Address verification: why not get some help?
Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2014 10:45 am
I'm in an elders quorum presidency and have been frustrated with address problems in our ward records.
Too many addresses are entered incorrectly and don't correspond to any actual street address.
Even in cases where the address is correct the formatting is wrong in ways that confuse those trying to use the address. LDS.org Maps won't show the member in the right location and has trouble with verifying locations. We could end up with postal delays or misdelivered mail. Home teachers are confused because there is no such street as XXXX East when an address which should be XXXX East XXXX North is instead entered on the records as XXXX North XXXX East (easy enough to figure out if you have a complete grid system, but if these numbered streets are curved and broken up it gets confusing).
Unlike telephone numbers etc members have no ability to fix their own address problems directly through the LDS.org directory tool. So everything hinges on the clerk being meticulously accurate or on people begging the clerk to make it right. In a ward where people are rapidly moving in and out, if it takes weeks or months to notice and correct address problems it can cause a lot of trouble.
Why not help clerks get it right by using existing address verification and standardization solutions? From what I understand, the USPS address api is free, simple, secure, and very helpful. If the MLS computer is connected to the net when a clerk enters an address in a member record, it could check the address with the USPS and ask the clerk with "Is this the address you mean?" The clerk would have the option to use the USPS standardized address (default) or ignore it and continue with what they typed. If the USPS recognizes no such address MLS could warn the clerk to verify the address before proceeding.
It may not be quite as convenient in other nations - a quick search seems to show e.g. that Canada Post's service isn't free and Royal Mail and Australia Post, instead of providing a free service themselves, provide their address lists to private companies which provide this kind of service for a fee - but even in such cases it might be worth considering.
Too many addresses are entered incorrectly and don't correspond to any actual street address.
Even in cases where the address is correct the formatting is wrong in ways that confuse those trying to use the address. LDS.org Maps won't show the member in the right location and has trouble with verifying locations. We could end up with postal delays or misdelivered mail. Home teachers are confused because there is no such street as XXXX East when an address which should be XXXX East XXXX North is instead entered on the records as XXXX North XXXX East (easy enough to figure out if you have a complete grid system, but if these numbered streets are curved and broken up it gets confusing).
Unlike telephone numbers etc members have no ability to fix their own address problems directly through the LDS.org directory tool. So everything hinges on the clerk being meticulously accurate or on people begging the clerk to make it right. In a ward where people are rapidly moving in and out, if it takes weeks or months to notice and correct address problems it can cause a lot of trouble.
Why not help clerks get it right by using existing address verification and standardization solutions? From what I understand, the USPS address api is free, simple, secure, and very helpful. If the MLS computer is connected to the net when a clerk enters an address in a member record, it could check the address with the USPS and ask the clerk with "Is this the address you mean?" The clerk would have the option to use the USPS standardized address (default) or ignore it and continue with what they typed. If the USPS recognizes no such address MLS could warn the clerk to verify the address before proceeding.
It may not be quite as convenient in other nations - a quick search seems to show e.g. that Canada Post's service isn't free and Royal Mail and Australia Post, instead of providing a free service themselves, provide their address lists to private companies which provide this kind of service for a fee - but even in such cases it might be worth considering.