Conference 7.286::digital

Below is a case of a baby gift which was sent to me via the InterOffice 
Mail system (in late Nov-88 or early Dec-88) but never arrived as reconstructed
from some mail messages I kept.

If anyone has any information that could lead to the recovery - or simply 
explain what happened to - a baby "sleeper" (mint green in color, DR Denton 
brand, size 3 or 4) sent from the DAS1 facility to the AKO1 facility, I 
would most appreciate hearing from you...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From:	AKOFIN::BIBEAULT     "Bob DTN 244-6136" 27-DEC-1988 11:12
To:	*Anonymous*    
Subj:	re: Tracing the Missing Sleepers

	Pam was wondering whether the sleepers might be sitting somewhere
	in a "lost and found" area - possible if the packaging was damaged 
	and/or the delivery address was somehow lost.

	It's a longshot - but worth a try.

	If you can provide a complete (as possible) description (item, brand,
	size, color, quantity, etc.), I can inquire if such merchadise was 
	"found" here. You might want to do the same on your end...

	We really appreciate your thoughts and efforts on getting the sleepers 
	and sending them as soon as possible - regardless of whether they are 
	ever recovered. It's a shame this happened... but there a slim chance
	they may yet turn up.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From:	*Anonymous*        "   28-DEC-1988 08:37
To:	AKOFIN::BIBEAULT,       
Subj:	sleepers

Bob,

I don't know about you but we are not supposed to use the mail for personal
reasons, so I would rather not highlight the problem. If the sleepers show 
up that's fine. If not , then chalk it up to good intentions gone astray.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From:	*Anonymous*        "   28-DEC-1988 08:41
To:	AKOFIN::BIBEAULT,       
Subj:	re:sleepers

The sleepers were sent in a brown mailing envelope and addressed to you. 
they are mint green in color, DR Denton brand, size 3 0r 4 .
	
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From:	AKOFIN::BIBEAULT     28-DEC-1988 16:30
To:	*Anonymous*    
Subj:	Tracing the Sleeper

	According to Carole, our secretary, it would have been possible 
	to place a trace on the package AT THE TIME OF MAILING. Then, a 
	log would have been maintained at each stop. If the package failed
	to arrive at the expected destination, the log could be used to 
	help determine when and where the package was lost.

	Unfortuneately, no logs are maintained for mail which has not been
	identified as requiring a "trace".

	Catch-22, sort of, since you wouldn't think of putting a trace on
	something unless it disappears; then it's too late!!!

	Well, chalk this one to experience but, in the future, valuable items
	should not be sent via InterOffice mail.

	Again, we really appreciate the thought...
==============================================================================

	Sometime ago someone in MRO sent me (and a co-worker) some tee-shirts
	through interoffice mail. This was work related; the shirts were part
	of an internal product promotion. One mail room told me that they could
	easily have been concidered personal items and that such items were
	routinely discarded. An other mail room confirmed what I had said and
	said there was no hope I'd ever see the shirt. They were right.

	It appears that interoffice mail is routinely opened if there is a
	suspession of personal use. In some mailrooms an attempt to find the
	sender and return the item with a nasty memo is made. In others the
	item is discarded without warning or notice to anyone.

	I would never send anything of value interoffice mail. Especially,
	but not limited to, personal items. I don't trust mail clerks to always
	understand what is and what is not business related and they appear
	not to assume a valid reason if a non-valid reason is possible.

				Alfred

Typing DIR/TIT=MAIL reveals that this has been discussed before, mostly in topic
199.

                             The DEC way of working 
Created: 14-FEB-1986 20:02         712 topics         Updated: 30-JAN-1989 12:46
                -< DIGITAL INTERNAL USE ONLY; policy in 1.last >-
 Topic  Author               Date         Repl  Title                           
    23  FRSBEE::KLEINBERGER  10-MAR-1985     3  MAIL ROOM ?????
   174  COVERT::COVERT       19-AUG-1986   171  Electronic Mail addresses on bu
   199  BANZAI::FISHER       10-OCT-1986    27  Interoffice mail not for person
   265  CEODEV::FAULKNER     12-FEB-1987    29  Mailing Regulations
   309  UTRTSC::ROBERTS       6-MAY-1987    87  Who should read your mail?
   403  REGENT::MERRILL      14-OCT-1987    18  Open Mailbox Policy ?
   578   TAVIS::GERSHON      19-JUL-1988    14  Mail policy in DEC ?
   667  BINKLY::WINSTON      21-NOV-1988    20  Too much "bulk" mail?
   676  HPSCAD::FORTMILLER   16-DEC-1988    21  Child's Last Wish Mail - HOAX??
   712  AKOV75::BIBEAULT     30-JAN-1989     2  InterOffice Mail: How Safe and/
 End of requested listing 

    Re .0
    
    This one really takes the biscuit!
    
