> I seem to remember a discussion not too long ago about one or more
off-site storage providers reboxing cartons they thought were deteriorated
or damaged and then charging the customer for the service.  I wanted to go
back and read all your comments for more detail, but I find those emails
have been deleted from my ListServe inbox.  I've tried every search term I
could think of in the archives, but obviously not the right one(s), so I'm
asking for your help. 

The title of the thread was "Offsite Storage Box Stacking"

I think that you'll find by reading the replies to your recent post that
there is a DEFINITE difference of thought here between a vendor's and a
practitioner's perspective on this.

I find it a bit comical if the vendor is one who decides to run their
business based on a model where boxes are stacked 4 high and 4 deep,
requiring them to handle more boxes to service a client that if a box breaks
in the process the client should be responsible for that damage.  And not
only for the cost of replacing their damaged boxes, but for the labor to do
so and the relabeling, both of which have the potential of resulting in
either the contents being out of order, improperly exposed to individuals
who don't need to see them, or being mislabeled in the process. 

My long held opinion on this subject remains unchanged.  If you are planning
to enter into a contractual agreement with a vendor, visit their site
(preferably unannounced) and ask for a tour of the operations.  Agree to
sign a confidentiality agreement that you will not divulge any information
about the labels or information you see on the boxes, but pay close
attention to the quality of the boxes, the manner in which the facility is
operated, and  ask the hard questions BEFORE signing on the dotted line and
transferring responsibility for the management of your organization's
information assets.  

I can guarantee you a lot of blood, sweat, tears and hard work went into
developing and writing the ARMA Guideline for Evaluating Offsite Storage
Facilities, and as Project Manager of that 3 year project I can assure you
it is a comprehensive tool for performing an 'apples to apples' comparison
of vendors, their operations, and their facilities.  
http://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=2220  

I must clearly state my professional bias, but this could quite possibly be
the best money you spend prior to entering into a storage contract.

Larry

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