Today we’d like to introduce you to Joe Piombino.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Joe. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I was born and raised in Daytona Beach, Florida where I spent my entire life in the restaurant business – this is where I learned the value of hard work and a strong work ethic. My parents owned a couple of very popular Italian restaurants and I was involved in every aspect of the business but primarily, I was head chef. I moved to LA in 1999 to join my then girlfriend and start a new life. After saying I would not ever work in a restaurant again, I was hired to manage a popular Mexican restaurant in Studio City. After three years there, an opportunity to work for a property management company was presented to me. Craving something new, I said “yes” and joined Arroyo Parkway Self Storage (APSS) as an assistant manager. Property Management and Self Storage was something I never thought I would do but I really enjoyed it and was good at it so I stuck with it (and the same company) for 15 years now. After a few years at Arroyo, I was transferred to Los Angeles Self Storage (LASS) where I’ve served as building manager for the past 10 years.
Has it been a smooth road?
LASS is a significantly larger operation than APSS. When I first started there, I had to quickly learn how to run a very large building. Fortunately, I like a good challenge and caught on quick. Since I am a fast learner, I would say struggles were minimal. What some would call a struggle, I found a challenge. For example, I had to learn how to run and maintain the fire pump and backup generator to prepare for emergency situations. In a high-rise building, you have to know the location of all the sprinkler shut off valves, smoke detectors, risers and of course fire exits. Problems can arise with any of these things and as a manager, I’ve had to quickly troubleshoot the problem and get it resolved quickly. I’m proud to say I’m pretty good at troubleshooting and resolving quickly and economically.
Along with all the behind-the-scenes responsibilities, customer service is a big and important part of the business. Having been in the restaurant business all my life, providing customer service came easily to me.
I believe in cause and effect. If you work hard in life and business, you will be successful.
Sometimes, being in the right place at the right time helps. I guess you can call that luck, I call it karma.
So, let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Los Angeles Self Storage story. Tell us more about the business.
I am the building manager of an 11 floor self storage facility with 1230 units. We offer clean and modern climate-controlled units and accept deliveries on behalf of our clients. We cater to both commercial and individual clients with various needs and we treat each customer with individual care, professionalism and respect. We give a one year rate guarantee. We are one of the few self storage operations that offer this.
We are also a popular film location being in the heart of downtown LA and having a birds-eye view of the city from our rooftop. Our facility has been featured in many commercials, print jobs and popular network television shows. LASS gives back to the community. We help support the LA Police Cadets and their programming and was most recently a sponsor for the Heart of the City 5k Run benefiting California Hospital.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
DTLA is growing every day and the need for storage goes along the same path. I see the storage needs for more businesses and less on the personal need in the next 5 years. Research indicates that the industry has been considered by Wall Street analysts to be “recession resistant” based on its performance during the last economic recession.
Contact Info:
- Address: Los Angeles Self Storage
1000 w 6th st., LA, CA 90017 - Website: https://www.smartselfstorage.com/self-storage/ca/los-angeles/los-angeles-self-storage/
- Phone: 213-481-1010
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/losangelesselfstorage/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/losangelesstorage
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/LASelfStorage
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/los-angeles-self-storage-los-angeles
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8IGQDt3KmFJ5ERzBeUmjVQ
Image Credit:
Joe Piombino
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