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Letter: Leaving parcels on doorstep when no one's home is a bad idea

(Patrick Semansky | The Associated Press) In this Aug. 3, 2017, photo, packages pass through a scanner at an Amazon fulfillment center in Baltimore. While jobs have been lost in brick-and-mortar stores, many more have been gained from e-commerce and warehousing. Amazon accounts for much of the additional employment.

In my home country, the Netherlands, the driver of a delivery company has to ring the bell, wait until somebody answers the door and that person has to sign that he received the parcel. If nobody answers the door, the driver goes to the neighbor, asks him whether he will hand the parcel over to his neighbor. If he agrees, the driver puts a notice in the mailbox of the guy it was destined for, telling him where to pick up his package. If the neighbor is not at home or not willing to cooperate, the driver leaves a notice in the mailbox of the potential receiver telling him where to pick it up. Never ever, do they leave a package at a front door.

Of course, all those American companies have their offices and distribution centers in the Netherlands, but their employees follow these rules, so why don’t they do it in The States? I think U.S. mail and the commercial equivalents are responsible that the client receive his parcels. Putting packages in front of house doors without any attempt to warn the potential receiver provokes theft and those companies should pay the price if things go wrong.

Dick Verkijk, Sandy