Feature
What arrives at the front desk is logged once and the resident knows straight away
Tuesday, 12:10. The courier leaves four parcels, two letters and a food delivery at the front desk. The porter writes "/paquete para la 312" (parcel for 312) on his WhatsApp, logs the rest in the dashboard and gets back to his work. Each recipient gets a message with her name and what is waiting for her, even if she has not written to the centre for a week. In the afternoon, when the resident of 312 comes down for hers, the porter marks it as collected. If the next day someone says she did not collect hers, reception knows with the exact parcel in front of them.
What the front desk does or a resident writes, and what happens next
| What the team does or the resident writes | What Bedel does |
|---|---|
| The porter writes "/paquete para la 312" | Logs the parcel under whoever lives in 312 and tells her on WhatsApp. The name works too, instead of the room |
| Reception logs a letter in the dashboard with a note | The notice says she has a letter (CARTA) waiting at the front desk and carries the note underneath, for example "registered post, bring your ID" |
| A food delivery arrives | The notice is different: that her food delivery (COMIDA A DOMICILIO) has arrived at the front desk and that she should come soon, as it is getting cold |
| The porter marks "collected" in the dashboard | The collection time is recorded. If the resident's conversation is open, she gets a thank-you, only once even if the button is pressed twice |
| Reception taps "Remind everyone" | Resends the notice to each person with something still to collect: a reminder of what is waiting at the front desk and to come when she can |
| "I haven't collected any parcel" | It does not unmark it on its own: it tells reception with the exact parcel and a button to put it back to pending. Whoever knows whether it is on the counter is whoever is at the counter |
| "Have I got anything at the front desk?" | It replies with what she has pending. When it replies, Bedel only has her parcels, not anyone else's |
How what arrives is logged
The team does the logging, from wherever they are. At the counter, with the dashboard; with the courier standing there, from their own WhatsApp with a command. Both routes write to the same log, so what comes in through the chat appears in the dashboard and what is noted in the dashboard is known to the chat.
- In the dashboard: choose the person, the type and, if needed, a note.
- On WhatsApp: "/paquete" and who it is for, by name or by room.
- Types: parcel, letter, courier delivery, food delivery and other. Each has its own notice.
- Shipments and returns the resident leaves are logged too; there is no notice for those, because she brings them herself.
The notice, even when the conversation is closed
Whoever receives a parcel has hardly ever written to the centre in the last 24 hours, and WhatsApp only lets the centre send ordinary messages within that 24-hour window. That is why the arrival notice goes out, when needed, as an approved template: it arrives all the same, however many days she has gone without writing.
- It carries her first name and what has arrived, in capitals: PAQUETE, CARTA, MENSAJERÍA, COMIDA A DOMICILIO (parcel, letter, courier, food delivery).
- If the team added a note, it goes underneath.
- The dashboard marks which parcels have been notified on WhatsApp.
- If the resident has no phone number on her record, the parcel is logged, but without a notice.
Collection and reminders
A parcel is closed when someone marks it as collected in the dashboard. The reminder does not go out on its own: the team sends it when it wants, to one person or to everyone with something pending, because every front desk knows when the shelf starts to run out of space.
- Marking it collected records the time; the thank-you goes out only once and only if the conversation is open, so as not to spend a template on a courtesy.
- "Remind" on a row resends the notice to that person; "Remind everyone" sends it to each of those with something still to collect.
- From announcements you can also write to the "parcel pending" audience.
"I haven't collected it"
Sometimes something is marked as collected when it is not: another parcel under a similar name, a button pressed once too often. If the resident says so, Bedel does not argue or fix it on its own. It tells whoever can look at the shelf, with the exact parcel, and that person decides.
- A notice to reception with the parcel and a button to put it back to pending.
- Bedel does not unmark it on its own.
- So as not to raise a notice over "I couldn't get down to pick it up", she has to say both things: that she has not collected it and that she is talking about a parcel or a letter.
Each resident sees only their own
The resident can ask on WhatsApp whether she has anything at the front desk and Bedel replies with what is hers. It is not a rule the model has to remember: when replying, Bedel only receives the parcels of the person writing, so it has no way of talking about anyone else's.
