Stony Brook University has implemented a 24/7 self-service parcel locker program and updated the Saturday hours for both the Roth Cafe and Schomburg Residential Mailrooms. The mail rooms now open at 9:30 a.m. and close at 1 p.m.
Heather Terry, the Coordinator of Residential Mail Services, clarified in an email to The Statesman that the decision to close earlier on Saturdays was based on the low volume of people coming in.
“We reduced the hours of operation of the mailrooms on Saturdays as the customer volume is significantly lower than during the weekdays. Deliveries are still received until 5:30 p.m. at the Warehouse,” Terry wrote.
Due to the increase in package deliveries and decrease in letter mail, according to Terry, the system is meant to accommodate students’ schedules, allowing them access to their packages at any time. She wrote that they reviewed multiple locker systems, and after viewing Telezygology (TZ), a technology that specializes in smart locking devices, they conducted further research.
TZ’s locker system is used in other universities such as Rutgers University, Vanderbilt University and Princeton University. After a visit to Princeton, it was decided to move forward with TZ to create the lockers.
“Before bringing this program to Stony Brook, we visited other universities that present similar systems to determine what worked best for our campus community,” Terry wrote. “We decided to pilot this program at one location, so the self-service parcel lockers were first introduced last year at the Chapin Mailroom to provide students with around-the-clock access to their packages. After a successful pilot, we moved forward to expand this service in phases to other residential communities.”
Emma Ruggiero, a sophomore studying Human Evolutionary Biology, resides in the Roth Community and has used the new locker system at the Roth Cafe on three separate occasions. She said the new system is similar to the old, where students receive an email notifying them that their package is ready.
The email also includes the students’ assigned mailroom, specific locker bank to check in, a collection pin and QR code. Once students arrive at their locker bank, there is a screen assigned to each bank where they type their collection pin and scan the QR code. After scanning, the locker opens automatically and must be closed by students afterwards.
Ruggiero shared that even with the two-day time frame for pickup, the mailroom’s 24/7 accessibility makes it convenient.
“With the lockers, while you have two days to pick your package up, it is open late hours as long as you can get into Roth Cafe … I hate[d] the mailroom deadline of 5:30 [p.m.] because I have classes,” Ruggiero said. “However, with the parcel pickup I can go whenever … It was great [that] I could do it on my own time without rush[ing].”
Alex Joshi, a junior studying English, lives in the West Apartments and picks up her mail from the Schomburg Mailroom. Similar to Ruggiero, she described the locker system as efficient and didn’t have to wait for someone to get her package.
The only issue she mentioned is that the screen at the locker bank doesn’t work properly since it doesn’t allow students to swipe their ID or scan their QR code.
“The only issue is that the QR code and ID scanners do not work. There is a sign to let people know, but it is inconvenient,” Joshi said.
