As one of our longest-serving property managers, Joyce estimates she’s helped thousands of customers find the storage units to meet their needs.

As we celebrate 50 years since we first rolled up our orange doors, we’re spotlighting longtime employees like Joyce, who has dedicated 35 years providing excellent customer service in the Houston area.

“I love people and I love providing great customer service,” said Joyce. “I just believe we all have one superpower and that is human kindness.”

Stellar Customer Service

When she’s not in the office responding to calls or assisting customers, Joyce can be found walking the hallways of the storage facility, stopping to talk to a customer, or simply waiving from her golf cart as she makes her rounds around the property.

“It’s a very comforting property to work at,” she said. “I go out and visit with the customers, I know that means a lot to them.”

When Joyce first started in 1987, she was joining her husband who had worked for what was then Shurgard Self Storage for two years. Joyce, who lost her husband 20 years ago, joined Public Storage in 2006 when we acquired Shurgard.

“We had an interesting life with storage,” she said.

When she first started there were no computers or cellphones and all the account information was kept on paper. For payments, most everyone would write checks.

Naturally, with her wealth of knowledge, colleagues reach out to her from time to time to get advice or feedback. Joyce said she loves helping out when she can.

Unforgettable Phone Call

But she’ll never forget a specific request she got from a potential customer.

“We have a rodeo and every year everybody looks forward to it,” Joyce explained. “I got a call from a man and he said: ‘I need to come by and look at a 10 by 10 and I need it air-conditioned.'”

The question itself was not unusual, customers always ask about unit features, she said. Hoping to help the customer with unit sizing, she asked if he could share what he wanted to store.

“‘Well, I have this prized bull,” she recounted the customer telling her. “I have this prized bull and I don’t want anybody to harm it, and I want it to be cool.”

She did have to explain to him that he could not store a prized bull in a storage unit. “And he was disappointed! Can you imagine a bull walking down the units—I can never forget that,” she said with a laugh.

Joyce says she can now laugh about the situation, but she was a little shocked when she first took the call.

While she’s spent 35 years helping customers, Joyce said she’s not ready to retire just yet.

“It’s a satisfying job and I just love it,” she said. “Sometimes I don’t look at it as a job, it’s just fun. When you enjoy something—we have a great team and everyone works together—you couldn’t ask for a better thing to do to fulfill your life.”

Congratulations to Joyce! Please read on to learn about an executive who has developed a lifelong passion for lifting up employees to become the next wave of leaders. We also spoke to a divisional manager who feels like he works for a small company even though we now have 2,800 locations!