    Haven't you ever heard of Federal Express, United Parcel Service,
    Emory etc. Far quicker and the right tool for the job?
    
    As pointed out in .2 it is more than likely that the goods that
    were abusing the internal mail system were disposed of by a
    concientious mailroom clerk.
    
    I will keep the rest of my opinions to myself.
    
    Dave

	I now understand why the sender who remains *Anonymous* in .1 
	was hesitant to go public with the incident in question.

Re: .2

> It appears that interoffice mail is routinely opened if there is a
> suspession of personal use. In some mailrooms an attempt to find the
> sender and return the item with a nasty memo is made. In others the
> item is discarded without warning or notice to anyone.

> I would never send anything of value interoffice mail. Especially,
> but not limited to, personal items. I don't trust mail clerks to always
> understand what is and what is not business related and they appear
> not to assume a valid reason if a non-valid reason is possible.

	I agree wholeheartedly. I was *shocked* when I found out. I'm *not*
	surprised that it never arrived, just saddened that it wasn't 
	returned with a kind - but firm - explanatory note. After all,
	I believe it was the first (and hopefully last) time my 
	well-intentioned relative (whose last name is *not* the same 
	as mine, BTW) did this...
 
Re .4
    
>    As pointed out in .2 it is more than likely that the goods that
>    were abusing the internal mail system were disposed of by a
>    concientious mailroom clerk.
    
	In my opinion, a "concientious" person would have returned the 
	package to the sender with a message explaining why this was
	being done...

	Further, it's hardly credible that valuable items are "disposed"
	of any more than a $10 bill would be... which leads me to ask 
	*who* is abusing *what*... 

	Is being a mail clerk in this company a license to pillage and 
	plunder? If so, no wonder we can get by with paying them so 
	little...

	If we were talking about the U.S. Mail, this would be, literally,
	be a federal offense subject to vigorous prosecution.

	The offense of using the InterOffice Mail inappropriately *pales*
	in comparison to abusing one's position for personal gain. Unless 
	and/or until the "missing" goods are returned, I remain to be 
	convinced that such valuable items are "discarded" rather than 
	coverted for personal gain.
Re .5

>                    -< I can't believe this YOYO. >-

> It's turkeys like you ... 
	
	I can't say anything nice, so I won't say anything at all...
        
In a closing statement, I'd like to suggest that we begin implementing George
Bush's call for a "kinder and gentler nation" by moving toward a "kindler and
gentler company". That could start right here in the notes file and in our 
InterOffice Mail rooms.

I respect the right of people to disagree but not to be disagreeable...

        I deleted reply 712.5 because it was essentially a personal
        attack on the author of the topic note.  As such, it did not
        belong in this conference (or, in my opinion, in any other
        conference on the EASYnet).
        
        Regarding the topic in question (which has been beaten to death
        in the past), I too have made the mistake of sending "personal"
        mail through the interoffice mechanism.  It is apparently a
        fairly common mistake.  I don't recall having ever seen policy
        on this spelled out anywhere; it certainly wasn't covered during
        my employee orientation when I joined the company 5 years ago.
        
        In any case, I *believe* that what the facility mail services
        folks are *supposed* to do with "personal" items that they
        discover in interoffice mail is forward them to the corporate
        mailroom, which is located in Northboro, MA at NRO3-1/M4. 
        The Digital Telephone Directory lists DTN 234-4319 as the number
        for the Corporate Mailroom, and DTN 234-4459 as the number
        for the Corporate Manager of Mail Systems (NRO2-2/C3).
        
        Perhaps the best way to approach this would be to contact the
        corporate mailroom to see if the items were routed there (when
        an item I had sent wound up there, I got a call about coming
        to retrieve it, although I never got around to doing so).
        
