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This is a significant improvement though the form itself is still incredibly busy. I would much rather have something more tailored to my delivery than this gen

This is a significant improvement though the form itself is still incredibly busy. I would much rather have something more tailored to my delivery than this generic thing that requires effort from everyone involved. This is a good solution for 2007 but 2015? This needs more automation. For instance USPS should know what type of delivery it is, customer name, sender, addresses and whether it's a final notice or not. Why can't the postman / postwoman press a button in their car that prints a sticker with everything already filled in (without labels even; just a custom made sticker without all of this busy text). Press button, slap the print out to the mailbox / house and you're done. Let the user call a number, text or go to a web site to setup the redelivery stuff.

rmstwitterbot 11y ago
Because government contractors are notoriously awful at technology being that they are selected via cronyism. This would be an expensive, proprietary label system requiring special proprietary ink and labels that would likely break after being used 50 times, and require an authorized repair contractor to fix it. A relative or friend of the executive at USPS who implemented this would receive the contract and just take the money. It would also need to interface with their daily operations "out for delivery" db which likely is also proprietary and extremely expensive to modify, and already under an existing long term licensing contract they have no intention of changing. Disclosure: this is how it worked at Postes Canada when I once worked there. All technology was long term licensed, through crony corps I had never heard of who only seemed to exist to receive money from CPC to sell extremely expensive systems that merely passed plain text to a db.
- BinaryIdiot 11y ago
  This is how ALL technology changes happen in the government, unfortunately. I've done plenty of public contracting and a vast majority of the people involved are simply terrible mostly because when you're rewarded a contract in order to get all of the money possible you have to fill every empty seat which means a butts-in-seats mentality versus a lean or better team. But progress isn't made when we sit there with our thumbs up our butts either. Essentially you're saying USPS can never be improved because contractors suck and because it's hard. That's unacceptable. It's hard yes but it's possible.
jcrawfordor 11y ago
Although automation could certainly be implemented to some extent here, note that on city routes the carrier will often use this form when not near their vehicle (flats fit in the bag). There are several options for body-worn thermal printers, but durability of the device and output might be a problem. These cards are printed on pretty heavy stock and are really very sturdy. As far as body-worn printing of adhesive labels, I'm not aware of any product for that. Thermal print (on thermal paper, not thermal transfer printing) tends to fade very easily in sun or rain and would also be a problem.
- ygra 11y ago
  DHL does that (in Germany at least). The delivery people have combined scanner/printer things that thermal-print on adhesive labels. So if they didn't find you and you need to pick up a package, you get a card in the mailbox with a printed slip on top of it which says where you can pick it up as well as the opening hours of that shop (which is a great improvement to before when the opening hours weren't listed). When you give them a package (you don't have to bring it to the post office, you can give it to delivery people as well), they scan the label and print you a receipt (which also has the tracking number on it so you can track it). The nice thing about that is that adding new features to the print-out (e.g. the opening hours mentioned before) is just a software update. Some delivery services here also give you very accurate tracking with a delivery window that's just 15 minutes or so and you get the option to re-route the package online if you know you're not present during that time – or tell them to drop it off in a certain place (I have asked for non-fragile things to just thrown on our balcony in the first floor before; it's secure enough and I'd rather have a package instead of having to wait for redelivery or pick it up), or let them deliver to a neighbour. All in all I think there are numerous possible improvements here and not all of them revolve around designing a better form that may be obsoleted by some of the better options.
  - alizauf 11y ago
    I completely agree that any online option or specific printed labels would be better than a generic card.
- 11y ago

rmstwitterbot 11y ago

Because government contractors are notoriously awful at technology being that they are selected via cronyism. This would be an expensive, proprietary label system requiring special proprietary ink and labels that would likely break after being used 50 times, and require an authorized repair contractor to fix it. A relative or friend of the executive at USPS who implemented this would receive the contract and just take the money. It would also need to interface with their daily operations "out for delivery" db which likely is also proprietary and extremely expensive to modify, and already under an existing long term licensing contract they have no intention of changing. Disclosure: this is how it worked at Postes Canada when I once worked there. All technology was long term licensed, through crony corps I had never heard of who only seemed to exist to receive money from CPC to sell extremely expensive systems that merely passed plain text to a db.

BinaryIdiot 11y ago
This is how ALL technology changes happen in the government, unfortunately. I've done plenty of public contracting and a vast majority of the people involved are simply terrible mostly because when you're rewarded a contract in order to get all of the money possible you have to fill every empty seat which means a butts-in-seats mentality versus a lean or better team. But progress isn't made when we sit there with our thumbs up our butts either. Essentially you're saying USPS can never be improved because contractors suck and because it's hard. That's unacceptable. It's hard yes but it's possible.

jcrawfordor 11y ago

Although automation could certainly be implemented to some extent here, note that on city routes the carrier will often use this form when not near their vehicle (flats fit in the bag). There are several options for body-worn thermal printers, but durability of the device and output might be a problem. These cards are printed on pretty heavy stock and are really very sturdy. As far as body-worn printing of adhesive labels, I'm not aware of any product for that. Thermal print (on thermal paper, not thermal transfer printing) tends to fade very easily in sun or rain and would also be a problem.

ygra 11y ago
DHL does that (in Germany at least). The delivery people have combined scanner/printer things that thermal-print on adhesive labels. So if they didn't find you and you need to pick up a package, you get a card in the mailbox with a printed slip on top of it which says where you can pick it up as well as the opening hours of that shop (which is a great improvement to before when the opening hours weren't listed). When you give them a package (you don't have to bring it to the post office, you can give it to delivery people as well), they scan the label and print you a receipt (which also has the tracking number on it so you can track it). The nice thing about that is that adding new features to the print-out (e.g. the opening hours mentioned before) is just a software update. Some delivery services here also give you very accurate tracking with a delivery window that's just 15 minutes or so and you get the option to re-route the package online if you know you're not present during that time – or tell them to drop it off in a certain place (I have asked for non-fragile things to just thrown on our balcony in the first floor before; it's secure enough and I'd rather have a package instead of having to wait for redelivery or pick it up), or let them deliver to a neighbour. All in all I think there are numerous possible improvements here and not all of them revolve around designing a better form that may be obsoleted by some of the better options.
- alizauf 11y ago
  I completely agree that any online option or specific printed labels would be better than a generic card.
11y ago