After they announce getting rid of door to door delivery they announce this one ..hmmmm?

[brandeentertainment]

Ottawa (ON) – As Canada Post is on track to deliver a record 27 million parcels this holiday season, the 6,400 postal outlets across the country are quickly bursting at the seams like Santa Claus' big red bag of gifts.

"We've seen first hand the incredible role that online shopping is playing this holiday season," says Doug Jones, Senior Vice-President, Delivery and Customer Experience at Canada Post. "It's a good-news challenge we have this year, with Canadians entrusting us with their own increase in parcel deliveries and shopping experiences, but we also need them to pick up their items as quickly as possible at their local postal outlet."

Canada Post is reporting a 20-per-cent increase in domestic parcel volumes since the third week of November compared to the same time last year.

"Since November 16, we have been delivering parcels on weekends and, so far, more than 700,000 parcels have been delivered on Saturdays and Sundays," adds Jones. "And we've had five record single-weekday deliveries of a million parcels. This past Monday we set a record for daily parcel delivery at 1.25 million."

Here are some tips to help you ensure that those special packages make it under the tree for Christmas morning:

• If you've received a delivery notification for a parcel pickup, check the location of your designated postal outlet.
• Check out the postal outlet's hours of operation, if you are only able to go outside of regular business hours.
• If you can't make it yourself during available hours, a member of your household with a government-issued photo ID showing the same address as the one on the parcel can pick up the parcel on your behalf. Alternatively, you can authorize another individual to pick up the item by indicating their name and your signature on the Delivery Notice Card (you may also provide them a letter of authorization if you prefer).

About Canada Post
Canada Post is the country's leading provider of electronic commerce and customer communication solutions. It reaches more than 15.3 million addresses, operates the country's largest retail network, and offers affordable and reliable service with convenient pickup and return options for online shoppers. Together, Canada Post, Purolator Inc. and SCI Logistics offer market-leading end-to-end solutions for e-commerce shippers by leveraging the assets and expertise of the Canada Post Group of Companies.

[cumos55]

Earlier this year  tracking showed delivery of a parcel to a community mailbox.....

The parcel  was placed in a "parcel box'  but the buyer never did get the key to the Parcel box and purchase was not received..

Buyer was very frustrated  because it was a relatively rare book.

A high delivery rate for parcels might indicate that parcel pickup at a local postal outlet could become the standard.

Signature confirmation could also become a recommended standard for Canada

This could get very interesting.... Parcel being delivered to the postal outlet....    while other parcels  are being picked up....  Definitely a traffic jam

Canada Post is promoting itself as the way to have online purchases delivery ... It is on heir little trucks....

[cumos55]

Drone delivery....  Amazon is thinking of drones as an option for door-to-door delivery....

One can imagine that the drones could become target practice.... Paint ball guns   are not a regulated item in Canada.

But paint ball guns  could become regulated..... within the right context.

A real live "video" game...  Theft would become a standard, and no one could stop it....

eBay' big boss is not impressed with Amazon's proposal... 

[cumos55]

It was yesterday evening that I met someone who works at Canada Post's big new sorting plant  in Winnipeg.

At this time of the year  it is "full" of mail to sort.... Better than the old facility ... but pushed to the limit...

Perhaps the greatest, and most difficult thing to deal with are those tiny , little, parcels coming from China....He got the impression that they could get lost very easily... too easily.   

The Chinese postal service might not have a minimum size limit for parcels... something that Canada Post has....Something will have to get adjusted....

[cumos55]

heir little trucks... should be 

their little trucks

The trucks  come from a Ford plant in Turkey.....

and one person who uses the trucks  finds them... almost  too small  for all of the parcels...

It was a husband-wife team that I met last night.

He used to do door-to-door delivery  but his ankles and knees became a problem.... He now works midnight to AM at the sorting facility.

It is the wife that does door-to-door  delivery with the little truck.

[mr.elmwood]

Brandee, I comprehend yer bitterness, but, not the same thing. For example, in the liquor business we did 25% of our sales in 8% of the year, December. A lot of parcels are non-deliverable, anyway, due to no-one being home. Next week, volumes will drop dramatically, all the temp staff will be terminated, trucks idled, staff standing around.

Pretty much what happened in liquor stores. Business did not really come back until Easter, what I called "The kickoff to the spring drinking season". Three months of nothing, waiting for that.

[pierrelebel]

"Canada Post is reporting a 20-per-cent increase in domestic parcel volumes"

Many eBay sellers are complaining about slow sales this season.  Obviously someone is selling and selling big.

[mr.elmwood]

Pierre, online sales are climbing in double digits. B&M sales are rising low single digits.

I "think" CP is re-aligning itself with the burgeoning parcel business. That is impossible to deliver door-to-door. Parcels do not fit in the mail carrier's bag and are often left at the PO and only a card delivered.

It will be interesting to see where this goes. It "looks" like they are going directly at the courier companies. The CP infrastructure is far greater than FedEx or UPS combined, plus, they already have Purolator.

Lettermail is dead, except for X-Mas cards. Parcels are where the money is going to be made.

[rose-dee]

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@pierrelebel wrote:

"Canada Post is reporting a 20-per-cent increase in domestic parcel volumes"

Many eBay sellers are complaining about slow sales this season.  Obviously someone is selling and selling big.

---

My first thought too.  I wonder who the biggest beneficiaries are?

[pierrelebel]

" I wonder who the biggest beneficiaries are?"

Those who are experiencing sales increases this year.

[rose-dee]

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@pierrelebel wrote:

" I wonder who the biggest beneficiaries are?"

Those who are experiencing sales increases this year.

---

Well, that lets me out.    

