One of the Amazon lockers, named Verse, sits in the lobby of Machuga Heights.
Rebecca Serviss | The Montclarion
Verse, Soulmate and Julia are three new members of the Montclair State University community. They are lockers located in Machuga Heights, Freeman Hall and Sinatra Hall respectively as part of Amazon’s innovative locker delivery service.
There are over 2,000 locations across the nation, including other college campuses like Boston College, The University of Pittsburgh and Purdue University. Lavone Broxton, the assistant director of postal services on campus, says Montclair State is the first university in New Jersey to have this service.
According to Amazon’s website, the lockers are secure locations where customers can pick up their Amazon packages on their own time. When purchasing an item online, customers need to choose locker delivery instead of delivery to their usual address.
Customers can find nearby lockers by typing in their zip code. If a locker is full, then that location will be unavailable.
After items are purchased, customers receive an email with a unique code to enter on the locker that allows them access to the box containing their package. Just like the process of picking up packages at Central Receiving, students must present their campus IDs before using the kiosks.
Broxton said that he kept the Montclair State community in mind while providing the university with the Amazon Lockers.
“Campus deliveries will be improved by the extension of pickup options outside of Postal Service hours,” Broxton said.
As a result of Amazon delivering to campus seven days a week, students will have 24-hour access to the lockers.
Dylan Daprato, a senior business and marketing major, said that it will be a more convenient way for residents to pick up their packages, especially those who live in the buildings farther away from Central Receiving.
Daprato plans on using the Amazon Lockers for future purchases and has already seen some residents take advantage of it.
“I have seen one employee drop it off in the top-left slot and then a resident came down about 20 minutes later and used it,” Daprato said.
Other students aren’t as pleased with the new lockers on campus, like Rebecca Granovskaya, who is a sophomore family and child studies major.
“I think it’s an eyesore, but I think it’s a good idea,” Granovskaya said. “I wish it wasn’t so in your face.”
Granovskaya is not a fan of the appearance of the machine, but she is still looking forward to using the service. She believes that it will improve on-campus deliveries because residents will no longer need to go all the way to the other side of campus to pick up their packages.
She also thinks that this new service will be good for next semester when students begin to order textbooks for their spring courses.
Many students agree that going all the way to Central Receiving is a long trip, including Elena Plumser, a sophomore television and digital media major.
“It can be a hassle to go down such a large hill next to a busy campus road just to get even the smallest package, especially on days with bad weather,” Plumser said.
Plumser orders items from Amazon very often and is ready to take advantage of this new service on campus where she can pick up her packages as soon as they get delivered.
Mackenzie Robertson, a sophomore television and digital media major, has had her share of negative experiences with Central Receiving but is still hesitant about the Amazon Lockers.
“Literally every time I go there, I have a problem and it is so inconvenient,” Robertson said.
She has tried to retrieve her packages multiple times and has always encountered a different problem upon arrival. In some instances, the workers were unable to find her packages.
“Already two times this semester they have lost my package because they put the wrong last name on it,” Robertson said.
Even with all of the issues finding her packages, Robertson is somewhat skeptical about how to use the new machines.
“I would definitely use the lockers once I learn how it works,” Robertson said.