        You might also contact the Mail Systems Manager and ask how
        big a problem this is for the corporation, and what they are
        doing to increase employee awareness of the problem, with the
        intent of reducing the cost of dealing with inappropriate use
        of the interoffice mail system, as well as the cost of having
        the mail systems personnel inspecting packages to make sure
        they are not "personal".
        
        Tom

    
    I've only mailed personal papers in small envelops. But I remember
    when I first joined Digital in 1982 (Mill), people were putting personal
    mail (stamped) in the outgoing mail basket. I was told that they
    would eventually make it to the outside world. After that I remember
    seeing a memo from the Corporate Mail services group that personal
    mail should not be put into the outgoing mail baskets. Further more
    it stated that the mail from the Mill was collected and taken to
    Parker Street where it was sorted and then sent out. So your bill
    payments could be sitting inside the company for a day or two before
    making it to the US Mail. Several years later, the Corporate Mail
    group sent out a questionaire with a cover letter. Then after that
    they sent a memo around saying that we could put our personal mail
    (only envelopes) into the outgoing mail basket and they would be
    happy to put it in the US Mail. The memo also stated that they would
    not put stamps on your mail.
    
    Either way, the US Post Office does have a Dead-Letter Office.

    I put stamped personal mail into the DEC mail system. I've never had a
    problem. However, if the item is time critical, I take it to the Post
    Office and don't take a chance with possible DECmail delays.

    
    From personal knowledge I must relate that not everything "personal"
    that is sent through the Interoffice Mail is all that harmless. Would
    you believe one DEC employee mailing drugs (as in illegal ones)
    to another DEC employee using Interoffice?
    
    It's absolutely true. From what I have read in this note, the mailroom
    probably opened the envelope suspecting that someone was sending
    T-shirts or baby clothes to someone else, and much to their surprise
    discovered .... 
    
    "What is that stuff Charlie? ... Oregano?"
    
    Security was called. An inoccent secretary was grilled for quite
    some time about the package she put in the mail (The mailroom people
    remembered who dropped it off). 
    
    The person who did this obviously no longer works here, and I choose
    not to discuss how I knew them and how this happened. (It serves
    no purpose).
                
    I suspect that perhaps this is what some of those "mailroom clerks" are
    looking for???? If one person was dumb enough to do this, surely there
    are others out there ... 
                        
                        

    I recently sent 3 commercial cassette tapes (pre-recorded) to an
    employee on the other side of the country who is preparing a valuing
    differences type fair with a focus on physically-challenged awareness
    issues.  She planned to play the tapes at a booth at the valuing
    differences fair. 
    
    I included a note saying that here were the tapes requested for
    the Valuing Differences presentation.
                     
    Did I do something wrong in doing this?
    
    Would a mailroom clerk really take it upon him/herself to throw
    my tapes away?  If so I am amazed.  In lending and not copying tapes
    I am honoring copyright law, and in lending my personal copies,
    I am saving the employee having to request money from her cost center
    to purchase such items.  How could a mail clerk possibly evaluate
    a situation like this?  To me this was 'doing the right thing'.
    
    Now that I know this, in the future anyone borrowing my tapes will
    have to get money from their cost center to cover UPS or USMail
    and insurance.  Who loses?  DEC.                         
    
    (This may sound like a trivial situation, but as co-moderator of the
    folk music file, I get requests like this for topical music to support
    various DEC projects.) 
                             
    Holly

    Digital security offices typically send mail regarding information
    about security clearances through internal mail instead of
    electronically, because of the security implications involved.
    
    Now I know why several of such envelops I have seen were "pre-opened".
    
    I will have to discuss this with our local security people...
    
    Doug

        
        I am currently trying to go through a relocation to the Greater
        Nashua area. One of the most useful things is local newspapers so
        that I can look for appropriate housing, etc. I have asked a
        couple of personal friends to mail me local newspapers, through
        the internal mail systems. Needless to say they have never
        arrived. Now either the people that I asked forgot, (and I
        wouldn't embarass them by reminding them), or the mail room(s) are
        snarfing my mail. THis is supplementary information needed for a
        corporate relocation. What right have the mail room people to
        arbitrate on what is and what isn't. 
        
