Big test
Customers testing larger mailboxes
Broomfield, CO, Letter Carrier J.D. Kohl
stands near one of the test mailboxes.
The Postal Service has expanded its test of larger mailboxes to rural and suburban communities in California, Colorado and North Dakota.
Customers in these areas recently received the test boxes, which are the same height as regular mailboxes but much wider to accommodate around 70 percent of boxes currently sent through the mail.
The customers who volunteered to test the boxes are providing feedback to the Postal Service throughout the test period.
Broomfield, CO, Letter Carrier J.D. Kohl predicts customers will find bigger boxes are better.
“I can see that it will be a real convenience to the customer,” said Kohl. “The box protects the package from the weather. It also may save the customer from coming to the Post Office if they aren’t home.”
A wonderful idea. If the standard mailbox was even one inch bigger I could put about 10 more packages a day into the box, saving time and wear and tear on the old bones. Amazingly, the standard box used to have a requirement of a 6×6 cross section but about 15 years ago the post office changed to to 5×6 to save manufacturing costs! They made it smaller! And then they wonder why the route takes longer. And Amazon.com, our “partner”. They used to have a box, probably for 1 or two CDs, a paperback, or other small items, that easily fit into a curbside box. About two years ago their commonly used box got bigger, just too big by about a half an inch, to fit into boxes. Do these people talk to each other?