美国邮政局提供新服务以吸引用户

2018-12-03

时代英语·高三 2018年6期

The United States Postal Service （USPS） is offering a way for people interested in seeing tomorrows mail today.

The postal service will send customers images of all their letters， magazines and other mail before they arrive.

The new service is called Informed Delivery. It is an attempt by the US government agency to remain competitive in an ever-changing world.

Postal service officials say the increased use of email， digital messaging services and social media have made it difficult to stay relevant.

David Rupert is a media relations specialist with the postal service who spoke about all the competition the agency now faces.

“Whether you turn on a television， or your computer， or people come to your door with different products and services， all of those are competing for the consumers time and energy，” he said.

Interested users are first required to sign up for Informed Delivery. The service is not available in all areas. Once registered， the consumer receives a daily email with virtual images of letters and other things to be delivered.

The USPS says giving people the chance to see their mail before it arrives can be useful for planning purposes. It can especially help those who have a mailbox at their local post office so they know when to go and get their mail.

Jocelyn Coatney of Los Angeles thinks Informed Delivery is a good idea.

“I think I would like that a lot， especially with checks and things coming in， and things coming in from grandkids. That would be a nice service，” she said.

Another postal offering is a service that seeks to make advertising-related mail—often called junk mail—more fun. The service uses virtual and augmented reality to let consumers interact with their junk mail.

Many companies put special coding on their advertising. These images can be scanned with a mobile device to give users an interactive experience. Some companies even put virtual reality eyeglasses in the mail to make their ads come to life.

Consumers have mixed reactions to the virtual and augmented reality advertising. Postal service user Victor Teah said he does not consider all ads junk mail.

“You can find some good things within junk mail. Its a good idea. Well see how it works out，” he said.

But Jocelyn Coatney does not think it would change her mind about junk mail. “For some， that might be fun. But for me， I wouldnt have any use for it，” she said.

有兴趣的用户首先需要注册“递送随知”。该服务并非在美国各地适用。一旦注册，用户每天会收到一封邮件，其中附有即将送达的信件及其他配送物品的虚拟图片。

邮政管理局称，用户有机会在邮件送达前一览邮件的动态，这有利于他们制定计划。这一服务对在当地邮政局有邮筒的用户来说尤其有用，他们能够获悉何时去取件。

来自洛杉矶的乔斯林·寇特妮认为“递送随知”是个好主意。

“我很喜欢它，尤其是在支票以及孙辈们的新事物不断涌入的情况下。这将会是一项不错的服务。”她说。

美国邮政管理局正提供一种方式，让对运输途中的邮件感兴趣的顾客一饱眼福。

邮政管理局将在邮件送达前向顾客发送信件、杂志等邮件的照片。

这一新服务名为“递送随知”。此举是美国邮政管理局为在瞬息万变的世界中保持竞争力而进行的一种尝试。

邮政服务的工作人员表示，由于电子邮件、数字通信服务和社交媒体的使用越来越频繁，导致邮政快递难以站稳脚跟。

大卫·鲁珀特是邮政服务的媒体关系专家，他谈到邮政管理局如今面临的竞争。

“不管是打开电视、电脑还是上门推销不同的产品和服务，这都是在为消费者的时间和精力而竞争。”他说道。

另一项邮政服务力图让与广告有关的邮件——通常被称为“垃圾邮件”——更加有趣。该服务通过虚拟现实和增强现实技术来帮助用户与垃圾邮件实现互动。

很多公司在广告中添加特殊编码。这些编码的图像能够被一种移动装置扫描出来，从而使用户实现交互体验。为了让广告更加生动，一些公司甚至将虚拟现实眼镜放进邮件里。