        In this facility, any personally addressed mail, that isn't marked
        "Personal and Confidential" is opened for inspection. Can you
        imagine me telling my mother that she should mail me this way...
        
        q
        

    If the item being discussed was sent in an Interoffice Mail envelope,
    it probably does not have the sender's name on it as there is only
    space to enter the recipient's name and bldg/mailstop.  So it would
    not be possible for the mailroom to return the item to the sender
    easily.
    
    My advice to the author of .0 is to cut their losses and not further
    waste the corporate mail service's time.  I believe it's stated
    explicitly (Orange Book maybe) that the Company is not responsible
    for personal articles lost or stolen on company property.  You would
    not expect compensation if you left your Walkman on your desk in
    plain sight overnight and it was not there in the morning, for example.
    
    The baby clothes were clearly a misuse of interoffice mail, but
    what about some of the other cases cited here?  I don't know what
    the official mailroom policies are, but I think it would be reasonable
    to have some type of form describing the business reason for sending
    something that could be attached to the outside of envelopes in
    cases where the sender thinks there may be some doubt.  Maybe it
    would need to have the sender's CC manager's signature on it as
    a way to curb abuse.
    
    Bruce

        RE: .12 -- I'm not sure the "fair use" doctrine covers the
        business use of musical performances in the way you describe,
        and, quite frankly, Digital *can afford* to purchase such
        materials for business use when it's appropriate.  But, your
        point is well-taken.
        
        RE: .15 -- I think you're suggesting something that's clearly
        beyond reasonable in suggesting yet another form, together with
        the verification needed to check the "cost center manager's
        signature". 
        
        I believe that the "interoffice mail" envelopes state on them that
        you should include *inside* a return address, so that if the mail
        is undeliverable it can be returned to you. 
        
        If I were sending something that I didn't want opened *except* by
        the addressee, I'd put it in a regular business envelope, address
        the internal envelope with the correct name and mailstop, and put
        the legend "Digital Personal" on it.  According to the guidelines
        for labelling confidential information, anything labelled in this
        way should be treated by the mail services staff as strictly for
        the eyes of the addressee.  (This is the labelling that the
        Personnel department is supposed to use for things like salary
        change notifications.)  I would then place this envelope inside
        a regular interoffice mail envelope, properly addressed.
        
        If I were sending something that *might* be mistaken as not being
        business related, I would include (on the "return address" note) a
        clear statement of the fact that it is business related.  If it
        did not get delivered in a timely manner, I'd raise a stink. 
        
        Tom
        

>        RE: .12 -- I'm not sure the "fair use" doctrine covers the
>        business use of musical performances in the way you describe,

Businesses are allowed to play recorded music through not more than two speakers
without being required to pay royalties (unless, of course, they're charging
admission explicitly to hear the music).

Related somewhat to the topic:

I often use Interoffice mail to send Digital Confidential documents.
(Of course I use the correct procedure of putting the document into
an envelope marked appropriately and then putting that into another
envelope which has only the address and a return address.)

To my dismay a number of these documents became lost once when they were
mailed. Despite the fact that I knew which mailrooms were involved,
I could never find out where these documents went. For all I know,
they are in the hands of Digital Review!

    Re: .8
    
>	I don't recall having ever seen policy on this spelled out anywhere; 
>	it certainly wasn't covered during my employee orientation when I 
>	joined the company 5 years ago.
    
    I've never seen a policy nor know of *anyone* who has...
    
    It is really shocking to me that people seem to *accept* the questionable
    practices of opening people's mail and disposing of the contents
    as they see fit, especially when there appears to be no 
    well-communicated, written policy authorizing this. 
    
    If such a policy *does* exist (on VTX or wherever), I'd like to
    see it posted in this Notes file *verbatim* so that we all can
    understand our rights, obligations and responsibilites under that
    policy. I would be especially interested in formal grievance procedures
    since I have (routinely) had *strictly business* mail "lost" (or arrive
    so late as to be obsolete) in our InterOffice Mail....
    
    When the much-maligned U.S. Mail performs more efficiently and reliably
    than our own InterOffice Mail, we *know* there's a problem here...
    
   
    
    First one to locate and post the policy will be a hero...
    
