The Customer Journey – An Automated Experience
It was lunchtime on a Tuesday back in 2008. The day before, we had added online move-ins for Capital Self Storage in Canberra to their website. I was walking around the site with the owner, who had graciously agreed to “guinea pig” the technology known today as RapidStor, when the manager asked us about a strange email they had just received; it was a notification of an “online move-in.” – globally the first known.
We hadn’t told them about the implementation, as we didn’t expect it to work immediately!
How wrong we were. Since then, hundreds of thousands of storers have moved in online to sites using the RapidStor website tool worldwide.
Working with Sitelink at the time (who understood the value of the tech), I found it fantastic that they fully supported a small tech company on the other side of the world, creating tech that would ultimately change the face of Self Storage forever.
Like any new tech, RapidStor took a long time to catch on, and it took COVID and the choice of no move-ins or unattended move-ins to confront some to adopt the tech. Many had not bothered but soon discovered that customers wanted online move-in tech.
RapidStor evolves
RapidStor offers storers a fully automated move-in process on its third complete rewrite. From a white-label look, reprising the look and feel of a site to space selection via a space calculator based on customer needs rather than a set of confusing sizes with sophisticated space offerings based on selectable criteria, RapidStor has become the industry front-runner for online contactless move-ins. Merchandise and Insurance were added for additional customer convenience.
StorApp takes Automation to the next level
While customers were happy to use RapidStor on Self Storage websites The customer journey needed more. StorApp was developed to partner RapidStor. A customer-facing App available on the Apple Store and Google Play Store, StorApp can be white labelled as the “Customer App” by the site. Integrating with the site’s access control, customers only have to use the app to gain access, find their space, view their accounts, and more.
Self Storage mobility and automated tools
These two automation tools enhance convenience for customers stressed out about moving. They make it easy to rent and control accounts from the convenience of a mobile device – mobility is the key, as many don’t have personal computers. Storapp’s security is enhanced by rolling code access, meaning that access is restricted to the App user or their designated authority.
Automation in Self Storage empowers unmanned storage
StorApp was the last link in the quest to deliver an end-to-end solution to unmanned Self Storage. Increasingly popular in 2025, unmanned storage will rely on automation, including RapidStor and StorApp.
