Martin's U-Haul ranked 8th in N. America

The U-Haul store managed by Rainbow resident Debbie Martin was ranked eighth in the United States and Canada among 1,370 U-Haul stores throughout North America.

The rankings are based on the period from April 1, 2006, to March 31, 2007. They are based on several factors including revenue, truck rental transactions, losses, and missing bank deposits (or lack thereof in Martin’s store).

“It was kind of exciting,” Martin said of learning about the top ten ranking. “I was jumping up and down. I was like a jumping bean when I found out.”

Martin took over as the manager of the Miramar U-Haul in San Diego on May 22, 2006. That store was not ranked in the top 100 during the previous year.

The top-100 ranking was the first for Martin, who had spent five years as the manager of the Oceanside U-Haul store. Martin had been the regional manager for two years before taking over the Miramar store.

“It’s always been a good store,” Martin said of the Miramar store.

Although the switch from store manager to regional manager appears as a lower level on the organization chart, operating a large store is actually a career advance. “I didn’t look at it as a drop. There’s more prestige,” Martin said.

Martin’s debut with U-Haul occurred in January 1978 as a customer service representative at the El Cajon store. She met her husband, Kevin, through U-Haul; Kevin was a mobile mechanic for U-Haul at the time. They were married in June 1978, although shortly afterward both were terminated.

The Martins moved to Fallbrook in 1991, and they returned to U-Haul with an independent dealer in Oceanside. Kevin Martin was the first to return, taking the job at the dealership owned by a friend. “Kevin got it going, and he got it to the point where he needed another person,” Debbie Martin said.

Debbie Martin became that other person, and eventually the dealership was ranked among the top 100 dealers. “That’s a good honor,” she said. “Several times we actually made it in the top 100.”

Those rankings include approximately 30,000 dealers throughout North America.

After Kevin Martin left U-Haul for other employment (he currently works at Fallbrook Hospital), the Martins returned the dealership to the owner and Debbie Martin began work for the corporate segment of U-Haul. “That was a good move,” she said.

In her five years at the Oceanside store, she nearly doubled revenue from $1.2 million to $2 million, although that store never placed in the top 100. The Miramar store had revenue of $2.4 million for the previous year and revenue only increased to $2.5 million, but Martin reduced losses and other expenses.

“There are two keys to running a U-Haul,” Martin said.

“You have to have the right people in the right job,” Martin said. “The other key is answering the telephone properly.”