    Thanks,
    Bob
    

    re: which ever one it was - 
    
    Well, I just mailed some newspapers via interoffice mail today - we'll 
    see if they arrive on the other end.  The newspapers are for a friend
    who is considering a relocation.  I think it's a valid business
    purpose.
    
    I really can't believe some guy in a mail room someplace is going
    to open this box of stuff and toss it out if he doesn't like it.
    But then, I've been surprised before.
    
    Have we met the enemy, and the enemy is ourselves?
    
    - Greg Scott, the one from Minneapolis

    I have a friend who accepted a position for two years in Europe.
     He brought his family with him, and for a year and a half I have
    been sending over selected copies of the Boston Globe and an occasional
    Celtic, Patriot, or Red sox tape.  I know they are greatly appreciated,
    especialy by his children, and I see nothing wrong with this.  I
    am helping him maintain his ties to his home, and I think this spirit
    is definitely part of the DEC culture.    

    I wonder--what criteria are used by mail clerks to decide which
    packages and mail envelopes should be opened for inspection?

    I've just called Jim Bennett, the corporate mail manager in Northboro.
    I gave him the information to access this topic, and he indicated a
    strong interest. Let's see what happens.

        Good show, Tom.  I was just going to suggest that someone do
        that.  I almost did it myself this morning.
        
        Tom

          <<< HUMAN::DISK$HUMAN_WRKD:[NOTES$LIBRARY]DIGITAL.NOTE;1 >>>
                          -< The DEC way of working >-
================================================================================
Note 720.0                       Corporate Mail                       No replies
GOONEY::BENNETTJ                                     58 lines   6-FEB-1989 14:41
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                          In response to Topic 712:     
    
The following is the Offical Policy for Processing Personal Mail via
Interoffice Mail System.
    
    A: Processing Procedures for Incoming U.S. Mail.
    
    1) If no internal address is shown on the envelope, look up the
    on the System, address envelope, and foward.
    
    2) If there is no name shown, open envelope, look for addressee
    name on contents and foward.
    
    3) If addressee cannot be determined, or if name shown cannot be
    found and department cannot be determined, return correspondence
    to envelope, seal envelope, endorse it " Opened By Mistake Not At
    This Address", sign and return to U.S. Postal Service.
    
    B: Processing Procedures for Outgoing U.S. Mail.
    
    1) Digital Mailrooms will not apply postage to personal mail. Disp-
    atching, of personal mail, with postage is discouraged. Mailroom
    personnel will not be responsible for such mail. This information
    should be communicated to all personnel within the Facility and
    should be posted at the mailroom or mail processing area.
    
    C: Processing Procedures for Digitals Interoffice Mail:
    
    1)If no addressee or sender name can be found, attempt to determine,
     from the contents, which department this mail may have originated
    from and return. If this cannot be determined file in the dead-letter
    file. Personal mail should not be fowarded via Interoffice Mail.
    Digital Mailrooms will not be responsible for personal Interoffice
    Mail.
    
    Note: Mail fowarded to a Digital Mailroom for processing, which
    is believed by the mailroom personnel to be personal mail, will
    be returned to the sender. If no return address is shown this mail
    may be opened by mail personnel (Supervisor) to determine the return
    address.
    
    This information should be communicated to all personnel within
    the Facility and should be posted in the mailroom or mail processing
    area.
    
    Note: The Corporate Mail Consolidation Center in Northboro processes
    Seven to Eight Ton's of Interoffice Mail Daily. Mail is distribuated
    to over Eight Hundred World Wide Locations within 24-72 Hours.
    
    If we were to include processing of personal mail, it would require
    adding several employees to maintain service levels.
    
    Based on Consolidation/Processes used by Corporate Mail. The Value
    Added to Digital for FY88 was over Eight Million Dollors. For
    additional information on Corporate Mail Procedures contact Corporate
    Mail Systems in Northboro.
    
    

re .26
    
>    1) Digital Mailrooms will not apply postage to personal mail. Disp-
>    atching, of personal mail, with postage is discouraged. Mailroom
>    personnel will not be responsible for such mail. This information
>    should be communicated to all personnel within the Facility and
>    should be posted at the mailroom or mail processing area.
    
from VTX (ZKO Site Orientation Manual):

>    PERSONAL MAIL
>
>    You can either place stamped personal mail in the mailstop  boxes  for
>    pick-up  or bring it to the mailroom.  Stamps are not available at the
>    mailroom but may be purchased from Petty Cash.   Stamps  are  sold  in
>    books only.

