Owned by Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys, Blue Star Storage was founded in 1996 with the first Coit Rd. North Dallas location. When the location was under construction, Joe Hickman, vice president of Blue Star Land, contacted Rusty & Suanne Elliott to see if they would be willing to come join the team & manage the very first location.

The Coit Rd. location began operation in 1996 using QuikStor Dos management software. This property was very successful in lease up & has continued to be the highest in occupancy for many years. Five years following, more locations were built and now has become one of the most recognized storage facilities in the Dallas metroplex area. These locations include McKinney, Little Elm, Carrollton, Lewisville, Plano, & the newest in Colleyville, Texas.

Once the company began to expand, Rusty became general contractor for Blue Star Storage and was responsible for providing the best unit mix & lowest costs possible in construction. He also is responsible for overseeing facility repairs & revisions.

Suanne then took on responsibility as District Manager for all the Blue Star Storages. Her responsibility is to oversee all operations of each location along with managing the Blue Star Plano location, which also is the home office for the Blue Star Storage chain.

Blue Star Plano specializes in office warehouse units (1125 sq. ft.) and large RV storage units. This location also accommodates large motor homes up to almost 50 feet with wide driveways for easy access to make storing their motor home the place to be. The upcoming Blue Star Colleyville location will feature retail, RV storage & climate controlled units.

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Paul Brandenburg, commercial account manager for QuikStor, spoke with Suanne regarding Blue Star Storage and having selected QuikStor as their preferred software and security provider:

Paul: What was the main reason(s) that led you to select QuikStor as your software and security vendor?

Suanne: When Rusty and I began in the self storage industry, we attended a self storage convention where we became familiar with what QuikStor had to offer. It seemed the most advanced, in their opinion.

Paul: Describe how your QuikStor software and security products benefits Blue Star sites in day to day operations, automating daily tasks, reports, access control, security, etc.

Suanne: QuikStor Express is the only software ever used at the Blue Star Storages. We also have the access keypads, pay at the gate, intercom base station for management office, QuikEmail, QuikPay, and QuikPay Plus. QuikStor Express features accounting of all units rented, many reports available to make the day to day operations easy to manage & time saving features of email of receipts, notices, & letters. All these features makes for the management of a facility easy & convenient.

Paul: Describe the target consumer base for Blue Star's facilities and surrounding areas. I.E. Why did you select these specific locations?

Suanne: All the locations built were one of the first of its kind in all the locations chosen. We would purchase the property with the insight that growth was coming in that direction. Joe Hickman, had an excellent insight for moving into areas that storage would be needed. We were unique in the office/warehouse concept. Each office/warehouse unit is ready for occupant to start up their business.

Paul: In your opinion, why do you feel Blue Star Storage is the premier storage chain in Texas, more importantly what is unique that you feel sets your sites apart from local competitor sites in your site's areas?

Suanne: I believe Blue Star Storage is the premier storage in Texas because the unique quality of all managers at each location. They all love being "part of the Blue Star Storage team". They have so much pride in their facility & treat the facility as if it were their own business.

Paul: QuikStor has a long relationship with Blue Star Storage. How has QuikStor as a company helped you during the planning/setup phases starting with your very first site opening to now expanding to over 8+ sites? More importantly, providing the software and access control backbone for supporting your company's operations?

Suanne: When Blue Star Storage began, we began with QuikStor. At first, in 1996, the DOS version was what was offered. After all these years & the growth of technology, we have grown with QuikStor in upgrading to the latest and greatest QuikStor has to offer. We have enjoyed the relationship Blue Star Storage has maintained with QuikStor all these years and have become so familiar with the software that we have helped QuikStor improve features along the way with suggestions that would make them better and offer more. Without the tech support of QuikStor employees, we would not be able to function. So thank you, tech support, for all you've helped us with.

Paul: Any additional comments as far as QuikStor meeting or exceeding your expectations (sales, support, etc)?

Suanne: QuikStor has helped make Blue Star Storage successful and I would recommend to anyone in the process of construction or conversion to consider using the QuikStor software and other features to make managing your property easy and convenient.