assistant store manager

store manager

assistant manager

retail sales associate

retail assistant manager

Extra Space Storage

When I started working here everything seemed great. A lot to learn, but the pay was decent (hourly and incentive). However the incentive plan was recently reworked (which might hurt or help you) and the pay is sometimes higher in certain regions like Irvine. A typical day was pretty consistent. Lock checks, clean, rentals, payments etc. It was nice being able to go out and not be locked in an office all day. Note that working in Irvine is a lot easier than a less affluent area, and coworkers who had to work at some of these sites often complained of the issues. (Transients, addicts, criminals and other problematic populace will be a frequent issue in rougher areas). 

I enjoyed working alone or with another manager, and I consider that to be one of the biggest perks (aside from an onsite apartment). Overall the job is something I liked, it expanded my skill set and paid the bills. I also utilized the 401K, which now can be used after 90 days of employment. ESS does match. 

There are virtual learning and training tools (including team leads) that will assist you with coaching, site issues (that cant be resolved by you) and customer complaints.

Not having two days off was a perk, for me. Splitting up the week was nice. Major holidays are given off as well. But you will not have Sat/Sun or Sun/Mon off typically. HOWEVER- you will be called on your days off. Maybe at 2 am, maybe 5 times in a row. Whether its the after hours call center or a vendor for the alarm system. This isnt a huge issue if you live on site, but if you don't, you might have to go in and make sure everything is okay. 

The downsides:
Most of this is specific to the Irvine region. Upper management changed a few years into my employment. The senior DM was replaced and there was a new CEO coming in as well. Within a year the newly appointed DM in our district caused major upset. Around a total of 20+ people either were forced or guided into resigning over nonsense, some flat out quit and it was difficult to retain newer employees because of the drama. The culture, environment, morale was completely different in just a few months. Sites were short staffed (and still are) because retaining people is so difficult. There is a lot of pressure to meet sales goals (rentals, insurance, merch, A/R), keep the site impeccable for audits, etc. 

There is one property caretaker who does general maintenance for the entire district and that person is generally scheduled at one of the largest stores, so be prepared to do some of your own small time maintenance. This is only a downside because it adds to the ever growing workload, especially if you're at an older site that needs a lot of TLC. 

Obvious favoritism. Many long time employees were victims to this. A few were passed up on promotions, given some generic excuse or pushed to the side while the new DM could hand pick everyone herself. Including pulling a team lead from her old district from the IE. This caused many people to quit. But, this can be expected with management change. Trimming the fat, so to speak. 

ESS as a company drums up a lot about "integrity" and customer centricty, but we would get reprimanded for mentioning certain things to customers, and directly discouraged (rate increases for example). Many tactics and practices are anything but ethical. I think the company lacks integrity overall. Not just with customers, but now employees as well. Secret shoppers (phone, walk-in and full rental) are increasing as of late. If you scored below a 90% you would get coaching from supervisors or the DM. Even the DTLs had complaints about the format and overall process of the secret shop.  They say that the shops have no influence and are a "coaching tool", but this is untrue. The shop could influence the DM's opinion of you, even if you had an off day or something like that. 

The company is very focused on consistency and following the sales process. Since I started I feel the company has drifted away from soft sales, and it is very sales oriented.

I think its a good job to gain experience from, and if you make a really good impression on the DM you might get somewhere. But there is little room for mistakes and be prepared to dive head first into sales. There is training at the beginning and you are expected to master the process and parrot silly acronyms when the district learning manager, DM, or divisional VP comes to your store for a visit.

Run don't walk... this will be a long post.
7 years of working with the company.

In 7 years I had 7 district managers, and 8 different assistant managers . (I was a store manager)

Don't believe the hype
Employees are incentivize to do these reviews. My review is simple. I feel that extra space does not care about its employees. That it is not a good place to work. Below are just some examples of why.

This job is essentially a janitorial job, mixed with abuse from customers, upper management, mixed with being a one man collections agency, and being subjected to corporate propaganda.

Extra clean means you clean, paint, mop,wax floors, change bulbs, everything. While expecting you to take care of customers. Aka janitor

Forget calling out.
Job/ Company culture is a lie. 
They talk about integrity but they have none.
They want you to manipulate customers to hit sales goals.
False promises
They talk about growth and advancement but trust me you aren't getting anywhere above store manager. If you jump thru hoops and enough maybe you will become a dtl you will do double the work for one dollar more an hour. 
All district managers come from outside hiring. 
Favoritism towards the inner circle. Its unreal they sound like robots patting each other on the back.

