Package Acceptance Tips

I was reading through my local City Data message board yesterday and came across a post from an angry apartment resident blasting her community because she believed they "lost" one of her packages. She was even involving the police! I'm sure we've all been in the uncomfortable position of having a resident come into the office with a notice that they have a package, yet that package is nowhere to be found. Ordinarily, the fault likely lies with the delivery agent. At my last office, the friendly postman was bombarded with packages, bringing them in the office in about 3-4 large bins and cheerfully handing them over to us to deal with. He'd then place slips that he'd prepared earlier that morning before leaving the post office inside the mailboxes of the residents. Sounds pretty typical, right? It is, however, there's so much room for error. A slip could go in the wrong mailbox, a slip could not get written at all, the package could actually be in a different bin or on a different truck...who knows. All we do know is that if something goes wrong, we're the ones to blame. Help minimize the negative impact that lost packages can have on your community by practicing the following steps...

1. Have all residents sign a package release that will hold you harmless in the event a package is lost. Remind your residents that packages are accepted as a courtesy and while every effort will be made to insure they're handled properly, ultimately the responsibility relies on the recepient and the delivery agent.

2. Create a package log. As each package comes in, log it into a spreadsheet. As the residents pick up the packages, have them sign and date the log acknowledging their pick up.

3. Organize your packages. Pick a system that works for you, like building, last name or the day of the week that they came in. That way you have easy access to your packages and less room for them to get misplaced.

4. Have copies of a handy phone list of all delivery agents, including the local USPS and name of your usual carrier, UPS, Fed Ex, etc., to be able to give to the residents in the event their packages are missing. Rather than take the attitude "It's not my fault, I can't help you," offer the resident every bit of help that you can possibly give.

5. Offer package drop off to your residents. Many people aren't home during business hours to be able to pick up their packages from your office. Step up your customer service and offer to drop the package off inside of their apartment for them. (Be sure to get a waiver in writing first so that they know you'll be entering their apartment while they're not there). Not only is it providing excellent service to your residents, it's clearing the packages for you, thus lessening the chaos and minimizing the chance a package will get misplaced.

Accepting pacakges can be a headache, but it's a very important resident retention tool. This is a great opportunity to go above and beyond to keep your residents happy, just be sure to protect yourself in the process!

Morgan Oney, CAM
www.mynewsletterconnection.com
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