Reports of packages strewn in lobbies and overcrowded mail rooms dominated some Pitt residence halls at the start of the semester, creating a chaotic situation that left students unsatisfied.
The student mail rooms have been experiencing long wait times for package processing and misdelivered Amazon packages, according to residents. Overcrowding is being resolved by mail room management, but residents and employees remember the overwhelming state of the mail system from the start of the semester.
Whitney Haught, an undeclared sophomore and resident of Ruskin Hall, said she is unsatisfied with the mail system, especially with the packages that are left out in the lobby.
“I think that it’s very chaotic. Also, depending on what your package is — or really just in general — it’s kind of unsafe,” Haught said.
Haught believes that the mail room problem in Ruskin Hall has gotten worse, in part due to a lack of security and stranded packages.
“We don’t have security guards anymore during the day. The packages are now left out by the actual front door,” Haught said. “You really have no idea where your package is actually being left.”
The problem stems from “dump-and-run” third party deliveries, according to Jessica Yacko, manager of Student Mailing Services. Yacko said University staff and mail room employees are not responsible for packages that aren’t delivered directly to the mail room and, in an emailed statement, said packages are often left in “hallways, vestibules or outside of our mail rooms.”
“We have increased the number of staff within the student mail department to check for these dumped packages and to ensure our students’ packages are delivered properly,” Yacko said.
Yacko also said the student mail rooms experienced a large increase in packages this year.
“While we cannot attribute it to this year’s large first-year class, we have received more than 6,000 additional packages this year compared to last year in August and September,” Yacko said.
Yacko explained some of the significant changes that had been made to the postage system at Pitt when contacted. Some of these changes included the consolidation of three mail rooms into one to “provide better service,” updating mail lockers, consolidating letter mail from Forbes Hall, Nordenberg Hall and The Strand into the Tower B mail room and “implementing central receiving of United States Post Office mail” at the Campus Mail warehouse.
The mail rooms are operated by student workers who operate the locker systems and help to process materials. While there has been an increase in deliveries, Yacko said student mail worker training policies have been consistently focused on “best-practices.”
“We have always trained our student team through a consistent program, using best practices to handle high-volume deliveries and updated procedures to make sure you get your mail quickly and on time — regardless of the increased volume,” Yacko said.
Erin Windisch, a senior rehabilitation science major working her second year in the upper campus mail room, said the beginning of the year was especially overwhelming in the mail room in part due to some of the changes. Windisch said she had to navigate around first-years who weren’t experienced yet with the Pitt mailing system and an unequipped locker IT system that made it impossible to load packages.
“We were getting so many packages, like hundreds a day, and just couldn’t keep up with it at the beginning, but now, it’s pretty much all sorted out and back to normal,” Windisch said.
Yacko gave some tips to navigate the mail room for this year for students looking to get their package faster, including using one’s full information to ensure correct delivery and using the Amazon lockers at 209 Oakland Avenue for time-sensitive deliveries.
She also gave a suggestion about what to do if a package isn’t in the mail room but the recipient gets a delivery photo.
“If you receive a delivery photo from a carrier but don’t see your package in the mail room, please check the spot shown in the photo and pick it up as soon as possible. If it’s not there, contact your residence hall’s mail room staff for help,” Yacko said.