A recent pilot program offering residential mail services to students on Saturdays has received an overwhelming positive response, according to a survey conducted by UH Postal Services.
During the pilot program, which was implemented over that last six weeks of the spring semester, postal centers in the residence halls were open from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. UH Postal received such an enormous positive response from students that it has decided to carry over the Saturday service hours to the 2016-17 academic year.
“We listened to the feedback from the students,” said Sally Rowland-Ketley, director of UH Printing and Postal Services. “We are happy that the Saturday service program has received such a strong positive reception and are excited to be extending it into the upcoming fall and spring semesters for all resident communities.”
Students are also pleased overall with customer service, according to the survey. UH Postal staff received high marks for friendliness, helpfulness and overall quality of service. The survey also revealed that students are paying attention to communications about mail services.
“Customer service and communication are our top priority, and I’m pleased to see that our efforts are working,” said Rowland-Ketley. “We continually do e-blasts, web communications and one-on-one discussions to assist our students in getting the most from our services. Our communication lines need to be open and working throughout the academic year, especially for incoming freshmen.”
Students noted one area of improvement is in timeliness of deliveries, and according to Rowland-Ketley, work is already under way to address that issue.
“We’re adding more staff, and our management team is reviewing the work schedule to ensure we have even more coverage throughout the work day,” said Rowland-Ketley. “We’re also working with U.S. Postal Services and tracking software vendors on a new project that will better help students in tracking their packages and when they arrive at the UH Postal Sorting Facility. We hope to have more details about this project later in the year.”
Students, faculty and staff can learn more about campus postal services, programs and guidelines at the UH Printing and Postal Services website at www.uh.edu/postal.