Students discuss their experiences using U. mailing services, efficiency of system
The University’s mailing services offer students the opportunity to use an address within an on-campus post office to send and receive mail from designated mailrooms on each Rutgers—New Brunswick campus.
Students who live on campus are automatically added to the University’s mailing system and are assigned an address to the mailroom for the campus they live on, and those who live in off-campus housing or commute to campus have the ability to set up an address, as well.
Several members of the Rutgers community discussed their experiences with using the system, and how it has impacted their ability to send and receive mail while they are on campus.
Nihar Biradar, a School of Arts and Sciences first-year, said while he uses the system monthly and generally finds it easy to use, he thinks it could be improved upon in its efficiency.
“I think the system is generally effective, but I feel like it would be more ideal to let packages be shipped directly to student dorms,” he said.
Biradar also said when he was first introduced to the system, he found it simple to learn and has still not encountered any problems or delays in using it. He said he has no other recommendations on how to better improve it.
Ashley West, a School of Arts and Sciences first-year, said she feels comfortable using the University’s mail system and feels that the services are efficient most of the time.
“I live on the College Avenue campus, so I go pick up my packages from the mailroom across from El Jefe’s Taqueria,” she said. “The staff at the mailroom are always friendly and polite. I have never had an issue picking up a package.”
West also said that, for the most part, her packages are typically available for pickup a day after they have been delivered. She said she has experienced some delays with the service in terms of mail delivery notifications, but it has not taken away from her experiences using the system as a whole.
“I usually have a package delivered maybe once or twice a month,” West said. “The only improvement I could think of is maybe having more locations across each campus for mail pickup.”
Gianfranco Altieri, a School of Arts and Sciences junior, said he uses the mail system frequently and has not had any particularly noteworthy problems other than notable delays due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Altieri said if there was anything he would change about how the system operates, it would be the way the mail service application, which notifies students when their mail is available to pick up, operates.
“Maybe make the app indicate whether or not packages are available for pickup and then where they are available,” he said. “Sometimes the information says it is ready for pick up when it really is just in the mailroom.”
Jensey Concepcion, a customer service mailroom employee, said he has been working with the University’s mail operations for seven years and believes the biggest improvement to the system was the implementation of the locker system, which allows for more flexibility for students using the system.
“Before the locker system, people had to get their packages inside,” Concepcion said. “Now, we can put them out in the lockers and people can pick them up when they want.”
