What Tenants Can't Store: Self-Storage Talk Erupts with Praise of Facilities Who Display, Enforce Their Rules

Off the top of my head, I can think of a handful of items that should never be put into self-storage: human beings or animals; perishable food items; hazardous or highly combustible materials; and myriad others. Common sense should prevent tenants from attempting to lock up this stuff in their units, but as any manager can tell you, that's not the case. That's why Self-Storage Talk, the largest online community in the industry, currently features a thread called "I Love This: Specific Things You Can't Store."

The thread began with moderator MamaDuke giving praise to member Storage Dunstable. Storage Dunstable had posted a link to the facility website on another thread, and MamaDuke, after reading that thread and visiting Storage Dunstable's website, was so impressed with Storage Dunstable's list of things tenants can't store that she started a separate thread to express her joy. One of the key functions of SST is to show some love to industry peers when they do something admirable. But even more important, by highlighting this list, MamaDuke has pointed all members to a resource they can use. This resource-sharing concept is an invaluable benefit to the forum. Member A Space Place Storage replied with, "Wow, very interesting. We should have a big poster that states all this and keep in our office to remind our customers not to store these items." Then other posters started posted concerns that tenants won't read a "you can't store these" sign anyway, so it may not be worth having. In either case, Storage Dunstable's strategy to post a clear list on its website and, presumably, provide to new tenants, is a strong one.

Want to find more useful resources on SST or perhaps post some of your own? If so, register your free username by visiting www.selfstoragetalk.com and clicking on "register." The sign-up process is easy and takes only a few minutes. Once you're logged in, make sure to check out the Resource Center, where you can upload and download various documents and marketing materials.