Another possible Big Brother story ...
You may have this service available where you live, but I understand the USPS doesn't offer it everywhere at this time. I got a letter from the local postmaster one day telling me about an "informed delivery" service they offer. If I qualify, I could have an e-mail sent to me every day showing pictures of the mail that is in cue to be delivered to me. There is a limit. They can only photograph business sized envelopes, but I have received pictures of post card adverts that are not business size. They will also notify me of any packages about to be delivered, but photos of those are not available. They sent me to their web site and I did in fact qualify. Apparently O'Fallon has gone high tech.
The service is free and kind of novel. I haven't found a need for it and am taking advantage of it just because I can. I might want to know if packages are forthcoming, but most of what I get is via UPS or FedEx. So, now I'm wondering. Why the hell are they taking pictures of my mail at the post office? What purpose does that serve? I'll give them the benefit of a doubt and presume it's just the output of their automated sorting machines. While that is a marvelous idea for sorting mail, I happen to know they can save those images if they wanted to. Who is to say they can't? And why would they be wanting pictures of my mail?
Something snarky is going on here ...
Informed Delivery
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Re: Informed Delivery
I believe this has more to do with Amazon than anything else the USPS would do by themselves.
Normally the mailman brings packages from Amazon, even on SUNDAY's.
Amazon is paying USPS to deliver their packages on Sunday.
But that is sorta changing a bit, now that Amazon has established some of their own Amazon delivery vans in our area.
Nevertheless, the packages did still come through the USPS, and it is illegal for them to give US Mail to a private carrier, except for OTR contract haulers.
It turns out, those Amazon Vans are driven by USPS route drivers, instead of using their own USPS trucks.
I never saw one at our local post office, but then learned our mail comes through a different post office of the same zip code. Yeah, sounds strange don't it, hi hi. Our mail is delivered from the Kimberland Heights post office who handles postal route deliveries west of Chapman Highway. We were down by the church we got married in for some reason, a dinner or something, and we drove by the post office, and there were at least 15 Amazon Vans parked in their lot.
When we have a package coming from Amazon, via the USPS, my wife gets an e-mail saying it arrived at Kimberland Heights and will be delivered between noon and 4pm on such n such a day. If it happens to be on a Sunday, it is an Amazon van that stops and a USPS uniformed driver brings it up and drops it at our door.
There was some talk about privatizing some of the USPS non-first class mail, such as parcel delivery. And you can bet Amazon is standing at the door waiting.
We don't have pictures of mail yet, but I think we can check to see if any mail bearing more than regular postage is en route. I've never done so, so don't know. The frau is who gets all the notices from the USPS. I'll have to ask her.
Normally the mailman brings packages from Amazon, even on SUNDAY's.
Amazon is paying USPS to deliver their packages on Sunday.
But that is sorta changing a bit, now that Amazon has established some of their own Amazon delivery vans in our area.
Nevertheless, the packages did still come through the USPS, and it is illegal for them to give US Mail to a private carrier, except for OTR contract haulers.
It turns out, those Amazon Vans are driven by USPS route drivers, instead of using their own USPS trucks.
I never saw one at our local post office, but then learned our mail comes through a different post office of the same zip code. Yeah, sounds strange don't it, hi hi. Our mail is delivered from the Kimberland Heights post office who handles postal route deliveries west of Chapman Highway. We were down by the church we got married in for some reason, a dinner or something, and we drove by the post office, and there were at least 15 Amazon Vans parked in their lot.
When we have a package coming from Amazon, via the USPS, my wife gets an e-mail saying it arrived at Kimberland Heights and will be delivered between noon and 4pm on such n such a day. If it happens to be on a Sunday, it is an Amazon van that stops and a USPS uniformed driver brings it up and drops it at our door.
There was some talk about privatizing some of the USPS non-first class mail, such as parcel delivery. And you can bet Amazon is standing at the door waiting.
We don't have pictures of mail yet, but I think we can check to see if any mail bearing more than regular postage is en route. I've never done so, so don't know. The frau is who gets all the notices from the USPS. I'll have to ask her.
Re: Informed Delivery
The post office has deals with Amazon, UPS, and FedEx; perhaps others too. I never did understand why this was a good idea but it is all seamless to me. When I order something online they state how it's going to be delivered and provide a tracking number. If it's scanned, I can tell where it was located at that time. Oddly enough the tracking system for the USPS is not the same as that for the other carriers. They do interact to tell me when the exchange took place, but the tracking numbers are different for each system. I can only imagine there is a cost benefit for the shipper to use the USPS delivery trucks.
mmmm, methinks your Amazon paranoia is showing in your previous comments. LOL Here is an explanation of what the picture taking is all about: https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/03/us/p ... -mail.html
mmmm, methinks your Amazon paranoia is showing in your previous comments. LOL Here is an explanation of what the picture taking is all about: https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/03/us/p ... -mail.html
Re: Informed Delivery
OK, I knew about the security systems at all the main post offices. It was more like a video as the letters come down the conveyor that reads the zip codes and then sends the letter down the proper conveyor. Depending on how much mail that main post office was handling, the loop could be anywhere from 15 to 120 days worth of mail.
In the beginning of using mail scanners, they did not record the mail at all, it was just used to send the mail down the right conveyor is all. Then later they added the video.
Maybe now they also have camera's that check the name on the envelope and if it is for a certain person, that data is saved probably forever, hi hi.
Seems I read somewhere, or saw on-line that all mail to Washington DC goes through a special clearing house type of post office that records every piece of mail, and to which department it was forwarded to for distribution.
Shame they don't go through the letters with proper addresses in the dead letter office and get them to the people they were supposed to go to.
In the beginning of using mail scanners, they did not record the mail at all, it was just used to send the mail down the right conveyor is all. Then later they added the video.
Maybe now they also have camera's that check the name on the envelope and if it is for a certain person, that data is saved probably forever, hi hi.
Seems I read somewhere, or saw on-line that all mail to Washington DC goes through a special clearing house type of post office that records every piece of mail, and to which department it was forwarded to for distribution.
Shame they don't go through the letters with proper addresses in the dead letter office and get them to the people they were supposed to go to.