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Invent This – You’ve Got Mail!

Filed under Invent This

I’m not a person who receives a lot of snail mail.  Snail mail, for the uninitiated, is just standard(non-electronic) mail.  In my case, I receive snail mail through the United States Postal Service (USPS).  It is always a let down going to my apartment mailbox and discovering there is nothing there.  I think there should be a way — in the age of modern wireless communications — that the USPS could alert somebody when there is actually mail in their mailbox.  It would almost be the equivalent of your favorite instant messenger program popping up and saying, “You’ve got mail!” 

Ok, I know you’re probably thinking that I’m just a lazy bum and you’re probably right.  However, I’d rather go to my mailbox knowing I have mail rather than guessing I have mail.  Also, think of those in rural areas that live miles from their mailbox or those who have post office boxes. 

Do I have you intrigued yet?  Good.  If I were the almighty postal service, here’s how I would implement my idea:

Barcode the Mailbox

Some kind of barcode would be fixated inside the mailbox.  The barcode would be necessary for the postal worker to scan the mailbox every time the worker is putting new mail into the mailbox.  Obviously, the postal worker would need some type of barcode scanner.

Alert the User

The barcode scanner would theoretically work like a cell phone with text messaging capabilities.  Once the barcode is scanned, a customer’s data is looked up.  The data could be stored on board the unit or retrieved wirelessly from a secure postal website.  Depending on the customer’s preference, the customer will either be e-mailed or text messaged immediately upon the barcode being scanned. 

Charge the User

This would be an opt-in service for the user.  I personally would find great value in being informed whenever I received new mail at my physical mailbox.  I have to drive somewhat out of my way to get to my mailbox and it’s a waste of time to check an empty mail box.  I’m not sure how much the postal service would charge a month for this service, but I would be willing to pay about $5 dollars a month for something like this.  If enough people did it, this could be a cash cow for the postal service.

So what do you think?  Good idea?  Bad idea?  Please leave a comment.

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