Safety issues
There are several hoarders and some with let's say issues.. They may threaten your job or .... your life, but don't worry they refuse to back you up or give you a panic button or any kind of security. You will also work alone frequently. A co worker at another location was sexually assaulted. 

Myself and other females were asked to work the store since the victim refused. The assailant was still allowed to have a unit there. When I said no I didnt feel safe I was told a joke of : what If your not his type?

Compensation not good. Raises yearly are 50 cents an hour if you are lucky. Does not keep up with cost of living. I was unable to afford living on my own. Many coworkers have two jobs.

Manager has no hiring/ firing capabilities, or option to fix the building, or any real control. Yet they will hold you accountable when things go wrong. You are basically the head janitor of your store. With 1 less accountable janitor below you.

Dms are experts at flipping everything you say and do. They also play good cop bad cop.

My annual review was falsified. HR supported him all the way and did not want to even take my complaint.
HR is a joke and only job is to protect the company.

I had to go on family leave due to my mother having cancer and because of HR incompetence I did not get paid until 5 months later. HR did not sign the paperwork or fill it out correctly, refused to get the mail that was required by the state of NJ causing even more delays in my payment.

My dm could not even take a payment from a customer. Yet would make up rules and policies that didn't exist. 
Dm would accuse me of things, and try to manipulate me. Causing me to have anxiety attacks.

I was written up for having a panic attack and having to leave the room. 

HR stomped all over the disabilities act. I asked for accomodations and was told that they did not have to accommodate me.

I was Terrorized by the dm he would purposely show up when I was alone and without explaining why he was there, he also put additional deadlines on tasks that other people did not have and extra assignments. Started showing up every week.

HR would not listen to my grievances and any request for accomodations for my disability was denied.

They also did not want to accommodate me for leaving early for college. Most of the people there don't have degrees and think that making 60,000 working 60 hours a week as a dm or a storage company is a dream job. This is part of their overall retail mentality.

 In my opinion extra space is not a career. Do yourself a favor. Skip working here and get out of the cycle of bad jobs like this one. You deserve better.

Overall I had a wonderful time with Extra Space, until recently when management changed. I have recently left the company. 

Work Life is amazing. Very helpful for someone like me. If you were not feeling well, you could stay inside the office and have plenty of things to do. If you had a lot of energy, you could go outside and clean the property. Every day you always had something to do. As a Store manager of a larger property, I was in charge of allocating these to items to my assistant managers.

Besides Maintenance its the biggest portion of the job is renting and sales. You rent to customers in the office, and during COVID we started on the website and on the phone. We made sure customers items were secured and that they had them insured in case something happened. 

Some Daily duties were checking units daily, 
calling customers who are late, or if there is an issue with security.

My main Caveat's of Extra Space is the promise of moving up in the company. Unless you are close to corporates, this can be very hard unless you are with the company for 15+ years. Sure within a 6 Month's to a year you can be promoted to a Store manager pending opening, but once you are, there isn't anything more to move up fast.

Another thing is the recent change of management. Our previous management was not doing their job properly, but when a temp came in, it changed to a very hostile workplace. Conversations between coworkers went from Friendly, to very hostile. It seemed everyone was fighting to keep their jobs at more and more, stopped supporting coworkers as much. 

Some of the hardest things about the job were as an Assistant Manager. Some AM's travelled between stores to cover shifts etc. Sometimes these led to some issues that you as a Store Manager had to clean up or fix. It was extremely frustrating and put unneeded stress on the job. Another is if you Manage a 3rd Party Store. This meaning a someone owns the property, but hires Extra Space To Manage the property. Sometimes it is hard to work with them and sometimes it is amazing.

One clear thing was Work-Life Flexibility wasn't a thing. When Management changed, this changed a ton. No longer did I feel they cared about an employees well being and health. It seemed that even if you cut off your arm, you couldn't leave to go to the hospital.

During COVID, Extra Space Responded amazingly. We quickly updated offices and adapted as time went on. They continued to support staff, and gave bonuses as we were really busier than ever renting storage units to customers.

Extra Space is very much a Numbers oriented company. (As most are) We had Monthly goals to meet for our store that were within reach. Your DM worked with you to make sure you were meeting those goals, and if you struggling, support you and coach you on how to improve.

