Pros
Some good ownership teams and care about their business.
Cons
I strongly advise against working for SAM or using them as your management company. My experience with them as a District Manager in the MD/WV market was extremely disappointing, and I regret ever joining the company. SAM initially presents itself as having a positive culture that values its employees, but this could not be further from the truth. Once out of training, I was left to manage on my own, which wasn’t an issue for me given my prior experience in storage management. However, for those without similar experience, I can only imagine how challenging it must have been. There was a constant tug-of-war between SAM's directives and the expectations from the ownership team, which only created confusion and inefficiencies. The real turning point came after a company realignment, when I was assigned to a new regional manager. My first conversation with him was troubling: he asked me to lie to my ownership team and withhold critical information about store closures. This request went against my core values, and I couldn’t continue working under such conditions. Additionally, I was promised a Q3 bonus by the Regional Vice President, contingent on working through October 1st. However, they are now refusing to honor that promise. When my district was split, I witnessed SAM attempt to deceive two ownership teams, manipulating them to prevent one of the owners from losing me as his district manager because his one location was a good money maker for them vs the other ownership team who had 40+ locations. Despite their efforts, the district was ultimately split the way I had originally proposed. This situation only further confirmed that SAM has little regard for integrity and does not value its employees or the owners they manage for. If you do choose to work for SAM or allow them to manage your properties, I highly recommend getting everything in writing, as their word cannot be trusted. Senior leadership, appears to be disconnected from the realities of the field, and the company's lack of transparency and accountability is concerning. I didn't want to write this review, but after being lied to about my bonus, I felt compelled to share my experience to prevent others from making the same mistake.
