A Teaching Moment

[MailGuru]

When putting together a mailing project, you MUST check every single component of the project.

What does the outer envelope look like?
Is it a window envelope?
Does the address block of the main insert line up in the window?
Does the piece have a business reply form or card for the recipient to send back?
Will that business reply form or card need to be inserted by the recipient into a business reply envelope?
Does the reply form or card fit into the reply envelope?
Does the reply envelope have a window?
Does the address on the business reply form or card show though the window of the reply envelope?
Who's address shows through the window of the reply envelope?



http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...103-story.html



See what can happen if you don't take the time to check, and cross check every single component of a project?

In response to Gordo's cartoon "Not Our Fault" , Yes, It Is!

-All The Best

MailGuru

 

[gordo]

Is that the printer’s fault or the talented graphic designer’s fault?

 

[MailGuru]

Is that the printer’s fault or the talented graphic designer’s fault?

Good question Gordo!

In my personal opinion, when there's a failure of this magnitude (250,000 pieces mailed wrong) it's everyone's fault. But, if you want to lay blame to a specific person, my money would be on whom ever the project leader is (CSR, Account Manager, Sales Person, etc.). At least, in our operation, that is the person who has the ultimate final responsibility of making sure that project is completed to the customer's satisfaction. But, I'm sure there's enough blame to spread around to the designers, the digital press operators, the insertor's, etc.)

I guess there will be no office Christmas party this year.......................

 

[gordo]

Good question Gordo!

In my personal opinion, when there's a failure of this magnitude (250,000 pieces mailed wrong) it's everyone's fault. But, if you want to lay blame to a specific person, my money would be on whom ever the project leader is (CSR, Account Manager, Sales Person, etc.). At least, in our operation, that is the person who has the ultimate final responsibility of making sure that project is completed to the customer's satisfaction. But, I'm sure there's enough blame to spread around to the designers, the digital press operators, the insertor's, etc.)

I guess there will be no office Christmas party this year.......................

In my life it was the CSR’s responsibility to make sure that the art received aligned to the quote - not whether the final product made any sense as designed. Catching errors in document design - which this appears to be - is the responsibility of the document originator. That’s why proofs are used and need to be signed off on. I guess I’m iverly sensitive since the printer often seems to be held responsible for matters that weren’t their responsibility. Remembering the Statue of Liberty USPS fiasco when the face of the statue of Liberty in las Vegas was used on a postage stamp instead of the statue in New York. It was called a printer’s error - but it wasn’t at all.

 

[arossetti]

You picking up a new client Guru? One mans foley is another mans 5% revenue growth.

 

[MailGuru]

@Gordo: Understood. And, I guess I would feel the same way, coming from a printer's point of view.

 

[MailGuru]

You picking up a new client Guru? One mans foley is another mans 5% revenue growth.

Heck No! I used to do tax roll work many years ago, when I owned my own company. Too many contract conditions. Like (and this was 20 years ago, I'm sure it's much higher now) $10,000 per day penalty for each day the job is late. Etc.

No Thank You!

 

[arossetti]

Heck No! I used to do tax roll work many years ago, when I owned my own company. Too many contract conditions. Like (and this was 20 years ago, I'm sure it's much higher now) $10,000 per day penalty for each day the job is late. Etc.

No Thank You!

Hope the current mailer has a good errors and omissions policy.

 

[Shawnd]

Ouch, TC delivers really dropped the ball on that one. I have had that happen with a County in the past but caught it in time. They switched the addressing position after the bid and initial specs so all the materials orders were based on the initial bid, wonder if this could have tripped up TC as well.

 

[Bret Hesler]

At my first job, I got acquainted with the bulk mail specialist at the regional mail facility. We would run a lot of stuff by them to catch these problems. We sent out about 500 invitations to customers for our own company anniversary party. A handful came straight to us, not returns. When I asked the bulk mail guy how it happened, he laughed and said they ALL should have come directly to us, because the designer put our address along the bottom edge of the envelope, and the scanning machine starts at the bottom and works its way up looking for the destination address. Luckily, it was low enough that it was missed on the vast majority of pieces.

 

[Mike Herndon]

I have seen this happen before, address on the wrong side, actually very easy to do depending on the software, proof labeling and skill set.

Due diligence....

Someone probably assumed... somewhere that all things would be ok, or possibly and most likely did not know.

It would be interesting to see the root cause analysis of the failure, most of our failures come back as either poor planning, poor process, poor training or in many cases all three.

