Since the boom of the information super highway, snail mail has taken a bit of a hit in the PR department, not least because the ‘snail’ association suggests it’s very slow.
This is very true when it comes to letters—as much as it is nice to receive a hand-written letter from your nan—no snail could possibly outrun an email. Yet, until we can master teleportation, the bulk of our small packages are reliably sent the same way they’ve been sent for centuries.
With that in mind, the last word I’d ever associate with snail mail is progressive—but it seems old gastropods can learn new tricks.
Australia Post announced a raft of changes to its business, yesterday, in response to the recent surge in the volume of parcel deliveries over the last financial year (10.9%). Touted as the most significant changes to AustPost in its 200 year history, they are likely to benefit the armchair shopper.
Key changes include:
- 24 hour electronic parcel lockers for pick up all day, 7 days a week.
- SMS parcel delivery notifications.
- Low-cost, flat-rate satchels for nation-wide delivery.
- Tracked deliveries for items sent between Australian and United States with more international destinations to come.
Finally, postage is going to be a little more clear-cut for eBayers. No more $1 auctions that totally slam you with $12 P&H at the check out.
It’s clear that AustPost is listening to its customers; no one likes taking time off of work just to pick up a parcel. In doing so, they're thrown down the gauntlet by offering value-added services for which courier companies normally charge excessive rates. Expect to see a response from the competition soon.
For more information, including a list of initial pick-up sites, see the AustPost website.