Published: February 15, 2018

What is UNITS Moving and Portable Storage?

Portable Storage is a fairly new concept for the residents and businesses in San Antonio, Texas. To answer some of the questions about how storage containers can help with home projects, moving, and a variety of other situations, we decided to sit down with Marc Gaudet, UNITS Manager, to talk about this new and convenient form of storage.

Cody: What is UNITS in case people don’t already know what you guys do?

Marc: UNITS is a very liquid and easy option for storage and moving. In fact, the UNTS acronym stands for

Unique

No hassle

Individual

Transportable

Storage

It’s a very useful product and I’m still learning about ways that it can be used. We have companies that use containers to be more efficient and private users who store them either in our warehouse or onsite at their residence. We have people who use them for moving, and recently we started doing inter-franchise moves, which are just moves from longer distances.

Cody: How are your clients needs different from those of a traditional storage customer?

Marc: I think they share a lot of similarities, but our clients really like the convenience offered by UNITS. They’re looking to have something right at their home, or if they want to move, they want to fill the container and send it to another location. It’s mostly about convenience, so they don’t have to fill out a truck or move things by themselves. We have a lot more active warehouse now, but previously another need was people wanted to see their stuff and they had to call ahead. But now we’re working right out of the warehouse, so we’re here a lot more often.

Cody: Do you guys get more commercial or private customers?

Marc: At first we were building rapidly through commercial and now we’re picking up more private users. Now it’s probably about half and half.

Cody: What do you think is the most common reason people call you guys?

Marc: I think the most common reason is they need a container for remodeling, restoration or reconstruction. Residential storage on-and-off site is also getting more popular.

Cody: Are there any companies that you recommend calling when people explain why they need a UNIT?

Marc: That’s something that’s in the building phase, no pun intended. Recently we’re starting to develop relationships with remodelers and contractors. We have used a company called The Moving Man and they have a strong reputation and tend to take good care of our clients. That’s an area we’re focusing on right now. I don’t have anyone specific but we’re developing that area for sure.

Cody: So people can check on their stuff in the warehouse now?

Marc: We can store people’s containers here, or if they want to utilize it like self storage for de-cluttering or other house projects, they can do that as well. It was an idea that was reinforced to me by Gilbert Marquez since we’re operating out of the warehouse now. At this stage, I think it’s a good idea to start ramping it up.

Cody: Nice! Once you guys get that up and running, what do you think the process will be for it?

Marc: We would have a schematic in the warehouse, the way it would work is that we would bring back the container to the warehouse and place it in an efficient place so the customer can come visit it easily. We used to have to have a four-hour notice when a customer wanted to see their items, but now, since we’re operating out of the warehouse, it is a lot easier.

Cody: If someone came by during lunch are there any good places to eat nearby?

Marc: Mr. and Mrs. G’s soul food is the name and they have really good, comforting soul food. Gilbert really likes this place called The Curve and it’s been around for a long time with excellent Mexican cuisine.

Cody: What’s your favorite thing about living in the San Antonio area?

Marc: My favorite thing is my relationship with the company actually. I was in the Austin area and I had moved there to work with Lockaway Storage. I’ve always had a great relationship with our team and owner.

Cody: If I had a friend moving to town and I asked you to take them to do something fun, what is something that you would suggest they do in San Antonio?

Marc: Actually, I have been introduced to a park called Friedrich Park and it’s an amazing place to go for a walk or some exercise. And there are three levels to it, so you can go and work your way up to the top and when you’re there you can actually look out over Old Dominion. You can see a lot of the popular things downtown and there’s also a lot of history too, so we’d probably do some of that too.

Cody: How do you feel about being the head man on the UNITS project?

Marc: I enjoy it! It’s something that’s new to me. I’ve been working on it for about a year now and I think it’s really unique. It’s demanding in its own way and it is also a lot of fun.

Cody: Did you have anything to do with the Hurricane Harvey projects where UNITS were taken to areas that were affected?

Marc: Yeah, we worked specifically out of Victoria, Texas. A hurricane travels, so when we were doing this it was like working in a hurricane. It was definitely rewarding because we were so helpful to the people affected. These people couldn’t get anybody to help them, so it felt great to be a part of helping people. It’s something I think about a lot and it makes me feel good that we were involved with that.