Big Yellow

Big Yellow Self Storage in Fulham are an example to other businesses on how to operate: friendly, helpful, competent and above all great value.
Needing somewhere to stash my stuff for a week whilst I waited to move into a new place, Big Yellow Self Storage in Fulham seemed the obvious place. I filled in my details online to get a quote and the following day they rang me to ask me whether I wanted to make a reservation. They weren’t pushy, but helpful, letting me know when I’d have to check in and how I needed to check out. Such indeed was their courtesy and flexibility displayed that I quickly confirmed the booking.
It was on the day of the move that they showed their true, 5-​star winning colours. First they rang me helpfully reminding me to list the inventory of items I wanted to check in, but also that I needed to arrive no later than 5pm that day as they closed at 6pm. No problem I thought, coming as I was from Putney. Until I realised, post-​packing, that the one minicab I’d booked wasn’t going to be enough to get everything to Big Yellow. I ordered a second cab to cover the short distance from Putney to Fulham, reasoning that surely I’d still be okay. However, the taxi company’s ineptness meant it didn’t arrive until 5:30 and the second load of my stuff at Big Yellow until 5:40pm.
I was in constant contact with Big Yellow throughout my frustration at the hands of the taxi company, and they were supportive. I was also lucky that my girlfriend had gone ahead in the first cab, charmed them into giving a 10% discount, completed the booking and then packed the first load. In fact this 5 star rating belongs as much to her as it does to Big Yellow. Nevertheless, Big Yellow were supportive throughout despite the tardiness of my eventual arrival, waving away my apologies and allowing us to stash the second load of my stuff without issue.
As the name implies, it’s self storage. Once you’ve checked in, it’s a case of putting your stuff on a trolley, taking a lift up to the right floor, finding your room and unloading. A nice touch is the music that plays in the background to keep things jaunty. Once done, it’s back to the ground floor with the trolley via the lift and then logging out with one’s PIN (which you have to log in with too). Simple.
It’s also excellent value. Hiring a room big enough for two minicabs’ worth of stuff cost me around £14 for the week, including contents insurance. I had to buy a padlock on top of that to secure the room, but Big Yellow sells these for a very reasonable £12, bringing the total to a decent £26. Further, they have plenty of different rooms to store stuff and their helpful and clear website gives you a good idea of what size room you’ll need by showing you pictures of the different rooms with common items in them, such as a laptop. Renting with them gives you free membership of Zipcar which further sweetens the deal.
Overall, I was highly satisfied with my Big Yellow experience: friendly and helpful staff, great prices and a straightforward way of packing everything. Fantastic.