Overall Extra Space is an amazing company. If it wasn't for the change of management, I would still be with them. I learned a lot when I was with them. Increased my Customer Service skills, and learned Management skills. It taught me a lot to further my career and I am grateful.


It's not the toughest job, it's not the easiest job. You should really like to clean, (which I do0, and be prepared to have busy days and slow days. I became a store manager after 7 short months with decent pay, good benefits and the opportunity to make more money through commissions and bonuses. Having a good DM makes a huge difference in the job. I've heard stories about other DM's not caring but mine is awesome. Getting support from upper management makes the job more pallabilitable but leaving us to make decisions on our own gives you the feeling that you are more than just a babay sitter for the store. My DM is very supportive in my decisions and encourages me to "take ownership" of the store and run it the way I see fit to make it successful. 

Te hours are reasonable with a later start than normal (9:30am) with a half hour lunch break and I'm usually out the door by 6:00pm on the dot. We pretty much set our own schedules but Saturdays are mandatory but you also get every Sunday off. Vacation time or PTO is fairly generous after the first year  but that is all you get... PTO covers everything, sick days, vacation time, etc... I take advantage of the generous 401K match and the employee contribution to my HSA. 

When you start out as an Assistant Manager, be prepared to travel to various stores throughout your district to cover days off or PTO for others but once you become manager of your own store, that happens much less often. A benefit of travel is that you get paid for travel time which usually equates to overtime and you also get paid mileage.  The one caveat is that you get paid travel and mileage from your home store not your home residence. 

Pros of the job:
Decent pay (approximately $28,000.00 - $30,000.00 depending on your commitment to sales)
Later start time in the AM
Commission
401K match
Decent health benefits
You are encouraged to run the store as you see fit
Lots of exercise through walking (at least 10,000 steps per day)
Lots of available training

Cons of the job:
Secret shoppers (too much is expected through the eyes of the secret shopper with unrealistic expectations)
It is retail so you do get those difficult customers that expect everything for free
There is lots of cleaning to do so you should like to clean
Although ESS is set up to have 2 clerks at each store, you should expect to work solo a good portion of the time

To sum it up, it's not the best job in the world, it's not the worst job in the world. Pay could be a little better especially for store managers but at least in my case, you get the freedom to do your job the way you see fit. It's not a hard job but some days can be a challenge. There is some room for growth but to get past the store level, or past being a District Manager, you would probably need to move to Utah (corporate headquarters).

My time at ESS was okay at best. This is if you can work in a customer service environment that deals in administrative tasks as well as manual labor tasks. I enjoyed being able to work with customers in the office, take collection calls, assist with tenant issues, clerical tasks, etc. The team will train you on their script and tips on making storage sales but require you to be exactly how they want in terms of what you say to customers. Be prepared to memorize their scripts to use to sell storage units to customers and clean storage units and anything else in the facility like floors, windows, etc. Any mistakes will cause you to get disciplined, low survey scores for the site and will cost you money or your job. You will work with a store manager and occasionally district team leads who will more or less supervise you and micromanage your daily tasks even though you are given written instructions on what to do. They expect a lot out of you in your performance reviews and in doing daily tasks. Mistakes or poor scores on reviews could cause issues with district manager and result in a coaching or termination. Others can be hired in and paid considerably ( over $4 more per hour ) more than you even if you have been employed years and did exceptional work on performance reviews. Pay raises are yearly and very small -- after close to 2 years I have gotten a raise of $0.30. Management will find small things to count you off on when doing yearly employee reviews and store reviews by the district manager. Management will try to be there for you as they can but not all district managers are the same at that company and will treat you differently. District team leads can be supportive but in the event of a mistake or personal issue, they will turn their back on you and speak negatively about you / your performance to district managers instantly. You may be hired to work in a certain location but they will move you to other stores as they need regardless of how much more distance is added to your daily commute and personal requests. During my time with this company they said the hours were 9:30am to 6pm M - S with 2 days off but their schedule will always change and requested days off are not guaranteed. You may also be required to work on sunday as well -- during my time this was a requirement.

I would not recommend anyone to work here unless it is a stepping stone to another job.

