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To The Faculty Newsletter:

After reading the latest "mail-bashing" by the "Newsletter Staff" in the March/April edition of the Faculty Newsletter, I am compelled to write.

First, the delays the unnamed author decries are not always the fault of Mail Services, the Personnel Department, Reengineering, or even El Niño. The "week's delay" the author refers to was actually, in February, a delay from Thursday afternoon, when we received the materials from the printer, until Tuesday morning, when they were delivered to the Distributed Mail Centers on campus. We labeled them on Monday, with distribution Monday night. The March/April Newsletter had better timing. We turned it around within 24 hours of receipt of the materials.

It is true that there is a "hierarchy" of labeling and mailing priorities here. However, a better characterization would be a "triage." Like other services, we queue the tasks we perform for the Institute, normally on a first come-first served basis. But, if something arrives with a specific date, such as an invitation to a function in the very near future, or a "news flash," such as the President's letter to the faculty concerning the Provost's resignation – yes, we move it ahead of material that is not quite so urgent. I consider this logical, good customer service.

I certainly appreciate the author's comments about the helpfulness of Mail Services personnel. We take pride in the service we provide, and it's gratifying to see that recognized.

The Newsletter article had a valid point in complaining about the cumbersome system for producing labels for campus mailing. And we are attacking that problem. Hopefully it will not be long before the I/T requirements for downloading address information directly to Mail Services will be available. At that point, mailers can come directly to us to get labels, eliminating the hand-off from Personnel. Believe me, we will be as happy as the "Newsletter Staff" when that happens.

Penny Guyer, Manager
Mail Services