San Francisco Mini Storage

We had a terrible experience renting a Budget truck with supposed pick up in Oakland — unavailable, so they sent us to San Rafael last minute — and drop off in San Francisco. These guys have shady billing practices with surprise charges and poor customer service to go with it.
— We had an online reservation, made weeks in advance, to pick up a 24′ truck at Budget Oakland location on Thursday.
— Wed we got a call from the location saying «our truck broke down, we have no truck for you, sorry» and hanging up. Tried calling them back to no avail — «can’t help you, sorry» and hang up.
— Spent an hour on the phone with Budget Customer Service on Wed trying to sort this out.
— Finally they found us a last-​minute truck in San Rafael instead.
— Picked up the truck in San Rafael on Thu — the truck was dirty. As in, the truck bed was full of dust and literally trash.
— Had to sweep it for an hour before loading it.
— We were told to return the truck «as is».
— Upon returning the truck in San Francisco on Monday after next, they told us that our truck was dusty and we had to pay a $ 300 cleaning fee for it.
— Dealer manager basically told us that he won’t take the truck unless we agree to that.
— Asked him where we can go clean the truck — we were happy to do it — but he did not know of any place around San Francisco where we could go.
— Called Budget Customer Service again, and they told us they can’t do anything at all until we close our contract.
So… we are stuck with a 24′ truck in the middle of San Francisco, noone can tell us where we can clean it, the dealer is forcing a $ 300 surprise cleaning fee on us, and Customer Service won’t even talk to us until we close the contract with the dealer. Great. We pay the $ 300 and close the contract — what other choice do we have?
— Call back Customer Service afterwards.
— Long story short, they tell us «you agreed to the $ 300 surprise fee by closing your contract with the dealer». Refuse to help.
— They did give us a $ 200 discount for making us pick up a dirty truck in a different location then what we reserved.
So, in summary, we had to drive an hour out of our way to get the truck, got a dirty truck that we had to clean, were told to return it «as is», and in the end got a $ 300 surprise cleaning fee — $ 200 discount = we paid $ 100 extra for all this hassle.
This was a surprise fee sprung on us. The worst part of this was the combination of Customer Service telling us we have to close the contract and «then call us back to talk» and the dealer saying he won’t take the truck back unless we sign for the $ 300. Basically, Budget put us in a situation where we had no choice but to swallow the surprise cleaning fee. And the beauty of this scheme is this — each one of Customer Service, origin dealer, and destination dealer only looks at and cares about what they see from their perspective and refuses to take responsibility. Basically, each one of them told us it’s not their problem and to go talk to the other guys.
Beware of these guys. If I were reviewing them as con artists, I would give them 5 stars. But as a truck rental company, they only get 1. Very shady billing practices.

I was directed to drop my U-​Haul truck here after a cross-​country trip. Exhausted and ready to be done with the ordeal, I mistakenly left my bluetooth headset in the cup of the cab. I realized my mistake less than an hour later when I got home and called these guys up. They said they checked the truck, and found no headset. Of course they didn’t because one of their shady-​ass employees pocketed the thing. Expensive little piece of gear there. I asked them again if someone could have taken it home with them by accident. They told me I could come look at the truck myself and see that there was no headset in there. OMG. How stupid do you think I am?
Wish I’d read these reviews (or even had a choice in this place). Shame on me for being so forgetful.

I’ve had more recent experiences since writing my prior, critical review. That rated the business as one star.
My current experiences have been much more positive: SF Mini Storage has gone out of its way to make me happy and I appreciate that. Hence, I’ve increased my rating to three stars.

All I can say is I had a good sized storage unit (an outside one) here for about five years & all my stuff (from expensive guitars to children’s toys) were safe, secure, and dry. Never had a problem entering/​exiting the faciilty. Just moved out b/​c I moved out of the city; but, would rent here again based on my experience. Mario and the crew there were always kind and nice to me.

No need to belabor the point… this is the worst storage unit in the world. Customer service is terrible and the place is a mess.

This place is AWFUL!!! Worst customer service on the planet. Use U-​Haul!!!

WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER!!! I rented a van to move a 60 gallon tank 3 miles from the rental place. As soon as I got to my destination (less than 10 mins away), the van died on me. No one answered the phones and no help w/​any sort of road side assistance. I had to use my own AAA account for someone to come out and jump-​start the van. Then I had to drive it around for 30 mins to charge up the battery. I missed my window to move the tank so when I returned the van back to the rental place and complained about the van, the rep their, Nelson, pretended not to hear me. No apology; No offer of a refund; nothing. He just rang up my invoice and even charged me for the gas it took to recharge their dead battery! The only thing he said was «It’s not my truck so why should we pay for the gas?» I asked for the customer service number and Nelson just pointed to a wall. While I was outside complaining to Customer Service, Nelson had already charged my credit card on file, without my authorization!!! I complained to the manager via email and though he was much more professional than Nelly, he basically said when he inquired about this transaction with the incompetent employee, they gave him the exact opposite version of this story. Big Surprise. Judging from these reviews, it’s best to stay away from this place.

So rude and not helpful at all. Never renting here again.