Actually, I meant that I was wondering if there were a few large players (like the big department stores) who represent the lion's share of the increase in parcel shipments.  Perhaps people are getting tired of fighting their way around The Bay or Sears to pick up gifts this year. 

[pierrelebel]

"here were a few large players (like the big department stores)"

I expect eBay will show a very substantial sale increase (15%-20%) by sellers when they declare their financial statements later in January.

Now, we all know some sellers are not having a good time while others are doing well.  Many factors justify the different results.

[cumos55]

Canada Post is promoting the concept of "delivering the online".

Delivering to a community mailbox will not work well with parcels...

and with direct home delivery gone.

It should mean a pickup of parcels at a local postal outlet..

This would be a good way to keep a local postal outlet in business, with less for Canada Post to do.

No home delivery of parcels... and an in person  pickup of parcels at a postal outlet.  

[ricarmic]

It will be interesting to see how it works out. One thing that is a constant annoyance for non-Canada Post package delivery for me, even now that I work from home (it was 10 times worse when both myself and my wife were working) was that it is very hard to be home for the package to be delivered when we are here, or to arrange it to go elsewhere, or to arrange to have it left someplace safe here if I am not here (my stuff does not like moisture!). I live in the country so UPS or FedEx depots are 1.5 hours round trip for me. If I had my "druthers", it would be that it come via Canada post, then it is up to me what time of day, what day (within their working hours) I pick it up, which is much easier for me. I hope it does keep the wee post offices open - I have noticed everything imaginable arriving in our wee post office, from 50" (or bigger!) TVs, golf club sets, you name it!!!

[femmefan1946]

ricarmic - Does your PO also handle couriers, catalogue sales and dry cleaning? Or is it a 'real' post office? Or both?

We used to have a shop here (in central Ottawa) that did Sears and dry cleaning and hairdressing. I was surprised she didn't go after the postal outlet when that came available, but she may have been outbid by Shoppers' Drug Mart.

It's interesting the mixed businesses you find in small towns. When worked in Smiths Falls, many years ago, the best place to buy books was the pool hall. The bookstore sold greeting cards and twee china ornaments.

If the distances are not too great, then parcel pickup could be the saviour of the postal service. Unlike couriers, Canada Post does really deliver everywhere, by mandate.

It will be interesting to see what happens with business mail, as opposed to personal. I'm thinking here of contracts and other documents.

Many of the critics of home delivery mention that all that is delivered is junk mail, without noting that junk mail is a profit centre for CPO. The rates are fairly low, but delivery is easy because so little is personalized. Just name the postal walk, and pile it into the carrier's bag.

Personally, I think door to door service could easily be reduced to three days a week. I so rarely get mail on Fridays, that I'm beginning to suspect Canada Post already has reduced service. Who would notice?

[ricarmic]

Femme: it is just a real (small) post office - I suspect you can pick up Purolator stuff there? Don't know, I've never gotten anything Purolator!

[cumos55]

One can only guess what will happen to junk mail..  all of the advertisements

Will that be a special service on one day of the week?   but to where?

Or

Will they clutter up the mail slot in that community mailbox?....

Or

Will my newspaper person deliver junk mail?

Or

Whatever!....

Sometimes  I get the feeling that I pay for all of the advertisements that come with my copy of the newspaper.

But newspapers  in hard-copy  are disappearing as people are getting their news and other information on the internet.

The digital universe is changing everything in our lives.... 

How we communicate... How we watch TV... and more, more, more and more...

Internet, Oh Internet,  what will you do next?

[recped]

Junk mail goes in your box like all the other mail.

The only difference with the end of door-to-door is that you will have to stop at the box on your way to or fro wherever you go on most days and if you are a hermit you'll have to actually venture outside and walk perhaps as much as 2 or 3 minutes to get your mail and return home.

Given that most snail mail these days is not exactly time sensitive perhaps you can just go and look once or twice a week.

I know a few people in the 'burbs I've never heard a complaint about community boxes.

Think of all the money Canada Post will lose on their "Hold Mail" service, going away for two weeks?  just let it pile up in the box. no need to pay CP $75 or ask a neighbour to pick it up for you.

[pjcdn2005]

Recped is right. We've had community mail boxes in this area for at least a dozen years and we get the same junk mail as the people in the older areas that have mail brought to their door.

[cumos55]

Mail is delivered to my door, through a slot  in the door at the apartment complex where I live.

Management will be installing mailboxes on the main floor...

It will be easy for me to go down to the lobby and pick up my mail.

Junk mail is not that bad , but it can accumulate in a community mailbox....

Will there be a garbage can near to that community mailbox setup?..... or ... Will there be garbage floating in the wind?

No advertisement stickers in or on a mailbox....

In apartment complexes, where there already are mailboxes at a central location on the main floor...  a garbage can stands nearby  to receive unwanted advertisements. 

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The place I really get advertising is that one day a week where my newspaper arrives  overloaded.

However, if less people buy newspapers in hard copy.. then where will that weekly mass of advertising go?  

The mailbox???  could get  overloaded very quickly

Or perhaps there will be a one day a week special delivery of all advertisements  to all houses.....  

If there is no mail delivery to houses...Will each house require a mailbox?  for advertisements perhaps....

The delivery of advertisements could  become a problem..

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If someone goes away on an extended vacation  does the person delivering mail to the community  mailbox remove those advertisements  and leave only the "real" mail....  

There will have to be some form of "stop the mail" needed in order to prevent an overloaded mailbox...

or a "stop the advertisements" sticker... Stop the Flyers

My neighbour across the hallway has a ....No advertisement notice .....above their mail slot....  "Save Our Trees, No Flyers Please" 

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The internet as a part of the digital age is doing it to us......