I took this job immediately after getting my BA. I wanted a work environment that wasn't too professional. The team I work with is fantastic and our benefits are great. The pay is really difficult, though. We handle so many different aspects of the industry in day-to-day interactions. We prepare auctions, create and deliver deposits, manage store spending, ensure security, safety, cleanliness, and volume are correct, initiate changes at the store level which may be capital expense projects, answer and respond to calls in the middle of the night, work with members of the community who are often going through many tough transitions- and so much more. Tackling this many roles with each store generating over $100,00 per month in revenue, I just don't see how raises could be $0.25 or $0.45 after a year of tenure. This industry is booming and our company brought in over a billion dollars last year, which is fantastic! The folks that were on the front lines that made that happen are making $13 to $18 per hour. Please, consider raising the wages for your Assistant Managers and especially the Site Managers. These folks are struggling in my district, and it is sad to see quality employees struggle to balance their desire to work for this great company with their desperate need for just slightly higher income. I hate seeing people leave to get by, when they want to stay. 

The company is moving in a direction that I feel is sustainable, and it makes working for this company so much easier. I truly believe I am contributing to a reputable company run by amazing folks who care for our people. I feel proud to tell my friends the "corporate folks" in my company are really helpful and caring, and not overly ambitious. Additionally, I feel I have made a good connection with my District Manager, though our District Team Leader really struggles to help. Poor management in the districts could definitely lead to a less appealing work environment. 

The hardest part of the job is the physical work. We are tasked with maintaining and cleaning very large industrial properties. I have seen human feces at this job. Needles. Razors. Blood. Ammunition. It's a scary job at times, and the customers can be difficult. Overall, my interactions with people have been very positive, however, with me even making new friends at work.

The best part of my job is helping people get through transitions. People need storage for a myriad of different reasons, and I get to help make this step easier and more affordable. I also get to drive an honest business that is growing in amazing ways. I hardly ever have a "bad day," and I have very good work-life balance.

You wear many hats: salesperson/manager/janitor/maintenance/IT/pest control/underpaid therapist. You follow many legal processes, from account/facility access to auctions and everything in between, so it kinda sucks when someone is screaming/crying in your office because they need access to their deceased loved ones unit, but their name is no where on the account. No sick leave, you use your PTO. Secret shoppers come in/call 6x a year. It's meant to be a training tool, but it's a ton of added stress. You get dinged for not saying "have you used storage before?" or "are you hiring movers?" or "do you need climate or non climate units?" **even if your facility is 100% climate controlled.** You spend your time equally between office and property, but you will notice that some managers won't ever leave their chairs. It can be a do-nothing job if you have a poor work ethic, but if you're more ambitious you'll never run out of things to do (which can be overwhelming.) Depending on who owns your property, funds for repairs may be really limited and you may be stuck dealing with issues for prolonged periods of time. You work alone for the most part, so it's hard to take half an hour off to eat lunch. Most managers spend lunch breaks at their desks to answer phone calls and deal with customers. Not much time to decompress during your day. Unit pricing is not very competitive. My facility in particular is exponentially more pricey than competitors within a mile from me. Despite complaints and lost sales, my prices keep going up. Customers get rate increases once after 5 months and again every 9 months, which never goes over well. You're trained to be extremely pushy with insurance, even when you're doing a lease on a $7/month locker and the lowest insurance policy is $11/month. During the pandemic, this metric is still being heavily pushed even though people are trying their hardest not to spend extra money. Some things were done to help our customers during this crisis (held off on pursuing auctions a couple months, waived late fees, "pay to stay" agreements.) Inclusive environment which is awesome. Respectable CEO who at times makes questionable decisions (temporarily having us work on Sundays to deal with drop in sales due to COVID?) All in all, great learning experience, but pretty thankless and draining. You're either under-stimulated or running around putting out 200 small fires. Not much in between.