OK, which is it?

re .27 "Which is it?

Corporate policy is no personal outgoing post office mail, even stamped.

Facility policy may vary.  Check current policies at your site.

/john

Received in yesterday's interoffice mail a routine mailing for training
courses, one of which I had been looking for.

Course date -  January 30, 1989.  Received Febryary 6, 1989.   This is 
the norm, not the exception.

And other people wonder why so much DEC stuff gets sent via US mail.  8^)

Bob

    Bob, before blaming the interoffice mail system, I might suggest
    that you find out when the training course mailing that you refer
    to was given to the interoffice mail service.  They have their lead
    times and overhead just as the US Postal Service does.
    
    If something as large as bulk training schedules was dumped in the
    internal mail system without adequate lead time, it would hardly
    be the fault of the system.
    
    Not a flame, just playing devil's advocate.
    
    Mark.

    re: .29
    
    Last year it was taking forever to get expense checks turned around.
    The person in charge of the admin. end of the chain in our office
    finally discovered that it was taking 7 to 10 days to get the expense
    reports to wherever they go in Corporate.  Ever since we stopped
    using the interoffice mail and switched to the U.S. mail, expense
    checks have been coming in on time.
    
    I've also been the victim of getting advance notice of events that
    have already ocurred, but that only seems to have happened once
    or twice in the past six months.
    
    Bob

    
    Last July 88 I mailed several items via the inter office route.
    out of 25 pieces, 10 didn't make it.  All were in mailing envelopes
    with the address clearly marked and "To be open by addressee only!"
    written on the front.  Also included was my return address.
    
    After further checking I determined they were lost in Northboro.
    I called the local mail room, followed by Northboro. Nothing..
    
    These were Large report envelopes that just couldn't fall off someplace
    and the mailings were staggard.  They were Local T shirts that were
    sent out to various DEC employees in appreciation for their help
    in our year end closing. 
    
    I don't have too much faith in our system, or some of the clerks
    who might be taking it upon themselves to open mail.
    
    

    Someone I work with relocated from one site to another. After she
    moved, an item of clothing that she ordered (and prepaid) from an
    Avon rep at her old site arrived.  Some well-meaning friend sent
    it to her interoffice and it never showed up.  None of the parties
    involved knew things might be confiscated.  
    
    It seems to me that the items in most jeopardy appear to be soft
    bulky items (specifically clothes.)  It also seems to me that NO
    corporate policy can be relied upon (in a company exceeding 100,000
    people) to be universally known.  
    
    I have no problem with DEC deciding not to regularly deliver
    personal belongings through interoffice mail.  BUT! I do think the
    recipient (usually the only name available) has the right to know
    there's a problem.  So why can't the Mailrooms have a form letter
    that says something like "A piece of mail presumed to be personal
    in nature is being held for you at the XYZ Mailroom.  Please pick
    it up within the next X days or call the mailroom to arrange for
    other disposal.  Also, please inform the sender that DEC Interoffice
    mail cannot be used for personal deliveries and to cease making
    such attempts."  All this would take is copying the delivery address
    from the interoffice envelope, and having them preprinted with the
    mailroom mailstop and DTN.  Then at least the owners of stuff could
    get it back without assuming that somebody is enhancing their wardrobes
    (or whatever) without fair warning.  (Since most people never GOT
    warning, I wonder if this is a "due process" situation?)
    
    (By the way, wouldn't you like to be there when the drug recipient
    stops in to pick up his "personal mail"?!!)
    
