Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!casbah.acns.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request From: SKASS@drew.bitnet Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Why do Telcos Use Window Envelopes for Payments? Message-ID: Date: 20 Feb 91 15:47:00 GMT Sender: news@casbah.acns.nwu.edu Organization: TELECOM Digest Lines: 26 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 140, Message 4 of 8 Originator: telecom@delta.eecs.nwu.edu In TELECOM Digest #136, Ron Heiby writes: > The thing about my IL Bell bill-paying envelopes, and many others, > that I continue to find a mystery is, "Why the heck do they need that > window on the envelope?" As far as I can tell, it's just to give me a > pain by forcing me to a specific orientation of contents insertion. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ > The envelope already has the city/state/zip+4. In fact, the zip+4 is > BAR CODED on the envelope! [...] It may give you a pain to put the contents into the envelope in a particular way, but it aids the Telco's automation. If the check is always behind the bill and the bill is right side up, a machine can open the letter, separate the check from the bill, pull up the customer record and present an employee with the check. The employee simply types the amount of the check into a terminal and all the rest is taken care of automatically. I don't know for a fact that this is the reason, but it's the only one I can come up with that makes sense. Steve Kass/ Math&CS Dept/ Drew U/ Madison NJ 07940 2015141187/ skass@drew.edu