[Quixote]

Originally Posted by kstew43

In support of the OP I do think that she was dupped and put in a lot of effort for no outcome...

.....But as Judy Judy always says....GET IT IN WRITING.....

Originally Posted by sunnyatlast

The entitled attitude of the o.p. makes me want to call and rent a unit from them right now.

We've rented units many times while moving ourselves or our college kids. I would never load a truck without first having the lease signed and in my hand and keys for the unit which I've already opened and know I can get into.

No business owes a "charity" anything. Charity is a gift and business owners have to be very budget conscious of revenue compared to expenses.

With so many volunteer groups in TV, they probably get 10 requests per week for free storage! They have bills to pay and the construction and startup of commercial real estate in a location like that costs a fortune.

Of course somebody should have called back, but when they didn't, it's the customer who needs to call elsewhere. "Beware" as though they're a rip off is poisonous.

Originally Posted by PennBF

I believe the significant point is being missed here and it defaults to the most obvious that a business has the right to decide how it will spend their revenue, use their space, etc,etc. Of course they do. But there is an old
saying, "it is not what you say, it is the way that you say it". Since the people requesting the help felt abused then either they did not want to accept the rejection or the communications were poor. I would probably vote for the second as most people are receptive when they are treated with some dignity and with respect. The key word being respect.

I don't know how to make it any clearer that the issue was not the rejection but the way it was done—initially promised and not being told for more than a week of the breaking of the commitment.

I guess gone are the days when a handshake meant something, and ignoring that we're a charity, being treated "with some dignity and with respect. The key word being respect" is pretty relevant in terms of silence for over a week in spite of several messages being left while we were left hanging. It makes me feel really old. Then again, I am really old!

Would there have been more "dignity" and "respect" had we been a paying customer who showed up and was then told, "Oh, we rented the unit to someone else"? I don't know....

I cannot help but notice that we offered high praise to a different self-storage unit in another thread—to which only one person responded, at least the last time I looked.

P.S. "Of course somebody should have called back, but when they didn't, it's the customer who needs to call elsewhere." The "when they didn't" call back sounds as though we should find this kind of business behavior acceptable and that the responsibility lies solely with the customer. Sorry, there is no way I can agree with this. But as I said, I'm pretty old and perhaps come from a different time (and also perhaps a different place) than other posters. And as pointed out in our "BRAVO" thread, of course we called elsewhere and were treated very differently. Gratefully!