Ok step 1: Extra Space manipulates reviews by having a company wide contest to submit reviews on all review sites. Look at Sept and Oct of 2018 - you’ll find a vast amount of 5 star reviews many on the same days - The rest of the year you’ll notice a normal flow and a much different score. So imagine the rating currently is 3.6 overall- What if those 80-100 false reviews didn’t exist? Ahhh you’re getting the picture now. I find that looking at competitors like Prime Storage gives you a mor accurate look. Ok so yes the schedule is pretty amazing - Job can be super easy - You also work with some decent people.... And I agree to some that may be all you really need. Unfortunately for me, What have I learned? #1 you will not get promoted if you work in the field- Think about any cell phone retail store salesman + a manager at 1 of those title loan cash advance places = Thats you at Extra Space if you work inside a store. Even if you take Full ownership and run consistent good numbers- You’re just a salesman - Salesman don’t run companies! they sell and work the front line. You’ll hear alot of positive and consistent talk of growth, but you’ll see with time that sure theres people from other parts of the country and in some cases even a clueless employee from the corporate office got promoted To above field. But with time you’ll relize that this is just a Supervisors school boy crush OR the good ol boys club. What to expect - as an Asst Mgr you’ll make aprox $14 an hour - max of 40 hours - $ .25 or less a year raise (low $30k) - Store manager aprox $16-$18 (same raises) low $36-$40. You may think right now that retail or restaurants are working you to death etc - But you gotta understand that your ruining your resume - Extra Space on resume prepares you for nothing- Is $40k max all you’ll need for the rest of my life?? Family? Kids? House? Holidays? Vehicle break downs? Unexpected debts/problems? - This company preaches people, people, people, but the above unit management in place all come from the outside or are simply unqualified- None of them understand Customer Service, Sales, and most importantly People. Your job is to make them look good, thats it. If you happy with that work at ESS. I put a lot of thought into this review to help - Please take time to thank about your future and how your choices will guide you.

Not all districts are equal. With the co. doubling in size, there have been significant growing pains and often those at the bottom are feeling it the worst. The face of Extra Space Storage (ESS) are the Assistant and Store Managers (AM/SM) you meet when you go to a self-storage facility. Check out the local stores and speak with some current employees. I spent 4 yrs. working at ESS,  with nearly the last year in the Knoxville, TN district. Prior to Knoxville, I was fully committed to the company, singing its praises in the N. Virginia market, investing in company stock, and recommending others to apply and join the best team I’d ever worked with.  The job involves a lot of customer service, daily cleaning routing, some salesmanship, office work and light maintenance.  My experience in Knoxville was starkly different from what I had learned to expect. 1/3  of the facilities fall short of ESS's standards touted in industry magazines where they recruit for facility management opportunities from. The district leadership fosters an environment that treats employees like minimum-wage retail workers, characterized by constant negativity and minimal support in daily operations due to high AM/SM turnover.  What I encountered was completely unacceptable. While ESS offers excellent training and professes support for its employees, my attempts to engage with the 'employee experience' department left me feeling abandoned. Despite making detailed reports, assurances of investigations leading to interviews never materialized. The work environment grew increasingly toxic.  As someone averse to conflict, I was deeply disappointed that my efforts to improve conditions only led to more grinding days rather than the smooth operation it should have been.I write this to stand with all the AM/SMs in this market who, for various reasons, have been unable or unwilling to voice their concerns, especially amid numerous firings and resignations. Promised an exit review, I never received one. I hope this candid account sheds light on the realities of working at Extra Space Storage in Knoxville, TN for those considering opportunities in the area.


Extra Space Storage is company that values employees to its very extent. 

A typical day at an ESS site is clock-in, register count, make sure new customer opportunities are done and walk-thru (Lock Check) of the property. After that usually its just maintenance work(clean units, hallways, and just the overall property). Some days vary depending on day of the month where tenants make in person payments or in person rentals which is manageble depending on site. 

What I learned in ESS is every site is not the same. Some sites might be auto-pay dominant while others in person cash payments. Its all about learning the "culture" of each site. The best way to put it is ESS indeed trains everyone within the Assitant to Store Managers the basic fundamentals of doing the job. While the online training states one thing, in person training may differ. Which leads to the overall jobs Culture.

Workplace Culture is highly different for not just each and every store but each and every district and even divisions. Cliff notes version is basically some workplace cultures will flow your boat while others might just rock it or worse tip it over. Its an easy but not simple job and as long you bide by ESS rules and flow with your Co Workers if youre lucky enough to have any then work is a breeze. 

Hardest part of the job is travel. Travel is the number 1 enemy to a new hire but in the long run as well. Within my first year I've covered about 7 stores and it takes a toll on your vehicle. Mileage and travel time is paid but depending on district, you might get guilt trip to taking longer lunches or leaving early (which is nice) but only to avoid overtime. Another hard factor in the job is just having to adapt for some stores or districts. Your way of doing things might not be the same as others. If you end up doing one thing your way then it might not be beneficial for the other. 

Management overall is linked to workplace culture. All managers, supervisors, district managers, and even vice presidents of opertation etc are all diffenet. As long as you follow your ESS training then you are groovy. 

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