Portable On Demand Storage is a company founded in January, 1998 in Clearwater, Florida by Peter Warhurst, Roy Courtney, David Revelia and Bill Ash. PODS pioneered the concept of a portable storage container. The patented container is brought empty to the customer's home, where the customer loads it with their belongings and lock it themselves with their own padlock. Then PODS takes the container to the local warehouse for storage until it is delivered to the customer again. Customers can also keep the container onsite.

History
Peter Warhurst and Roy Courtney launched a mini-storage business in 1996, shortly after the introduction of the concept by Door to Door Storage of Seattle, WA. They then conceived of a pick-up-and-delivery service using less expensive land for the actual storage. Though some competitors used wooden crates, they wanted a more weather-resistant box. New partners, David Revelia and Bill Ash, came on board and a new kind of storage industry was born. The founders designed a portable weather-resistant container for delivery and placement at ground level in order to ease loading. They also created and patented a hydraulic lift system, referred to within the company as "Podzilla", designed to significantly reduce shift of contents and securely transport the container. Within the first two years, the company grew well beyond the Tampa Bay Area with 14 locations in Florida, half of them Franchised.

Franchises
The original franchise agreements were for markets with populations of 400,000 requiring an investment of up to $1.5 million. PODS receives a fee of $75,000 and 10% of revenues for billing, marketing, and call center support from the Clearwater corporate headquarters. Newer franchises are smaller, for markets of 200,000 or fewer.

The PODS Brand Container
There are over 308,563 PODS containers in use at last update.
PODS containers come in two sizes.
1) Approximately 8 feet high, approximately 8 feet wide, 12 feet long.
.....This size may accommodate 1-2 rooms.
2) Approximately 8 feet high, approximately 8 feet wide, 16 feet long.
.....This size may accommodate 3-4 rooms.

They are manufactured by PODS with a steel frame construction and marine grade wood interior. An engineer certified that the sturdy, weather resistant container can withstand a wind velocity of up to 110 miles per hour while partially full.

The floor of the container is 4 inches off the ground. It is equipped with a roll-up door at one end. The roof/ceiling is made from a translucent plastic to allow light to enter the container from above. They are manufactured at several company factories nationwide at a rate of one about every 20 minutes. Special demonstration edition containers can be found on display in some shopping centers, most Home Depot locations, and at PODS corporate headquarters.

PODS places no restriction on how long the customer can have the container on site. Loading can take as long as the customer wishes.
The customer locks the container themselves with their own padlock.

Pricing
Pricing is set by each individual Franchise. The exception is any move from one Franchise area to another Franchise area.
Pricing is set by Zip Codes. Where the container is loaded and where it is unloaded affect the delivery costs, as do whether the container is going directly to a new home or if it is stored in between.
There is typically a delivery fee as well as a rental fee for the use of the container. There may be a delivery fee for each move of the container, or there may be a single delivery fee which covering all four moves (which would be paid upon the initial delivery).
The rental cycle begins when the container is given to the customer for loading.

Long Distance
PODS is able to accommodate long distance moves. Their "Inter-Franchise" department handles any moves from one franchise area to another franchise's designated area.
An inter-franchise move consists of several trips. The initial delivery of the container to the customer's home for loading, the loaded container then goes to the local warehouse until it is shipped to the destination warehouse. From the destination warehouse it is delivered to the customer's new home. The customer is charged a deposit up to five business days before the initial delivery and the remaining balance is charged five business days before the shipment to the destination warehouse begins.
Only 16 foot long containers are available for this service. The fees are per container plus mileage and often include local delivery fees as well. Quotes given will include all these fees.

Caveat Rentor
Some communities place restrictions upon the use of these containers, limiting time they can remain onsite, requiring a permit, or disallowing them altogether.

PODS brand containers are rented, never sold.

Rental rate is set monthly, not daily or weekly.

The delivery schedules tend to fill up very quickly, particularly during seasons popular for moving and on fridays or mondays. Customers should call to schedule a delivery and pickup times the moment they know the date they need it to avoid possible delays of days or weeks.

Delays in scheduling a pickup could cause a container to remain unused in a driveway until a truck is available to pick it up, sometimes causing additional rental charges.

PODS identifies zip codes that are serviced by each operating location including those that will be serviced only for an Inter-Franchise order. If a particular zip code is not serviced, the customer then may take their belongings to the warehouse themselves or pick them up from the warehouse should they want to use PODS.
--Occasional Fees--
There is an additional fee for placing a container on a surface other than cement or asphalt (pavement). Some metro areas (i.e. Chicago) do not allow non-paved placement at all. There is often an additional fee for cancelling or rescheduling a move, pickup, or delivery after 4pm Eastern Standard Time the evening before the move.

--Time of Day--
PODS can not schedule what time of day pickups and deliveries are made.
They can only provide the customer with an estimated 3-4 hour window of time. Even this can be provided no sooner than the evening before the delivery or pickup.
This Estimated Time of Arrival is available through the customer service portion of their web site.

--Sufficient Space--
In order to place a container in a location, a minimum clearance of 12 feet in width and 15 feet in height is necessary for the operation of the patented hydraulic lift system which loads and unloads the container.

A container fits into a parking space, but during placement/unloading/loading, the spaces on either side must be empty to allow the unloading equipment to function.

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