- Only for identified residents: neither families nor unknown numbers can ask about parcels.
- Reception sees everything pending at the centre in the dashboard, with what has been notified marked.
- The right to erasure also deletes her front-desk log.
What it does not do
- It gives no notice of outgoing shipments or returns: they are logged, but there is nothing to collect.
- It does not send reminders on its own after a set time: the team sends the reminder when it wants.
- It does not offer to take the parcel up to the room.
- It does not read shipping labels or tracking codes: whoever logs the parcel chooses the recipient.
Frequently asked questions
Does the notice reach a resident who has not written to the centre for days?
Yes. WhatsApp only lets the centre send ordinary messages in the 24 hours after the person's last message; outside that window, the arrival notice goes out as an approved template. All that is needed is her phone number on her record. If it is not there, the parcel is logged all the same, without a notice, and reception sees it in the dashboard.
Can the porter log parcels without a computer?
Yes. From his own WhatsApp he writes "/paquete" and who it is for, by name or by room, and Bedel logs it and tells the resident. What is logged that way appears in the dashboard alongside what is noted at the counter, because it is the same log. The dashboard is for choosing the type, adding a note, marking what has been collected and sending reminders.
What happens if someone says she has not collected a parcel that shows as collected?
Bedel does not unmark it on its own or argue with her. It tells reception about that exact parcel with a button to put it back to pending, because whoever can check whether it is still on the shelf is whoever is at the counter. So as not to raise false alarms, the resident has to say she has not collected it and that she means a parcel or a letter.
Can we remind people who have not collected for days?
Yes, from the dashboard. Each row has a button to resend the notice to that person, and there is another to send it in one go to everyone with something still to collect. The reminder does not go out on its own after a set time: the team decides, since it knows whether the shelf is full or whether that parcel can wait until Monday.
Can a mother ask whether her son has had a parcel?
No. Parcels belong to the resident: it only answers identified residents, and when it replies to them Bedel only has their own parcels. A family member writing to the centre's number gets answers on what is general information, but not on what their son has waiting at the front desk. If she wants to know, she can ask him.
Does it work for food deliveries?
Yes, it is one of the types. When the front desk logs one, the notice says the food delivery has arrived and to come soon, as it is getting cold, instead of the parcel notice. Letters, courier deliveries and whatever does not fit any type also have their own text.
Related features
- AnnouncementsThe same notice to many people in the centre, from the dashboard or with '/difundir' on WhatsApp, knowing beforehand how many it reaches.
- Dashboard and metricsConversation history and search, metrics that come from counting rows, team roles and shifts, and data protection rights carried out from the dashboard.
For each type of centre
- Colegios mayoresFor colegios mayores: the dining hall with its cancellations, packed lunches and allergens; activities with their call and their survey; families and applicants; and what belongs to management, to management.
- University residencesFor residences owned by or affiliated with a university: support in each resident's language, repairs and cleaning with outside contractors, the arrivals of each semester and enquiries about places.
- Student residencesFor student residences and PBSA operators: WhatsApp support in the resident's language, repairs with an owner and a deadline, arrivals, presence and parcels.
- ColivingFor coliving and flex living: support in each resident's language, repairs with an owner and a deadline, common-room bookings, parcels and announcements without groups.
- Researcher residencesFor researcher, graduate and visiting-faculty residences: arrivals any week of the year, replies in each person's language, contracted maintenance and cleaning, and the end of every stay.
- Hostels and alberguesFor hostels, albergues and pilgrim hostels: house questions answered in each guest's language, repairs with an owner and a deadline, and the night covered with nobody at the desk.
- Holiday apartmentsFor holiday apartments, aparthotels and mid-stay lets: replies in the guest's language, repairs with a technician and a deadline, housekeeping requests between stays and house rules.
- Build to rentFor build-to-rent and flex living buildings: repairs with an owner and a deadline even when maintenance is outsourced, parcels with a notice, shared-space bookings, building notices and house rules answered.