CLEARWATER -- "Quality" is a word of opinion, a free word; anyone can use it whether it is true or not.
But at 18524 U.S. 19 in Clearwater you can find and examine the definition of quality when it comes to storage centers.
Quality Self Storage very obviously fulfills the true and accurate meaning the word.
The site is as neat as a pin and as well ordered as the parade ground at West Point.
Convenience and customer service are the key words offered by Art and Becky Bolduc, the married couple who run Quality Self Storage.
Customers can access their storage units 365 days a year and security and cleanliness are paramount. Electronic gates protect entry to the grounds and there are 23 video cameras on alert. Art is diligent in keeping the 479 units ship-shape and a visit there showed nary a scrap of paper out of place.
Another aspect and supplementary to security is the fact that the Bolducs have an arrangement with the Sheriff's Office to train their K-9 dogs there. This takes place at night and is not on any listed schedule -- the training goes on ad hoc at any time.
A user of Quality Self Storage can pick from a variety of sizes, from 5 by 5 to 10 by 30. Many of the units are occupied by commercial customers.
When Becky and Art are not on hand, administration of the business is in the capable hands of Sophia Gargano, the assistant manager.
Of course, behind every couple there is a story and for Becky and Art it might be termed a little unusual in the romantic sense.
For one thing, the two bring together the North and South. Art is originally from Rhode Island but settled in Texas some years ago. Plagued by a computer program, he got in an Internet chat room and met Becky, who hails from Lawton, Okla.
The two got chatty, a spark got started and that became a relationship that flowered and prospered. They came to this area on vacation, loved it, and decided to settle here. (How often have you heard that story?)
"Customer service is our watchword," Becky says, and Art quickly supports this by pointing out that the area is drive through. That is, a large truck can enter off U.S. 19 and leave from the back.
"Also," Art says, "it is so accessible year around. And we have air conditioned units."
The air conditioned units are housed in a spic and span two-story building. One key element to safeguarding the property stored in the units is that they are secured with cylinder locks which makes it well nigh impossible to break in (even if any miscreant got through the security fence and was able to avoid the multitude of cameras).
Push carts are available to users and industrial size elevators make it easy to carry stuff to the second floor.
Family life in Clearwater is a winner for the Bolducs, they say. Their daughter, Kelsey, will be 6 next month. Becky has a grown son and daughter in Oklahoma and Art has a grown son in Gainesville, all from previous marriages.
With Quality Self Storage, when you see that word on the sign, you can believe you are getting quality.