    Sherry

    <tangent alert...>
    
    It isn't just interoffice mail that is frequently searched for
    "personal" items.  In the past, I have had mail-order items that are
    UPS-shipped delivered to DEC (when I worked in MRO), since I do not
    want small-but-expensive items like camera lenses left laying out on my
    driveway -- I had lost a few packages that way (ever tried to get UPS
    to "trace" something - if they *ever* locate a lost item you have beaten
    the odds by a good deal, and if they locate it in less than a couple of
    months, you have a fluke!).  The alternative would be to be home every
    afternoon for several days in a row when the item might be delivered
    (assuming it is not back-ordered or something!), which isn't feasible -
    and in my neighborhood no one else is home during the day either
    (everyone works).  I didn't mind checking with the mailroom every
    afternoon to see if the camera lens or whatever had appeared, but they
    did.  After one incident where they did not want to give me my box, I
    gave up on doing things that way.  These days, I *TRY* to get
    mail-order outfits to use the US mail (that way, instead of laying out
    in plain sight on my driveway, my box sits in the post office until I
    go after it), but most of them won't (I guess UPS is cheaper?).  Years
    ago, UPS at least required a signature, but not any more (not that it
    helped much, since they would get the "signature" of the little kid
    eight houses down the street, who might, eventually, remember to drop off
    my camera lens, in a few weeks, if it didn't turn out to be something
    his own family wanted!).  So, I still get a lot of things delivered to
    my driveway when I'm at work that I would rather not have stolen, or
    rained or snowed on, either, for that matter.  I would much prefer that
    they end up in the mailroom here, but that seems to be verboten.  So, I
    guess I don't have much choice!
    
    /Charlotte

    I find it rather ironic that, after all these accounts of the mailroom
    folks discarding personal items, they appear to have successfully
    delivered a considerable number of interoffice-mail envelopes
    containing: "National Sunday Law," a rather torrid little paperback
    that appears to be ranting about something religious, and/or the
    imminent destruction of Life As We Know It. (Really brightened my day,
    I can tell you!)
    
    Of course, I suppose the gutless wonder who decided to do some
    anonymous evangelism may have hand-delivered the items, in which case
    the mailroom people are exonerated from wasting company time on this
    nonsense. (How well do you think those mailing envelopes would hold
    fingerprints? Just wondering...)
    
    -b

re: .35        -< The junk mail always gets through... >-

>    I find it rather ironic that, after all these accounts of the mailroom
>    folks discarding personal items, they appear to have successfully
>    delivered a considerable number of interoffice-mail envelopes
>    containing: "National Sunday Law," a rather torrid little paperback
>    that appears to be ranting about something religious, and/or the
>    imminent destruction of Life As We Know It. (Really brightened my day,
>    I can tell you!)

	Of course, the junk mail always gets through! It has NO VALUE, you 
	see. 

	Do you *really* believe that items having value are actually being
	"discarded"? If a police officer conducting a drug bust claimed to
	"discard" the illegal substances found at the site, would he be 
	believed? Or would be assumed to have confiscated it for personal
	gain (unless he could prove otherwise)?

	I would be *amazed* that articles of economic value (like camera
	lenses, clothing, etc.) are actually discarded. I am *almost* as
	amazed that there are people in this conference that actually
	believe this is what is really happening...

	I agree with Sherry's comment (in .33) that notices should
	be sent to the intended recipients of personal items so that the 
	legitimate owner can recover his/her belongings and the sender be
	appropriately slapped on the wrist. The InterOffice Mail should not
	be abused but neither should the employees who use it inappropriately
	suffer confiscation of their property without warning, notice or 
	due process.

The Mail Systems Corporate Manager (DTN 234-4459) should be made aware of
missing items.  

Bob

        RE: .37 -- I concur completely that people who want to fix the
        problem need to report the problem to the manager in charge. 
        
        However, part of the problem is that, in many cases, the person
        who "suffers" the loss is the intended recipient, not the sender,
        and in the case of "unsolicited" mailings (such as the T-shirts
        sent out to "reward" helpful employees), they may not know that
        the item never arrived, unless they also receive a separate notice
        that it was sent.
        
        Tom

         It's funny that I should happen upon this topic today.  I have a
    friend within Digital who is sending me some classified ads through the
    inter-office mail.  I operate (in addition to my duties as switchboard
    operator -- just ask me for an outside line and it's yours -- and se-
    curity manager) the mailroom at DOO.  I didn't think anything of having
    him send the classified ads to me through the inter-office mail and cer-
    tainly didn't think it was possible that anyone would 'throw away' mail.
    I sent him a 'quick' message and told him not to address it 'Personal For'
    as I had originally thought proper.  He has a class today and probably
    won't get my message in time and I assume now that I won't get my clas-
    sified ads either.  It's amazing how it takes me 20 minutes to sort just
    the 'Materials Matters' newsletter that gets 'canned' by most employees
    and it takes 5 seconds to sort the 'personal stuff' that someone really
    needs.  The day that the personal mail (inter-office or external posting)
    becomes too much of a burden is the day that I'll address that problem
    with the addressor, BUT -- I'd certainly NEVER consider THROWING IT AWAY
    because it was a HASSLE!  Sorry, but in my eyes Digital loses one point
    here.  What ever happened to 'service with a smile'?  What ever happened
    to 'doing the right thing'?  Maybe I shouldn't submit my resume to the
    'Wonderful Digital' after all.  I should probably submit my resume to
    IBM where I would 'expect' these things.

