Package Safety During the Holiday Season

The holiday season is here once again. For many, giving gifts is a rewarding part of the season’s traditions. However, if you happen to work at a multifamily property the hassle of dealing with a surge of package deliveries can be anything but rewarding.

We all know that package deliveries can be problematic at many apartment complexes. It is estimated that concierge staff and property managers spend 15 hours a day facilitating deliveries for residents. Add the holiday season to the mix, and you’ve got even more deliveries being made, each with their own opportunities to go missing or stolen. Sometimes it’s tough to find a solution to this problem, especially when you are managing a multifamily complex. Here are some solutions that may help ease the stress.  

Stay Organized

While keeping these packages secure for your residents should be your first step, being able to stay organized should also be a priority. With an influx of packages being delivered, a large portion of your staff’s time might be taken up with logging, sorting and general management of packages. There are many companies now that have developed package-tracking software that will streamline this process. With this software, you can easily log deliveries, notify your residents, and then log the resident picking up their package.

Package Lockers

Keeping organized is a great step to securing your resident’s deliveries, but where do you keep all of the packages until they are picked up? A new service to help with this is package lockers. They typically work by electronically opening for the delivery person, which each delivery being assigned a code. That code is then sent to the recipient when they are notified of a package waiting for them. The resident then enters the unique code and are able to retrieve their package.

Use Surveillance Cameras

Knowing what has been delivered, having a record of your resident picking up their package, and making sure that they are delivered in a controlled area are crucial steps to preventing theft. What happens when something does go wrong and a package does end up missing? Installing surveillance cameras in the areas where you receive and store packages can be your best defense. With video evidence you can remove any doubt of what happened and stop any kind of “he said, she said” argument. Installing cameras in prominent view of anyone in the area will also act as a deterrent, stopping problems before they start.