Troubleshooting Site Issues

In the world of business, it is inevitable that you will encounter technical issues beyond your ability to fix on your own. When this happens and it comes time to request support it's important we escalate through the proper chain of command and that we are reaching out to the correct people/departments for help. Below you will find the steps for submitting support requests.

Step 1: Confirming that an actual problem exists. 

As the Regional Director, you should be the sole support contact for your team.  AGMs & GMs, should not be reaching out to any vendors, SSM, or the IT department on their own. When an problem is brought to your attention, you need to confirm that what they have reported is accurate. Frequently perceived technical issues are training issues. To do this, Microsoft teams is usually the best tool for the job. Get on a call with the store, ask them to share screen, and have them demonstrate the issue they are encountering.  If you agree that a problem exists, proceed to step 2.

Step 2: Document the Problem.

 After you do determine that escalation is necessary, you need to gather all pertinent information prior to reaching out. This includes a full description of the issue, screenshots, and a brief description of how it was discovered/how long has the issue been occurring.  Vague & incomplete descriptions are expensive.  Think about how much time is wasted when a support person needs to go search for incomplete information or multiple emails are required with follow up questions.  Not to mention, this also delays resolution of your Issue.

 Example: Imagine someone reports that “My Yardi Doesn’t work”.  What does that mean? Are they not able to log in using the Single Sign On? Have they not been provided access for the correct site location? Is there an invoice getting stuck because of an incomplete approval workflow?  All these issues have different symptoms and would need to be addressed by different departments.  That’s why good detail and screenshots are so critical. 

Step 3: Determine the escalation path. 

When looking for help, it can get confusing who you should reach out to first.  This section will help provide clarity on that.  However, please keep in mind that you should always CC your DVP on all support requests.  Its important that they are aware that a problem exists in the field, and its also possible that they already have the answer for you.  Below we will identify different support teams and identify under what circumstances they should be contacted. Keep in mind this is not a complete list of all possible scenarios, but if you are ever in doubt, reach out to your DVP for help.

Human Resources:  hr@devonselfstorage.com

·        Dayforce access issues & Password resets

·        Time clock set up issues

·        Payroll & Employee benefit questions.

SSM Cloud Support: ssmcloudsupport@selfstoragemanager.com

·        Tenant Specific Issues :  There are times where you may encounter a problem that only impacts 1 single customers account.  These are the issues you should feel empowered to reach out to SSM with.  Any other issues will be escalated on a different path.

Devon IT Dept: support@devonselfstoragehelp.zendesk.com

·        Internet connectivity/Network Issues

·        Microsoft 365 / Email access issues & password resets.

·        Hardware issues: Computer/router/modem don’t turn on or operate correctly.

·        Gate Sync Issue: If StorAlly isn’t communicating with your access control system.

Accounting: apinlanddevon@inlandgroup.com

·        Payment status requests should be submitted directly from the vendor.

·        Duplicate invoices issue

Spend Dynamics: apinlanddevon@inlandgroup.com

·        Credit card reconciliation questions.

·        Personal reimbursement questions.

Divisional Vice President:

·        Ring Central: Time zone & forwarding issues.

·        Yardi: Single Sign On & Store Provisioning

·        StorAlly | Access issues & General operational questions

·        StorAlly | Large scale system functionality issues (cc zbaldwin@devonselfstorage.com )

·        Auctions | missing letters/proof of sending, missed auction ads, ect.

·        Unit Break Ins

·        Property Damage

Please Note:  when a problem is reported, assessing urgency is an important part of the triage process.  If you have an urgent issue, calling the appropriate person should be the first method of reaching out.  If they don’t answer, follow up with an email.   In sever circumstances, if your DVP is not available to take your call, escalate to your SVP.  What constitutes urgency?  A time sensitive situation that poses a threat to our employees’ safety or tenant property.

Step 4:  Follow through 

After the escalation path has been determined & you sent the detailed support request, don’t consider the issue resolved. Simply sending an email is not enough.  As the Regional Director, you own this support request.  That means you will need to continue following up with the appropriate parties until you are able to verify that the issue is resolved.