Somebody arrives with a van, a friend who took the morning off, and a load that includes a petrol mower, four tins of paint, two gas canisters and a chest freezer that has not been emptied.
Half of it cannot go in the unit. Nobody told him, and now there is a conversation in a car park that neither party wanted.
The checklist
Publish these specifically and the car park conversation stops.
1. Hazardous and flammable items
Fuel, gas, solvents, paint, chemicals and anything under pressure. The largest category and the one customers most often bring without thinking.
2. Anything with fuel in it
Mowers, strimmers, generators, motorbikes and outboard motors. Say plainly whether they can be stored drained and what that means.
3. Perishable food
Anything that can spoil or attract pests, and the distinction between sealed non perishable goods and everything else. Customers store food regularly and do not know it is a problem.
4. Living things
Plants and animals, obviously, and the reason. It sounds unnecessary to state and facilities receive the question.
5. Waste
Because storage is not disposal, and customers occasionally treat it as such. Saying so plainly avoids an abandoned unit, which is the same territory as prohibited item questions waste firms must answer.
6. Illegal items and anything unlawfully obtained
Stated plainly, with the position on inspection and what happens if something is suspected.
7. High value items
Cash, jewellery, documents and anything of unusual value, with the insurance implications, which sits with insurance and contents cover questions.
8. Items likely to be damaged by conditions
Anything sensitive to temperature or humidity, and whether climate controlled units are available. It is advice rather than a prohibition and customers value it.
9. Tyres
Frequently restricted for disposal and fire reasons, and something customers bring without a thought.
10. Firearms and anything controlled
Stated clearly with the position, because the question arises and the answer must be unambiguous.
11. Whether anybody can live or work in a unit
Sleeping, working, running a business from it and what business use is permitted. Storage and occupation are different things.
12. Vehicle storage
Cars, motorbikes, caravans and trailers, whether they go in units or in a separate area, and what conditions apply.
13. What happens if something prohibited is found
Inspection rights, notice and consequences. Published, so it never feels arbitrary.
14. Publish it before booking
On the booking page, not in the agreement, so somebody packing a van sees it first, which is the same publish-before-they-arrive logic as unit size questions customers cannot answer themselves.
14b. Say what happens to a unit that is abandoned
People stop paying, stop answering and leave a unit full of things nobody wants to deal with. Publishing the notice given, how long it runs and what happens to the contents is uncomfortable to write and considerably better than a customer discovering the process during the worst month of their life.
15. Answer the unusual question honestly
There will always be something not on the list, and saying plainly that you will check rather than guessing is the right response, which is the principle in what to do when your chatbot says I do not know.
Getting started
Publish a specific prohibited list on the booking page with the vehicle and business use position, then answer unusual questions at any hour. SpideyChat for self storage answers from your published pages. Try SpideyChat on your own site, or read about answers on the features page.