Given that I'm convinced my Postie doesn't ring the bell and just drops stuff at the local post office for me to go get.. this can only be an improvement

http://www.ubergizmo.com/2015/04/swi...m-this-summer/

Really? You'd prefer a drone to drop your mail all over your doorstep in all kinds of weather to get ruined rather than pick it up at your local post office?

In defense of ipoddle, if Swiss post offices are like USPS offices they probably aren't open 24 hours a day, and if because of when the OP has to go to work, it may be a lot more difficult to pick up the mail than it might seem. I can see why the OP might prefer drones if it meant that they would be able to read their mail on a daily basis.

Every household in Switzerland has to have a mailbox, which is used for letters, newspapers etc.. It must have a parcel compartment too. So ipoddle's daily reading is not at risk.

Certain big parcels and stuff that needs a singnature can be delivered only when somebody answers the door bell. (The Swiss do not do much space flight, but they have door bells.) If undeliverable due to absence of the recipient, such mail is taken back to the post office, leaving a notice in the mailbox.

To be honest, I'm not looking forward to drones delivering pizzas and fortune cookies. I already have enough troubles with cats and squirrels trying to climb the cable of the aerostat in my front yard. I really do not need hi-tech wreckage on my lawn.

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I heard they will drop it on the roof

But unless you're at home when the post drone calls you won't be getting any mail. Short of, indeed, dropping it all over your doorstep (or on the roof marton), a drone won't be able to put it in either section of a normal Swiss mailbox, or any other country's as far as I know. Or are they supposed to have little arms on them too which will allow them to push the flap open or pull on the parcel compartment door?

The whole idea will fall flat on its face once they actually start trying to make it work.

Installing an overhead receptacle on the premises and securing against elements isn't a rocket science any longer, as well as making an automatic approach to such a terminal.

Most doorstep Areas nowadays are COVERED. And post Offices only open between 10 AM and 6 PM (18.00).

Most post offices open at 07:30. Some are open from 06:00 until 22:00. It's the 21st century.

Except in rural places with low density. I would guess that these areas would be the primary cost-savings factor for die Post to start playing with it. I don't think they want to start flying swarms of unproven tech over cities just yet.

Mine isn't and neither was my previous one. The current one might get a bit of protection from our roof when it rains, but it entirely depends on which way the wind blows. And if it blows too hard any post put on top of the box by a drone would of course blow off and into the rain. Not to mention possibly being blown across our neighbour's yellow lines and onto his property. Wonder if he'd try and take us to court over that.

Our local self-service post office opens at 0630 as it's in the tea room/boulangerie and we can collect most stuff from there. The post office where we sometimes have to go to collect from is open at 0730 until 1800 - with a break for lunch of course.

You're right -- the post office in Morcote, Ticino, declared "Switzerland's most idyllic village" by Frommer's, opens late -- at 07:45.

Ours isn't and neither are most of our neighbours'. In any case if they were covered it would be impossible for the post to land on the doorstep it would land on the cover necessitating a climb in order to recover the aforementioned post.

We have longer hours than that but not quite as long as 22yards suggests.


The two largest post offices here do not open at 6.30 or even 7.00 am. The main office in town opens at 8.00 am and the second biggest in the Marin centre doesn't open until 9.00 am as from April 1st).
The earliest opening post office is a very small office in Neuchâtel which is at 7.30am.

http://standorte.post.ch/poi/Postste...T_001141875/fr

http://standorte.post.ch/poi/Postste...T_001114027/fr

http://standorte.post.ch/poi/Postste...T_001114040/fr

http://standorte.post.ch/poi/Postste...T_001114042/fr

It's not only small villages which have restricted opening hours at the post office.

Having one single receptable is like having a single mail box for all apartments in a building. The problems arising from the latter should be obvious to just about everybody, and exactly the same problems will arise from delivery by drones.

Since AMZN et al won't be able to prove the rightful recipient got the item they'll have to deliver twice/three/... times. I'm looking forward to the news about ballooning customer complaints and the additional costs they induce.

lol as long as you don't live more then 4 minutes from the warehouse, and its not a big or heavy package, and its not windy, or raining, and it doesn't hit any wires, birds, trees, bushes etc on the way

Not gonna happen in my lifetime

My local postie, likes to stuff as much ads, newspapers, junk mail into my box as possible. So I stood out and waited for him. Gave him a smile, pointed to my
no junk mail sign,and that seems to have fixed the issues.

Delivery, nope they just card me and dump it in the village post office.
Which is ok for me.

In Geneva the Postoffices are usually open on Saturday mornings too.

Let's hope it doesn't go the same way...

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-st...-10179731.html

[QUOTE=ipoddle;2380711]Given that I'm convinced my Postie doesn't ring the bell and just drops stuff at the local post office for me to go get.. this can only be an improvement

One question, do you have a door buzzer at street level by the post box ?