There is simply no customer service at San Francisco Mini Storage. I came in to rent a truck for a move to a new apartment and it seemed like they took steps tailor made to piss me off!
1. After asking if a van could move a queen sized bed over the phone, I reserved a 10ft truck because they said no. They gave me a van anyway, assuring me that it could in fact move a queen. It couldn’t and we had to make two trips!
2. Their computers were down, and the guy started taking my information by hand. Midway through the process they bring the computers back up. So i sit there for 10 minutes while he tries to start his computer up, login, and whatnot till he is finally ready to go. And then asks me EVERY SINGLE QUESTION he has already asked me all over again!
3. After filling the truck back up at the gas station they told me to go to (even making sure to top off the tank even after the flow from the pump had stopped… like they told me to) and driving straight back, the guy tried to tell me that it was missing a gallon of gas and they would charge me $ 30 dollars unless I had the receipt from the gas station!
4. When I told the guy that I would never rent a truck here again, he didn’t say a damn thing. Not a «I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy your experience. Is there something I can do?» He just took the feedback – «I will not come back here again” – and sat on it while I walked out pissed off.
Customer service does not exist, even conceptually, at this location.

We have been storing our excess furniture with San Francisco Mini Storage for 5 years and they have been the best! Great friendly staff there and rate that can not be beaten for San Francisco. We are off to Oregon and sorry to be leaving and SF Mini Storage has made the stay here safe accessible and a snap to check out.

Moving sucks, what else can you say. I picked up a Budget truck from this location. There were a couple of problems but the manger stayed late to make sure they got taken care of. After the rental was over I ad another issue that had nothing to do with this location but instead with a central Budget office. The Manager here again came through for me and got things sorted!
Also The guy that inspects the trucks did the most through checklist for damages I mean every little ding and scratch was marked before I took it out. I’m used to having to point things out that get missed, but this guy noticed things I might very well have missed.
Moving Sucks and it’s never without problems and issues but they really came through for me when I needed things to get taken care of. This is much more then I can say for the rest of Budgets operation. But they are still way way better then Uhaul.

Everybody hates moving… and if you have to store stuff, even worse.
My roommates and I had to move a bunch of stuff out of our apartment, so with little notice as to when we needed to do it, SF Mini Storage helped us out in a pinch. Trucks were hard to come by that Saturday (I tried to reserve just a few days in advance), and SF Mini Storage with its co-​located Budget rental truck facility saved me.
So here are the positives: convenient spot because can rent a truck and storage space, and generally, the people are super nice and helpful. They even drive you around in a golf cart as you check out various storage units.
…and then there are the negatives. The hours are inconvenient since there isn’t an after hours drop off and trucks have to be returned by 4:30 or 5:00 p.m. It’s also on the expensive side (our small storage unit — approximately 9′ x 7′ x 7′ — was $ 150 per month) but fine if you’re in a pinch and just want to get things taken care of. Also, there’s no online reservation system which is a bit of a pain.

You know you’re in trouble when you walk into a place and the fat-​ass slug behind the counter can’t even be bothered to put down one of his three chimichangas (that he dips in ketchup… wtf? oh, and eww) chunks of which are pasted all over his disgusting craw, (and of course he chews with his mouth open) to help you with your truck rental. And when he finally does deem you worthy of his attention, he slides his greasy, meaty paw over to the computer mouse and after a few minutes of deliberation, asks dismissively what he can do for you.
Another possible red flag is when they tell you rather firmly that after-​hours drop off is not recommended. Why? Well, apparently they’ve had problems with people SIPHONING GAS OUT OF THEIR TRUCKS. Y’know, because this is 1977 we’re living in here.
Fine. I can find a place to park it in my new neighborhood. It’s pretty safe there. No worries.
Odd then, that when I go out to to retrieve and return the truck the next morning, the gas cap had been ripped off, and the previously full tank is now only half full.
Mind you, this happened in the Outer Sunset. Not exactly a wretched hive of scum and villainy.
$ 110 dollars later, for what was supposed to be a $ 40 rental, ($ 40 for a gas cap? REALLY!!!) I washed my hands of this establishment and their über-​shady practices.
Having talked to other people who’d had similar experiences, I’d say the people at SF Mini Storage have quite a racket going. I’d be VERY wary if you’re planning on doing business with them.
**EDIT 2−08−2008**
Another really irritating thing– they take FOREVER to charge your account for the rental. I rented the truck on ¹⁄₃₁ and here were are more than a week later and I still haven’t been charged. What the hell is taking so long?
**EDIT 2−13−2008**
Still no charge to my card. WTF?

found these guys thru my friend who does staging for houses being put on the market, and they’ve been fine for my needs. i wanted a place w/​easy parking, cheap rates, and ease of getting TO my space, and they have all that. if you’re looking for climate controlled, brand new fancy rooms, this place is NOT for you, but if you don’t mind putting your stuff in old converted boat cargo containers and locking it w/​a hefty padlock, this place is a-​ok. think about where these containers have been — on the open sea, exposed to lots of water, extreme temps, etc — so you’re stuff will stay dry and clean. and you could always put those damp-​rid things in there just in case, but i didn’t, and nothing got moldy. i even had a suede jacket in there since last June, and it looks fine.
they also sell moving boxes, packing tap, bubble wrap, mattress covers, etc. for cheaper than UHaul.