Home Stagers with off site storage facilities - BE AWARE of your surroundings - original post May 2008

This blog was originally posted back in the spring of 2008 but as "member's only" and having been asked to re-post this by my staging friend Ginger Foust, I went back to find this and wanted to re-post for the public, because home stager or not, everyone should be aware of their surroundings no matter where you may go.

Not a moment goes by when I'm at my new location of the storage facility that I'm not aware - I keep my phone and my keys always handy as well as lock my car doors while loading (only leaving the trunk gate open). I have also memorized the street address of this location in case of emergency ever again.

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Today I feel very fortunate.

I believe I was almost a victim of a crime and my guardian angel and the "flight or fight" reflex kicked in.

I want to relay this incident that happened today at my off site, "secured" storage facility while I was working on loading my car for a job. Below is what happened and how you can be more aware and protect yourself if you too have off site storage.

I believe I live in a relatively safe area here in Plano, TX, however, we must always be aware of our surroundings.

I arrived at my units today to load my car for a light staging job I was doing this weekend.

My storage facility is a nationally known company with about 4 other sites within about a 3 mile stretch along the same road this location happens to be on. I rented my units based on size, price and location as well as the fact that I could get them side by side. These type of units are really convenient because I can pull my car right up to the "garage" like opening and load and unload relatively easily. They fit my needs however they are in the very back part of the facility which is surrounded by an 8 Ft. chain link fence and 2 rows of barbed wire above that. These units also face an unused portion of a former railroad track and greenbelt.

I began leasing these units last November when the weather was colder & without incident but I have noticed in the past few months as the weather has gotten warmer & on weekends that there often are groups of men congregating near the tracks to socialize or whatever and it has been bothering me to be there alone. In fact, I have called the police on 2 occasions prior to today because I had observed on two occasions activity that just didn't sit well with me. It was typically on the weekends and mid-afternoon.

I informed the site management who have been somewhat understanding but unable to help because they do not have jurisdiction outside the facility unless someone trespasses. The site is "secure" with fencing and barbed wire (or so I thought) & I did call the police and would leave & I assumed the matters were being handled. It has been several weeks since I needed to be back there on a weekend and today was the day.

Against better judgment I did go to the unit alone late this morning.

As usual our weekends are jammed packed and my husband had charge of the kids and taxi duty while I assured him it was early enough to get what I needed done before any of the activity I'd observed in the past may begin if even at all.

I was nearing the end of my loading with both units fully opened and without incident or anyone around. I was also keeping my eyes open too for any of the possible activity starting or men starting to congregate. I had left all the doors to my vehicle open as I loaded to squeeze in any 'extra' items I could fit. (Only fellow stagers could understand how much we can pack in an SUV!).

As I was continuing my loading I began to notice a couple of guys heading down the greenbelt toward the facility (they were outside the barbed wire fence).

I still had items sitting outside my car ready to load as well as all gates open. Instinctively I felt I needed to watch and be aware of where they were headed but kept working and get finished as quickly as possible. I entered back into one of my units and watched from the inside back portion of the unit to see if they would pass and what they may do, observe, say or whatever else. Only one guy passed the fence outside my unit but very close to the fence, he was looking in at my unit but I don't know if he noticed me. It gave me great pause and I headed towards the front of the unit as he passed to see where he'd go. Before I got to the back of my vehicle I could hear the sound of the chain link fence rattling and he was already over the fence. I immediately got back in my unit and got out my cell phone (on my belt) and called 911.

As the 911 operator answered the man was up to my unit and I yelled "can I help YOU?!" with the phone in my hand and he paused, looked at me and then kept walking. I most thankfully think I caught him completely off guard.

Long story long, while trying to stay calm with the 911 operator asking me "what's the address of my emergency" I realized I DIDN'T KNOW THE EXACT ADDRESS of my emergency!

I proceeded to tell what I could, "I'm at the 'ABC' (I'm protecting their name until further notice) storage facility located north of P. Road and on Ave. K, behind the CC shopping plaza facing the RR tracks. I even told him I didn't know the number! The operator asked me many more questions, including the number on my units, description of the man, kept me calm and stayed on the line until he said "the police units are on site" and we hung up.

However, the cruisers actually never showed to my units. After calling 911 back and reiterating that there were 3 or 4 other storage facilities owned by this same company on this same stretch of road and not knowing my exact location I once again gave them the nearest landmarks to this facility. They ended up being at the WRONG SITE!

By this time I didn't see the man anymore, he had gone around the front of the building and while I was still on the phone with the operator this time I quickly completed my loading, closed & locked the units and sat in my car until the police finally arrived about 25 minutes later from the first call. I was not pleased (there's more to this below) but I was relieved and thankful that nothing actually happened other than a very big wake up call.

Here's what I want to share with you for future safety precautions.

• Know your surroundings. Even others who use the same facility are complete strangers to us and we need to be aware of who is around us (inside or outside observable gates) when we are busy loading or unloading. It's easy to become distracted when busy and feeling 'secure'.
• Keep your cellphone on you and charged
• Work in pairs whenever possible. Another set of eyes and hands is always helpful as well as much safer
• Memorize or write down the physical address to the location of your off site storage facility if ever there's an emergency
• Know the exact number or letter (or both) of your units
• Never leave your purse or wallets exposed in your vehicle.
• Consider where your unit is and the safety issues it may involve based on location. I never imagined this back side, gated, unit would be a problem when I leased it last November until the weather got warmer and the 'activity' started. I called the management today and explained the situation and they are looking into moving me to a more secure location on site.
• Make sure your local PD have access to your sites security code to enter the facility. I didn't know this was even done until today and another SNAFU was that the police couldn't access this particular site. Not only did they not have this facility on record for the address but didn't have the necessary security codes to enter the gate! I had to relay my own access code to the operator as the officers entered it into the pad out front!

Please be careful out there and truly I am very thankful that today went without real incident however it was a perfect "crime of opportunity" situation that was mercifully avoided and I felt the need to share the experience to help others be safe.

Secure it forward....

UPDATE: May 8, 2008

Since Saturday I have contacted, met with and spoken to the site management, the General Manager and the Plano PD to let them know my concerns. I have been given the opportunity to move my units from the back portion of the property to a more secure location on site and they've given me enough time to do it on my schedule. Plano PD are aware of the groups of men congregating and they have also been in contact with the management on site. They now have the correct address on file as well as access codes to gain entry should they ever need to again.

I do feel more safe knowing all the right things are in place. I still won't take for granted my surroundings and will keep a watchful eye however it's comforting to know that people responded and listened and understood the seriousness of the situation.

Thank you ALL for your kind comments and concern! It is so appreciated!