Representatives of the following companies and organizations shared the following comments on five-day delivery concerns during outreach meetings held by the Postal Service:
Association for Postal Commerce (PostCom): Saturday seems to be ”pay my bills and drop them in the mailbox” day. Would like to know more about what is dropped in the collection box and when.
State Farm: We would be interested in studies on mailing habits, because we see a lot of activity from customers mailing Saturdays. The insurance industry is reviewing state requirements for lead time.
Small-business owner and member of the Twin Cities Customer Advisory Council: A change in the number of days won’t impact the amount of mail people send, especially since they can still mail at Post Offices.
JC Penney: It’s OK, if most people want to get their ad mail on Friday, but the question is, does the Postal Service have the ability to get the mail to them on Friday and not Monday? Nobody likes the change, but the Postal Service has to do it. We’re moving to the next phase. Like anything else, businesses will have to adapt.
Harry and David: We would feel more comfortable if it were spelled out that the Postal Service would maintain a six-day schedule during the two weeks before Christmas. There’s actually a five-week period for citrus and gifts — two-and-a-half to three weeks before and after Christmas. We can’t have temperature-controlled trucks stacked up waiting for processing plants. We also will discuss the concerns with partners who don’t have the technology we have.
Magazine Publishers of America (MPA): The old arguments that you’ll have a huge clog of mail on Mondays no longer exist. But what about Monday holidays?
American Business Media: Our customers’ biggest concerns are about processing. We’re concerned that periodicals would be held. Looking at how magazines hit the mail processing facilities, such as fashion magazines, etc., these monthlies are a Saturday thing. People relax on weekends with magazines.
Florida Fruit and Gift Shippers Association: In this whole process, have you given thought to maintaining holiday delivery six days? Will holiday volumes bog systems?
National Association of Presort Mailers (NAPM): On the whole, it appears there will be only a modest impact on members and their customers because only a few NAPM members currently enter mail on Saturdays through business mail entry units (BMEUs). The Postal Service could minimize longer-term adverse impacts by remaining flexible about the entry of bulk mail at BMEUs on Saturdays.
Bank of America: Bank of America has a cross-functional team and it will provide information from its study.
Harry and David: We will run a pro forma session with partners who don’t have the technology we have, and will work with parcel shippers at the MTAC meeting the first week of August to align questions.
Direct Marketing Association: The current timeline is good because the holiday season is over. We’re not saying our members are in favor, but this can’t be done during the holidays. A February-March time frame is good.
Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers: Nonprofits would like as much lead time as possible so they don’t include Saturday as a delivery day in their mailing plans. AARP wants one year lead time. Starting discussions now is good so the timeline gives sufficient notice for nonprofits.
Crate & Barrel: We agree that the change has to happen and will be supportive. The lead time is reasonable.
ESPN Magazine: The timing for five-day has to be longer than six months for publishers to implement. We have to renegotiate with printers. We will have to change our print production schedules.
CIGNA: We will have minimal impact since the change won’t impact remittance. We see no large challenges. We just need to get our call centers aligned with what would be heavy volume days.
Saturation Mailers Coalition: We realize the Postal Service has to do this. We distribute free papers, very small, and in-county. If the Postal Service can get in homes on Friday, we can live with it, and will work to make it happen.
AT&T: Many organizations are very structured and have billing change information throughout the year. By having a short lead time to make IT changes, costs are escalated. This may lead companies to encourage customers to make payments in ways other than through the mail. Think what will happen if there is a severe escalation of electronic bill payments.
Citigroup: There are other dynamics that also will have impact. With recent credit card legislation, monthly billing is moving from 14 days before the due date to 21 days before the due date. Businesses will have to mail earlier. The timing of this is critical in a release cycle. We could not change until April next year. I would expect to see a run on P.O. Boxes for businesses that want to get their mail on Saturday.
Harte-Hanks: For our business, the timelines will work. It isn’t a problem. We don’t foresee any issues. We will do whatever it takes.
Hearst Magazines: Publishers are going to be competing for shared resources. Everyone is going to want that Thursday truck.
Time Inc.: Seventy-seven percent of Time magazine is scheduled to be received on Saturday. We will make the changes necessary, and will have to change editorial calendars as well.
National Newspaper Association: We’re surveying newspapers. A lot of newspapers can’t shift their publication schedules. They already have Monday through Friday papers. The loss of Saturday is a loss of one day’s revenue. Presses are shutting down. There is some enthusiasm, but some will take their papers out of the mail. Can’t see that the NNA will support this change.
Conde Nast Publications: On the publishing side, many printers have the whole week plugged. It will be difficult to move titles around. There are some impacts. The more weeklies you have, the more you are going to be impacted.
Medco Health Solutions: Outbound will add one to two days to delivery. We need three to five months lead time for IT changes.
Newspaper Association of America: We represent daily newspapers, whose reaction will be mixed. Many papers converted from newspaper carriers to mail because of fuel prices.
American Catalog Mailers Association: The theory is that consumers have personal contacts with postal carriers on Saturdays and the postal brand is tied to that. Research should include that, and plans to mitigate loss of your brand equity. We would like to know how long it took Canadians to adjust to five-day delivery.
Greeting Card Association: This will reduce household involvement with the mail. Customers will go to mailboxes fewer days a week and will go to the Internet instead. Anything that causes people to go to mailboxes fewer days a week is a concern to the greeting card industry and probably advertisers. Constituents are all different. It’s hard to predict how long it will take people to adjust. From a household’s point of view, there’s the issue of carrier pickup. Is Saturday the day people write bills, do greeting cards and leave a stack for the carrier?
