The PMG Family continues to work diligently to keep pandemic-related issues from delaying our clients’ mail dates. Here is some new information and our recommendations to help keep your direct marketing programs on track:
- We are finding that the pandemic is having a bigger impact on our work lately, with Covid-19 cases on the rise at various production facilities, reducing staff availability and causing delays and more errors. Production facility staff members are under stress and stretched thin, after eight months of pandemic-related pressures at work and at home.
- We strongly recommend that our clients build more time into their project schedules, given the risk of unforeseen delays within any stage of production. Several production partners can no longer accommodate a “day for a day” schedule shifts due to tight schedules at their plants. For example, an art file that is one day late could mean a four-day delay in a mail date. Some suppliers are no longer guaranteeing mail dates.
- Mail delivery delays in the fall were sporadic and we were seeing at worst one to two days delay. This was mostly due to the fall mailing season and the General Election. Covid-19 outbreaks at presort and postal facilities slowed down some processing. Stimulus package unemployment benefits and competition for labor created hiring challenges industry-wide. Now that the political mail has tapered off we expect delivery times to remain consistent.
- PMG recently conducted a client survey to determine if our service levels are meeting client expectations as we continue to operate remotely. We are pleased to report that overall, our clients are very satisfied with our service and work product. However, we continue to look for ways to improve our communications and processes, and for ways to adapt to our clients’ needs as the pandemic progresses.
Please click here for a complete description of the steps we have been taking since the pandemic hit.
