Despite the Yale Station post office’s efforts for improvement, students have been dissatisfied with its service during the busy opening weeks of school.

With the beginning of classes, Yale students have received a flood of packages with course materials, causing delays in parcel sorting leading to long lines at the post office. After student outcry last fall, post office officials implemented new measures to mitigate the delays, such as adding two new employees and a new window for distribution. Still, students said the post office has not achieved an efficient system of dealing with the rush of activity.

Connecticut United States Postal Service spokeswoman Christine Dugas said Wednesday that the new window looks to address the long lines and the new employees aim to help distribute packages more quickly. The post office currently has no backlogs — a delay between employees sorting parcels and handing out receiving slips — she added.

But the changes may not have improved the situation substantially. Nineteen out of 30 students interviewed said they experienced some trouble with the post office in the past two weeks — several received their packages two to three days later than the arrival date listed on the online tracking system and others spent an extensive amount of time in line waiting for their parcels. Many said they do not think this year’s situation is significantly different from last year’s.

“We’re just overwhelmed,” said a staff member at Yale Station who wished to remain anonymous because he was not authorized to speak to the press. “They tried their best, but there are so few workers. We have at least a thousand parcels a day.”

This year, he said, the station has been distributing packages from USPS as well as United Parcel Service and FedEx. The post office previously only distributed mail from USPS and the change adds “a couple hundred parcels more” per day, he added.

In spite of the post office’s recent changes, students said they continue to be frustrated by the long wait to receive packages. The News visited Yale Station four times Tuesday and Wednesday, and each time, the new distribution window was not manned. Rachel Scot ’15 said she ordered a package with a two-day shipping guarantee one week ago, but she still has not received a slip informing her that she had a package waiting, though the online tracking system indicated that it had already arrived.

Marvin Qian ’15 said he budgeted 30 minutes before class to wait at the post office, but only reached the line’s midpoint during that time.

Anabel Starosta ’17 said she went to the post office intending to pick up her package a total of three times because she left twice due to a long line.

Some freshmen said they were unhappy with delays in receiving keys for their new P.O. boxes. While Dugas said she has been informed that the delays were “fixed,” students said they had to wait for over a week after setting up their P.O. boxes before being able to access them.

Montse Legorreta ’14, a student from Mexico enrolled in the Yale Visiting International Student Program, said she completed a form requesting a P.O. box two weeks ago but received its key on Tuesday.

“We need a larger station with more people that work faster,” she said. “I feel like I’m waiting to get a license or a formal document in Mexico.”

The post office is located at 206 Elm St.

JIWON LEE