Today I sent an e-mail to the USA post office using their website's online contact form. Others on this listserver may wish to send similar e-mails. Here is a copy of my e-mail:
Suggestion: UPS and FedEx websites allow people to calculate shipping in metric units (kg and cm) as well as US Customary Units, however the post office web site calculator does not provide the option of using metric units. I am a big fan of metric and I request that the post office update their website shipping rate calculator (for both domestic, international, and business rates) to allow calculations using metric units. I also request that the printed rate sheets be available using metric units. I further ask that all of the public scales in the post office diplay the weight (or mass) in metric units as well as US Customary Units. The digital scales at the UPS and FedEx stores have a selector button for that switches the displayed weight/mass from US Customary to metric and back. The USA federal government has declared metric to be the preferred system of measurement for the USA and by the year 2010 the European Union will no longer allow any imports of products labeled with US customary units, only metric units will be allowed on the labels. More information about metric is available at my website at http://www.xprt.net/~hightech/metric.htm . Please begin providing metric options on your scales and shipping rate calculators, otherwise you will continue to loose your competitiveness. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm thinking of posting targetted form letters to my websites so that individuals and organizations can easily petition various businesses and government agencies to make use of metric. Are there any suggestions? Quoting john mercer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > In the U S do most post offices have digital scales? The reason i ask this > is because if they do wouldn't it be quite easy to metricate the postal > service. On July 1 1979 Canada post went metric at a cost of 1.5 million > dollars. At that time i don't know if digital scales were available. I > remember going in to a post office just after the metric change and the clerk > had a little trouble using the scale. If the USPS uses digital scales it > would probably be quite easy to metricate it. When Canada post changed they > called a one oz letter 30 g. I have another question in the States if you > mail a parcel and use your bank card to pay for it when you get the receit > does it give the weight of the parcel. If it does how easy would it be to > change it from lbs to kg. i wonder how hard it would be to change the rates > from pounds and ounces to metric. Gavin Young http://www.xprt.net/~hightech , http://www.renewableelectricity.com, http://www.electric-automobile.com
