Montreal City Weblog

Kate 12:14 on 2019-07-17 Permalink Reply  

• Michael Black 16:23 on 2019-07-17 Permalink

  In the US at least, just stealing packages becomes viable, though likely a random reward.

  Couriers are being used by Amazon in Montreal at least, and I’ve gotten email with nice photos of the front door, with the package in full view. My thought is “I don’t need proof it was delivered, I need it hidden a bit so it will be there when I am home”.

  Canada Post has a place on their tracking page to tell them to leave a package in an alternative place, but each time I’ve told them “side door” they just left a note to get it at the Post Office.

  A few years ago, the postman did better. Sometimes under the mat, where it’s less obvious. At least behind the snow shovel in the winter, when it is on the front step. Ne time they did leave a package at the side door, I didn’t realize it until months later.

  Michael

• Kate 19:00 on 2019-07-17 Permalink

  I’m happy with Canada Post’s Flex delivery service. You pick a convenient post office, register, get an address with some mysterious numbers, and direct parcels there. It suits me because otherwise packages get shunted to a branch which, although not that far from my address on the map, is in an inconvenient and annoying location where I never have other reasons to go.

  Flex doesn’t work if you’re ordering from a business that won’t deliver to P.O. boxes, but otherwise it’s handy. Also, you could have more than one, if you wanted one close to work or whatever – doesn’t have to be close to your home address.

• david100 19:29 on 2019-07-17 Permalink

  Man, that reminds me of the one winter the mail carrier decided to stop delivering mail to our place and we had to pick up our mail in the middle of nowhere.

  One morning in January, there was a notice that the mail carrier was worried about icicles dropping on him from the balcony above, and we should remedy the danger or we could lose home mail service. We right away began diligently using a broom and knocked the icicles away whenever they’d appear.

  Then, a few weeks later, in late January, we got another note stating that we would no longer receive home delivery because, on multiple occasions, the snow wasn’t cleared – this one was real enough, we just weren’t there enough to keep it clear of snow at the times he’d come. Anyway, the letter explained that we would have to pick up our mail until such time as the carrier felt safe delivering mail to our door.

  The kicker was that they indicated that the mail could be picked up at the sorting facility down near Little Burgundy! Like, to get from the Plateau to there then, it was a metro ride to Atwater or Lucien L’Allier and a long hike in the blistering cold as the wind whipped in offer the fleuve. There was no way to change it online, I couldn’t get them to do it over the phone, nothing. Needless to say, I never once made the trip.

  I’m pretty sure that we’d have gone without mail until the spring except that a neighbor chatted with me one day at Petit Bar, realized that I wasn’t getting mail either, decided it was a mailman scam to avoid work, and started a campaign calling and writing Canada Post. All told, we went without mail delivery for 5 weeks.

  Anyway, the system is a lot better now.