Located at 3 Discovery Drive, the University of Connecticut’s central warehouse offers several services to faculty and students, including package pickup.
While a majority of packages are delivered to student mailrooms, packages that are at least 24 inches in length or 30 pounds in weight are held at the warehouse, according to Andy Kelly, the associate director of operations and distribution at Facilities Operations.
The warehouse’s process of picking up packages is similar to that of the mailrooms.
“Once the packages are processed in the system that we use to track them internally at UConn, the students receive an email,” Kelly said in a phone interview. “They present their One Card when they get to the warehouse. We scan that, and the system tells us how many packages we’re supposed to have on hand for them. Then we grab it, and they give us the electronic signature on a pad at the point of service. And then in our system, the items are processed as having been retrieved.”
The warehouse has been using the same pickup process for the last seven or eight years, with “minor changes to the number and locations of distributed student mailrooms,” according to Kelly. However, he said the volume of packages arriving at the warehouse this semester has been significantly greater than in the past.
Facilities Operations attempts to process packages the same day they arrive at the warehouse, but there is currently a one-day delay in processing due to the unusually high volume of packages.
“I can tell you that we’re about one day behind right now,” Kelly said. “Thus, the stuff that comes in today isn’t gonna be processed until tomorrow … And this week, the Halloween care packages will come through, which will be challenging to keep up with. We’re actually already planning on having people work overtime once those care packages come in, in order to not get further behind and hopefully catch up.”
According to Kelly, one way students can help in speeding up the processing of packages is by writing their mailing address with the correct format.
“The inappropriately addressed mail takes up an inordinate amount of our time,” Kelly said. “If you are a student living on campus, the address that you have your stuff sent to needs to include your legal name — unless you have worked with ResLife to add a preferred name, your hall and your room number. And there shouldn’t be street addresses unless you live in Northwood apartments.”
Students can pick up their packages from the warehouse any time from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. If they have any questions or concerns, students can contact the central warehouse at (860) 486-6297 or CS_Dock@uconn.edu.