    Enough said!

    Rob

The following statements are just my opinions.  I am not a mailing
expert nor do I work directly for the Corporate Mailroom, but...

Did you know that customs strictly enforces what we send through the mail?
True, you call it interoffice mail, but if the package you send is
heading outside the United States, it probably is shipped by a carrier
called DHL (if you're using the Corporate Internal Mail System).  What
would happen if DEC lost its shipping license because somebody was
trying to ship a friend in Canada some personal item?  It could happen.
Our fleet has been stopped several times by Canadian Customs.

On the subject of DHL, did you know that DHL is one of the quickest
and most reliable overseas vendor the interoffice mail system utilizes?
The Corporate Mailroom also ships directly to over 100 DEC U.S. sites
daily using Federal Express.  First Class mail is shipped via the U.S.
Postal Service.  Dec, along with everyone else in the country, are forced
to send first class mail through the U.S.P.S.  And, of course, DEC uses
the van fleet which picks up most of our New England mail several times
daily.

The Corporate Mailroom is also saving Digital thousands, if not millions
of dollars yearly.  Along with the savings, a better service is constantly
being improved upon.   Some examples of how the Corporate Mailroom in NRO3
is doing this follow:

	-  The mailroom consolidates site mail by machine, by label sort, and
	   by hand.  This consolidation saves DEC $$$.  Why send a thousand
	   letters at 25 cents/piece to all employees at WRO (Santa Clara, CA)
	   when these letters can be consolidated and sent for a tenth of
	   the cost?

	-  The Corporate Mailroom also selects the vendors such as DHL and
	   Federal Express that are not only the most cost efficient, but
	   also get the job done.

	-  Through improvement in automation, the efficiency through which
	   the mail flows is, without out a doubt, vital to the business.

In conclusion, many companies (Kodak, TRW...) tour the Corporate Mailroom
at DEC, finding out that DEC is state of the art for the mailing business.
I support some Corporate Mailing user groups as a programmer/analyst.  The
people are trustworthy, hard working and knowledgeable that work there.
The above thoughts just scratch the surface of how interoffice mail flows.
Contact them for questions and I'm sure they can help you.

Chris Belknap/P&CS MIS

    Well I, for one, can vouch for the Digital internal mail systems
    as safe and reliable.  Back in 1985 I was in the mill for a class,
    and I stepped around a corner only to find some construction going
    on and a pile of old bricks that were being hauled away.  
    
    A real piece of the mill! 
        
    I grabbed one, stuffed it into a pro-350 DCS software box,  taped
    the box up real good and dropped it off at the mailroom.
    
    It arrived a week later - un damaged..
    
    8')
    

    
    
    

    I don't get into this file often, but here is my experiances.....

    I am part of a DEC sponsored club for employees, with members in sites 
as remote as Colorado, Georgia, and Europe. Several times we have maney 
transactions change hands via internal mail for dues, or in payment of club 
items that we are selling. We had an experiance two years ago that I can 
only now explain. One member in Ohio had mailed 24 calendars to our club 
leader, for sale as a fund raising item within DEC to our members. These 
calendars were personalized with some photography he had done and were 
labeled with our club name on them. Needless to say, they never showed, we 
didn't know they were late, and he was very upset that no one acknowledged 
or paid him for the work! Had we known, we could have asked him to UPS it 
or at least US mail it. As it was, we were out the calendars, we paid him 
for the lost calendars and for the new ones he printed (late, arrived jan) 
and we didn't make any money on it as a fund raiser. 

    I wonder about the guidelines on personal matters like this when it is 
a DEC sponsored org using the internal mail.

    Vic H