringing for availability until one month before needing the unit and I am still waiting. Contacted Kennards and within 4 days Kennards had a unit available for my requirements. Just like to say the service of the Hastings branch was excellent and reassuring.” “The lovely man who served us on move in day was amazing. Showed us around Guildford, took us to our unit before we paid to make sure it was the right size, did all the paperwork quickly and easily, showed us how to enter and exit and was just generally amazing. left a great impression.” “At Ivanhoe facility you have hit the Bulls eye. Now that’s how storage should be like. Very good!!! It felt like home.”

C altex educated generations of potential customers about different quality motor oils through the advertising catch cry “Oils ain’t Oils”. When it’s time to buy moving and storage boxes people may think a box is a box and many won’t realise that quality varies considerably and that “Boxes ain’t Boxes”. There are plenty of low quality boxes out in the market place, yes they are cheap but the primary risk to customers buying those cheaply made boxes is that many are built from flimsy board to a price not a standard. They can collapse when stacked and bottoms can give way with weight. Even moving boxes offered by large retailers like Bunnings and Office Works can’t match ours for quality or price; with our “20% off for 10 or more” offer, our prices are still lower than these retail giants, even more so if you take into account our ‘Buy-Back’ Advantage. With half of all KSS properties selling less merchandise this year than they did the year before, some customer

education may be necessary to sell more merchandise more effectively. We are in a unique position where we generally get to speak to a customer before they buy boxes for moving and storage. Engaging with them during the initial storage enquiry with the Plan to Close Card question “Will you be packing?” Gives us an opportunity at this point in the conversation to sell more merchandise by educating customers about the price, value, range and quality of our Australian Made truly fit for purpose boxes. While Teams try to engage more customers in conversations about the value and usefulness of our boxes and other merchandise in the coming weeks and months, we’ll also be focusing on improving our merchandise Google rankings and updating some messages and images on the merchandise pages of our website. Glen Bayley Operations Manager QLD

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TRAINING

Learning From The Mystery Shopper Programme

Customer Feedback “Under the new management the whole complex at Bankstown is the cleanest (everyday) we have seen it in the 5 years we have been here. We occupy 6 outside sheds and the help that we receive is second to none. I would like to congratu- late Ali, Bianca and Wendy...Excellent Employees...Strong Team!!” “I was happy with the exceptional service whilst using the facility in Campbell- town, the staff were amazing and always helpful.” “Very personalised service from Trudie and team at Flemington. Great communi- cation and support for incoming and outgoing deliveries. An extremely friendly team who despite how busy their day was nothing was ever too much trouble for them. Exemplary customer service.” “Continued excellent customer service from Medhat/Guildford throughout my storage period. Kept my storage safe n sound. 24hr access was perfect and convenient.” “I had a very stressful few days and had to move quickly. I was really impressed with the efficient way Fritz at Moore Park helped with my inquiry on Thursday 10/6/16. I also spoke to a lovely and helpful woman on the phone on Friday 11/6/16 and met her on Saturday in person 11/6/16. I can’t remember her name unfortunately.” “Everything was extremely well done and the staff were very efficient at Mt Eden. Couldn’t expect anything more.” “We used the Palmerston North Kennards for approx 5 years while abroad. The service was 100% excellent the whole time. Communication was great, face to face customer service was great, price was great. Thank you very much! Your staff are wonderful, your website is easy to search for the information that I needed.” “Very spacious, clean and easy to find storage shed. Trolleys provided a huge plus. Very nice, helpful staff at Pymble.”

O ur recent round of Walk-in Mystery Shoppers provided plenty of learning particu- larly around the importance of using the Plan To Close Card as part of the process, sometimes our memory may not be as good as it used to be. The Plan to Close Card provides a picture for the customer that we want to establish details and be professional in the way we find the right solution for them. Remember “every customer has a story to tell, you determine what that story is”. For Team Members that struggle to make conversation it’s invaluable in helping keep the conver- sation going without awkward silences, creating a comfortable environment for both the customer and the Team Member. Possibly the biggest learning was the section around Features and Benefits. A Feature describes the product or service, a Benefit how that feature works for the customer (What’s in it for me?) is the reason the customer buys.

“People have little interest in purchasing a bed, what they want is a good night’s sleep!” The site visits show that Team Members are great at providing the features of our storage centres, however there is a trend of Team Members failing to provide a matching benefit. The Plan To Close Card provides features and corresponding benefits, the benefit also shows we have listened to the customer and why that feature matches their needs. The learning to take away is to use the Plan To Close Card, it will help obtain the whole story. Match the appropriate feature to their story, explain how that benefits them, this will build trust by showing them you have listened. Give yourself the best opportunity to provide them the right solution. Bill McClean Training and Development Manager

15 Kennards Kourier July 2016