Let me answer this from the point of view of a storage vendor.
We get all sorts of boxes, some as good as the ones we sell, but a whole ton of cheap Staples kind, the ones that fall apart at the slightest amount of handling.
If you are concerned that your vendor is "going to take advantage of you", have them designate the good boxes from the bad. I have no problem doing so for my clients when this discussion comes up. If their box then breaks, and it is one of the cheap ones, I repackage, and charge. If a good box breaks, it will depend on how many times it was handled (yes, we keep track of that). If more than 5 times, it gets charged, less it does not. Don’t forget, that 5 times applies only if the box was called for to be handled by the client, not if it was handled incidently by us when another client may be involved, such as if the box is above the other clients. What that means, a box could be handled many times, and there are times we replace and don't charge.
If you are worried about the confidentiality, why are you even considering off-site? We consistenly go into client boxes to pull files for delivery. Why would you be worried in one case, but not the other?
You need to decide how you deal with your vendor. They are not there to "snoop" in your files, they are there to provide a service. You are probably only one of many, and probably one of their smaller clients, so why would they even think of jeopardising their reputation?
Andy von Busse
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-----Original Message-----
From: Records Management Program [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Laura Steinberg
Sent: Monday, November 10, 2008 4:22 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [RM] Off-Site Storage Provider Reboxing Files
Hello everyone,
I supervise a centralized file room for a mid-sized law firm in Southern California. I lurk the list for the valuable information I get from your discussions. 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. My law firm just got a notice from our provider that they were going to start this practice, and that we would know when this service had been provided when we were billed for it on our invoice.
I want to bring this to the attention of the firm's partners, partly because I feel that in some ways this practice could bring up lots of questions about our clients' confidentiality, and partly because I think this practice is outrageous. How can the provider not think that their clients would immediately question what their criteria were for considering a "damaged" carton, without any discussion prior to the fact? It's not that I don't trust anyone...but let's just say that I don't trust many.
Does anyone remember how long ago this discussion took place? I've looked back from the latest to September 1, 2008, but haven't found a topic/subject line that matches. I apologize for bringing up a subject that you've probably all talked to death, but I would sure appreciate the help.
Laura Steinberg
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