Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!ncar!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!casbah.acns.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request From: rees@pisa.ifs.umich.edu (Jim Rees) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Why do Telcos Use Window Envelopes for Payments? Message-ID: Date: 21 Feb 91 20:21:35 GMT Sender: news@casbah.acns.nwu.edu Reply-To: rees@citi.umich.edu (Jim Rees) Organization: University of Michigan IFS Project Lines: 23 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 148, Message 4 of 8 Originator: telecom@delta.eecs.nwu.edu In article , Ron Heiby writes: > Why do they put those darn windows there, rather than printing their > full address on the envelope? My first wife worked for a leasing company that had all kinds of automated billing stuff run by an IBM System/38. The combination of window/insert makes it necessary for you to put the bill in the envelope with a particular orientation. This makes it possible for a machine to remove the bill and your check, read your account number off of the bill, and pass the check on to another machine that reads your checking account number from the bank code in the lower left corner. The only manual intervention required is someone to read the amount of the check and key it in. And these days, even that isn't needed if you have an OCR reader that's good with handwriting (remember, it only needs to recognize digits). What's that got to do with telecom? Next time you have trouble with your phone bill and need to get a human in the loop, send the bill and your check in your own envelope. A warm-blooded human will have to deal with it.