How often were you doing laundry when you realized that either a dryer or washer was broken? Did you decide to come back later, and hope that they would be working again, or did you take the time to put in a maintenance request? Most of us can agree that taking the time to find the form and fill it out is annoying, especially if you are busy or are trying to finish errands.
However, this is something that somebody has to do, or maintenance will never know there is an issue. Maintenance requests usually happen at the beginning of the school year, when most students are moving into new dorms.
According to one of Austin Hall’s RAs, maintenance tries to complete room checks before students move in to complete requests as early as possible. Most of these early requests will involve visible issues like ceiling tiles or broken towel rods. For the smaller details that get missed, students are encouraged to fill out the form as soon as possible so maintenance can tackle many requests at once.
Although most students are willing to put in requests for their own room, how often do they put in requests for outside issues? Having broken washers and dryers for a few days is a common occurrence in most dorms. The Villanovan spoke with Gerremy Ferguson, an RA from Alumni Hall, about how often students ask him to put in requests. He said that most students tend to handle requests themselves and do not ask him too often, especially in dorms with older students. However, he noticed that students would wait until it became a large inconvenience. Once there was a bigger issue, they would come to him for the request. This observation was shared by Austin Hall RA Isabella Quatela, as well.
Why do students wait to put in outside maintenance requests? One possibility is the inconvenience of the form itself. Maintenance can only fix known issues, so making it easier to submit requests could improve the process. Would putting the form as a link on the NovaNow app encourage students to submit requests faster?
Another issue is the mindset that somebody else will put in the request eventually, so why put in the effort. If the problem is related to something used by many students, like laundry or showers, somebody will eventually submit a request. This has allowed many students to put off making requests, which forces everyone to wait longer.
This occurrence stems from not having the request form easily accessible, so fixing that issue could encourage students to submit requests faster. Finally, what requires a maintenance request varies by student. For some, they can survive with a broken thermostat or ceiling tiles, but others would want those issues addressed. Between these different reasons, many requests do not get submitted.
In conclusion, maintenance requests are an important aspect of campus life that often gets overlooked. The maintenance team is an incredible group that wants to see students safe and successful and are often not appreciated.
Next time you put in a request, make sure you acknowledge that somebody must come to fix all the problems that occur in a dorm so you can have the best dorm and college experience. Finally, if you usually wait for something to get fixed, I encourage you to be the one to submit a request.
Not only will your issue be solved faster, but you’ll also know when it gets fixed. Additionally, it gives you the chance to take care of your dorm. Maintenance requests are a simple solution to the never-ending problems that occur with dorm life, so take advantage of the system to improve your Villanova experience.