Additional thought, when we know the outcome we (human behavior that is) immediately think that we could have and would have found the error and prevented it from happening. I am guilty of this: The maker makes a mistake, we say "what an idiot!" how can they make such an easy mistake..... the hindsight effect.

The hindsight effect can and will cripple any plan of process improvement, we think the individual should know, we assume they know what we know, think how we think and make procedures, machines, etc. based on this and they fail; part of the Dunning - Kruger effect.

The engineering program I am in we study this phenomenon heavily, I find it fascinating when relating hindsight effect to our procedure here at the good old print factory.

Mike

 

[MailGuru]

we think the individual should know, we assume they know what we know, think how we think and make procedures, machines, etc. based on this and they fail;

I'd be inclined to agree with you that we assume that others know, what we know, when they really don't, and failures occur as a result. A "failure to communicate"

However, one of my pet-peeves is the lack of common sense, which, in one of my past posts, a forum contributor so aptly informed me that "common sense" is not common at all.

The component is called a "B-U-S-I-N-E-S-S..........R-E-P-L-Y............E-N-V-E-L-O-P-E".

One with a reasonable amount of common sense would deduce that it's purpose is to:

"R-E-P-L-Y...........T-O..........T-H-E...........B-U-S-I-N-E-S-S........T-H-A-T..........S-E-N-T.........I-T"

Not to the address of the person receiving the mailing.

But, alas, it is very uncommon, it seems, to possess common sense.

 

[Mike Herndon]

I agree 100%, lack of Common sense, very frustrating, we all deal with this every day.

The good old BRE, I wonder if any of the individuals even knew, read or understood what product they were making?


We had a failure a while back, a self-mailer, 16 pager folded down and stapled to go into the mail, small box on the front left blank for the address/laser.

But... the address box was not blank, no no..... instead in the box read " John Q Sample blah blah address......." printed in black.

It was on the proof, okd by the customer, okd by the csr and okd by the press crews, okd by the supervisor and bindery crews.. and shipped out. The error was not found until it was at the mail shop.

No one questioned the address, it was on the proof, no note on the proof saying for "position only, does not print" etc., nothing. Customer okd a pdf, never looked at a live proof.

Looking at it now it would seem obvious, what the hell is this??? The csr did not know, she was new, had never worked on a job like this, said customer okd it, press said it was on the proof and we are always beating into their heads match the proof!...well common sense says it should not be there! Bindery checked the address to the postal spec and signed off on the address position! Just a failure all the way through, 60,000 sheets reprinted.

Hindsight lots of finger pointing, fire this guy, fire that guy, write this guy up! So and so is so stupid how could she not see that??! The entire system failed, fire everybody??? We assumed people would know and understand, they didn’t, our weak internal process broke down and failed miserably. End of the day we ended up revamping the entire workflow to take assumptions out but the process is only as good as the individual and their training.

Mike

 

[MailGuru]

I agree 100%, lack of Common sense, very frustrating, we all deal with this every day.

The good old BRE, I wonder if any of the individuals even knew, read or understood what product they were making?


We had a failure a while back, a self-mailer, 16 pager folded down and stapled to go into the mail, small box on the front left blank for the address/laser.

But... the address box was not blank, no no..... instead in the box read " John Q Sample blah blah address......." printed in black.

It was on the proof, okd by the customer, okd by the csr and okd by the press crews, okd by the supervisor and bindery crews.. and shipped out. The error was not found until it was at the mail shop.

No one questioned the address, it was on the proof, no note on the proof saying for "position only, does not print" etc., nothing. Customer okd a pdf, never looked at a live proof.

Looking at it now it would seem obvious, what the hell is this??? The csr did not know, she was new, had never worked on a job like this, said customer okd it, press said it was on the proof and we are always beating into their heads match the proof!...well common sense says it should not be there! Bindery checked the address to the postal spec and signed off on the address position! Just a failure all the way through, 60,000 sheets reprinted.

Hindsight lots of finger pointing, fire this guy, fire that guy, write this guy up! So and so is so stupid how could she not see that??! The entire system failed, fire everybody??? We assumed people would know and understand, they didn’t, our weak internal process broke down and failed miserably. End of the day we ended up revamping the entire workflow to take assumptions out but the process is only as good as the individual and their training.

Mike

Yep, had that happen before many years ago. Like the State Farm commercial says: "We know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two...."

 

[prwhite]

Yep, had that happen before many years ago. Like the State Farm commercial says: "We know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two...."

That's Farmer's Insurance tag line, not State Farm's.

 

[MailGuru]

That's Farmer's Insurance tag line, not State Farm's.

Oh, sorry. I just knew it had the word "Farm" in it.