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I hate blaming the process rather than the "root cause" (that brings people to steal), however, in this particular case it does feel like leaving packages out i

by twiss 4y ago

I hate blaming the process rather than the "root cause" (that brings people to steal), however, in this particular case it does feel like leaving packages out in the open on porches is setting yourself up for failure. In the Netherlands, where I'm from, if you're not home, they'll ring your neighbor's doorbell and ask them to keep the package for you, and put a piece of paper in your letterbox telling you which neighbor has it. Now, of course if you don't have any neighbors (that are home), that might not work, and I can understand the convenience of just having your package there when you arrive home, but I still feel like a better system might help, here.

bombcar 4y ago
Around here we have had zero incidences of porch piracy, so nobody bothers; and as neighborhoods head more toward stratification the likelihood of no neighbor being home increases. If this becomes endemic in areas, things like lockers will start to appear; someone's paying for all this (perhaps this is why Amazon promotes the Amazon lockers so much in some areas). https://www.amazon.com/ulp/view https://www.amazon.com/ulp/view
phil21 4y ago
Some delivery drivers will still do this in the US, but due to the metrics they need to attain this level of customer service is largely in the past. When I was growing up, you'd regularly see similar. Neighborhoods were more robust socially, and there was actually time in the day for the mailman to stop for a 3 minute chat every block with the old ladies. These days talk to any delivery driver (friends and family have been for USPS, Amazon, and Fedex) and they'll laugh at this suggestion. They get mere seconds per drop most on most routes. The small fraction of packages stolen evidently ends up being cheaper than paying more delivery drivers. Especially since I suspect at least a fraction of this "cost of doing business" is fobbed off directly on consumers by refusing/making it hard to get a refund in some cases.
tomjen3 4y ago
Around here in Denmark, you just get a notice for what shop you can go and pick it up in. The same thing happens if you are home, but they are lazy. I like the US version better, but it needs to be paired with a severe penalty for theft.
Razengan 4y ago
> I hate blaming the process rather than the "root cause" (that brings people to steal), however, in this particular case it does feel like leaving packages out in the open on porches is setting yourself up for failure. Add this to the list of obvious things that should have been invented by now but haven't: Smart Mailboxes, that automatically scan packages and letters and confirm delivery and also notify the recipient.
- test6554 4y ago
  An outer gated area with a smart lock that delivery people could open and an inner front door that they could not would solve that. I'm a firm believer that the burden of "not stealing" should largely be placed on thieves rather than everyone else. Society simply doesn't collect enough data to make that possible yet.
- Razengan 4y ago
  Mailboxes/slots that open into the house, that is.
test6554 4y ago
Yes, there would be fewer people in prison if we took away every possible opportunity to commit crimes, but there's something comforting about knowing that the people who are not in prison (walking around free in society) are the ones who don't steal even when presented with ample opportunity.

by twiss 4y ago

bombcar 4y ago

Around here we have had zero incidences of porch piracy, so nobody bothers; and as neighborhoods head more toward stratification the likelihood of no neighbor being home increases. If this becomes endemic in areas, things like lockers will start to appear; someone's paying for all this (perhaps this is why Amazon promotes the Amazon lockers so much in some areas). https://www.amazon.com/ulp/view https://www.amazon.com/ulp/view

phil21 4y ago

Some delivery drivers will still do this in the US, but due to the metrics they need to attain this level of customer service is largely in the past. When I was growing up, you'd regularly see similar. Neighborhoods were more robust socially, and there was actually time in the day for the mailman to stop for a 3 minute chat every block with the old ladies. These days talk to any delivery driver (friends and family have been for USPS, Amazon, and Fedex) and they'll laugh at this suggestion. They get mere seconds per drop most on most routes. The small fraction of packages stolen evidently ends up being cheaper than paying more delivery drivers. Especially since I suspect at least a fraction of this "cost of doing business" is fobbed off directly on consumers by refusing/making it hard to get a refund in some cases.

tomjen3 4y ago

Around here in Denmark, you just get a notice for what shop you can go and pick it up in. The same thing happens if you are home, but they are lazy. I like the US version better, but it needs to be paired with a severe penalty for theft.

Razengan 4y ago

> I hate blaming the process rather than the "root cause" (that brings people to steal), however, in this particular case it does feel like leaving packages out in the open on porches is setting yourself up for failure. Add this to the list of obvious things that should have been invented by now but haven't: Smart Mailboxes, that automatically scan packages and letters and confirm delivery and also notify the recipient.

test6554 4y ago
An outer gated area with a smart lock that delivery people could open and an inner front door that they could not would solve that. I'm a firm believer that the burden of "not stealing" should largely be placed on thieves rather than everyone else. Society simply doesn't collect enough data to make that possible yet.
Razengan 4y ago
Mailboxes/slots that open into the house, that is.

test6554 4y ago

Yes, there would be fewer people in prison if we took away every possible opportunity to commit crimes, but there's something comforting about knowing that the people who are not in prison (walking around free in society) are the ones who don't steal even when presented with ample opportunity.