Since opening its doors July 14, the Pak Mail Center in Crosby Hall has rented out more than 2,500 of its 5,000 mailboxes to customers and expects to fill roughly 4,000 of the boxes in total for the 2014-2015 academic year..
Customers will have access to their mailboxes 24 hours a day via student ID. Text or email alerts will provide confirmation upon delivery of mail to the “smart boxes.” When the center is staffed from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays, students will be able to send and receive packages and money transfers, take passport photos and notarize documents.
Jim Shaver, Pak Mail Oxfordfranchise owner expressed his belief that the added services that Pak Mail brings to campus will greatly benefit international students.
“There is a wide variety of international services that we offer that weren’t there before,” Shaver said. “We’ve met with representatives of the international community and were able to focus on and offer some of the services they thought would be helpful. With international shipping, whereas before they had the option of postal, we add the option of Fed Ex, UPS, or DHL.”
Junior criminal justice major Kirby Rhodes cited international shipping and money transfers as some of the particular difficulties she saw among her neighbors when living on an international floor in Minor Hall.
“Even something simple like getting a care package or some extra cash from home can be a complicated ordeal when that home is in another country,” Rhodes said. Also, sometimes things just come up. The more options students have, the more situations they’re prepared for.”
Pak Mail also brought its moving and storage service to campus to help students transition between semesters. The service includes removing a packed up dormitory room, storing the items and delivering them to their final destination. According to Shaver, roughly 100 students used this service this past summer. Oxford Pak Mail manager Linda Briglia explained that complications can arise during this process and require some flexibility from Pak Mail employees.
“We go the extra mile for all of our customers,” Briglia said. “Whether they’re students or just any of the people we see daily.”
Briglia cited the company’s handling of the Crosby location’s opening as another example of how she does business in general.
“I want to do everything I can toward what you’re paying me to do,” Briglia explained. “Right now, we are just bombarded with students. They’re out the door every day and we’re staying open. Normally, my Saturdays are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and we’re staying open until 6 p.m., so they can get the keys to their boxes and pick up boxes at this critical time for students.”
