Online service forms: a quick fix for facilities

SHANNON KING FEATURESEDITOR

Broken screens, blown out light bulbs and clogged sinks can now be fixed with just a few clicks of the mouse. Facilities has introduced an online service request form that students can access through the Cabrini website.

According to Howard Holden, director of facilities, the website has become the primary means of submitting service requests on campus.

"They were speedy," Jennifer Dalvano, junior, said. "I put in my request and the next day it was taken care of. I called facilities to make sure that they got my request and they said that if I submitted it online, it would kick in so much quicker than if I had done it the old way."

According to most students, the online service requests are much more efficient than the old way of submitting requests.

Phone calls and the paperwork associated with submitting requests before are now done away with and it is so much easier.

With anything new, there is bound to be some confusion until everyone gets use to the new system. The major problem expressed by students on campus is that they have no idea that this new system is even in place. Senior Cheryl Tranchitella echoed the thoughts of several students when she said that she had not heard anything about a website submission form.

Even though many students are still in the dark about the forms, Holden says that there are easily 20 to 25 requests submitted per day, if not more. "A few students call and express confusion, but we literally walk them through the system," Holden said. "It's still not a perfect system, but it's much better than it was." Holden also said that improvements are still being made to make things run more smoothly for the campus commu- nity.

Not everyone is happy with the responses from facilities, however. "l put in my request to have my screen fixed in October and it still hasn't been done yet," junior Leslie Glavin said. "Maybe l did it wrong, but l got a confirmation number and everything."

It seems that even though there are some people who might fall through the cracks, so to speak, the majority opinion is positive. "I think it works a lot better than the old way. Voicemails get deleted and forgotten about, but website submissions don't go away," senior Anthony D' Aleo said. For the most part, requests should all be made via the online request form, but in the event of an emergency or if you need assistance immediately, facilities urges students to not be afraid to call and let them know right away.