This Year’s Survey Results Show Positive Experience with Pre-Delivery and Overall Student Mail Service

We asked, you answered! Columbia Mail’s customer satisfaction survey provided students’ feedback about the experience using the Student Mail Center during the Fall 2024 semester. Positive input helps us know what’s going well and other feedback guides the Columbia Mail team to improve service in the Spring and beyond.   

The survey asked participants to rate their experience with pre-delivery and their visits to the Student Mail Center. It also collected optional feedback – check out some of our favorite comments from students below.  

The results showed a high level of satisfaction with pre-delivery, with 90% ranking their experience from 8 to 10 (on a 10-point scale with 10 being the highest).

Results also showed a high level of satisfaction with Student Mail service overall. We asked about notifications and communications, wait time at the Student Mail Center, and customer service. 90% ranked their experience from 8 to 10. 

Our Favorite Comments

Operational Improvements 

The Student Mail team learns valuable lessons each year during Fall Rush, when the volume of packages is the highest. This past fall, Student Mail delivered over 10,000 packages to students’ rooms during pre-delivery – a record high. The team streamlines and tightens its processes to increase efficiency and accuracy for the next year. Our goal is to implement your valuable feedback and our experience on the ground to make Student Mail the best it can be for our students. 

Wait Times and Logistics 

We received some comments about long wait times, but many acknowledged that is to be expected during Fall Rush. This Fall Rush, the Student Mail Center saw over 21.5k visitors with an average wait time of under 3 minutes. Still, Student Mail will look at ways to use data from past years to identify the busiest times – such as when lines quickly materialize during class breaks – and publicize this information on the website. We hope this data will help students plan the best time for them to visit the Student Mail Center if they aim to avoid crowds.  

Working with Columbia Housing to Enhance Student Experience

A few respondents noted there was a delay in receiving packages for early arrival students. The Student Mail team is working to better identify early arrivals in the mail roster to prioritize them during pre-delivery. 

The Student Mail team will also continue to partner with Columbia Housing and their student committee to identify possible enhancements to the returning student experience. For example, students living in the residence halls over the summer and returning in the fall may have a gap in their housing during the transitional time between semesters. Stay tuned for more on how Columbia Mail can help you. 

"Delivered" Notifications from Courier

Each year, we receive questions about the delay between a courier's "Delivered" notification and Student Mail's notification to a student that their package is ready for pickup. Even if you have received a notification from the courier (Amazon, for example) saying your package was delivered, we may not have received it yet. If we have your package, the Student Mail Center will send a separate notification via email within 24 hours letting you know it’s time to pick it up. For more on that, and what to do if you don't receive a note from us, visit this page: https://mailservices.columbia.edu/content/expecting-amazon-package 

Notifications and Communications 

A handful of respondents asked if more information about packages can be included in the email notifications or accessed in the Mail Management Portal (SC Logic). Examples included information about the sender, package specs (like size and weight), and number of items available for pickup. Students also expressed that it can be difficult to discern which package each notification is for, especially when receiving several packages at the same time. 

We hear you! While we are limited in what information we can pull from the tracking barcode, we're working with our software provider, SC Logic, to make more information available at a glance.

Packages Damaged in Transit to Mail Center 

Sometimes, the Student Mail Center receives packages that have been damaged. Our team is working on improving our damaged package notification process to alert students whose packages come to us with visible damage. 

Service Hours 

Service hours during check-in and the first few weeks of the Fall semester vary depending on campus operations, orientation planning, and other logistics. This can be difficult to keep track of. In addition to digital screens in the residence halls, daily hours posts on Columbia Housing's Instagram story, and a link to the hours page within email notifications, we are looking into making the hours more prominent on our website and implementing a real-time "open now" module, similar to Columbia Dining’s homepage.