The mailroom received a record high number of packages following the Martin Luther King, Jr. long weekend. However, many students still have not picked them up yet due to a malfunction in the notification system.
The mailroom updated the tracking software student email list on Jan. 19 and a glitch in the system turned off the package notification emails for the day, according to Peter Trunk, the manager of administrative services.
“All packages were scanned in and ready for pick up, but the students did not receive the usual notification from the mailroom,” he explained. The email notification system has been remedied since then.
Last week, there were about 4,500 packages delivered to the mailroom. 1,429 of them were delivered on Jan. 19, breaking the previous record, 1,413, for packaged received in a single day. This is typical following the MLK long weekend, situated after syllabus week when students are receiving anything from course books, items from home or belated Christmas gifts.
Trunk said there has been an incoming average of 900 packages per day so far this semester.
“That’s not counting the packages for faculty and staff,” said Trunk, with 13 years of experience under his belt. “For several semesters running we have broken our previous semester’s record.”
Trunk said the mailroom has been able to handle the increasing volume load since updating its inbound tracking software and hardware last year to a much faster system.
Kimberly Liebler, a student who has worked in the mailroom since last semester, said a lot of people came to inquire about their packages last week.
“The week after the malfunction was probably one of the most trying weeks I’ve had to overcome in my time at the mailroom, and I have gone through two syllabus weeks and Christmas time,” Liebler said.
After realizing the IT malfunction, students were notified of the error through an email and social media blast on Friday. Trunk said the mass notification and limited storage space for the influx was relieved.
Emily Balan can be reached at emily.balan@student.shu.edu
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