From the Editor: Mail delays erroneously blamed on local printer
By Brandi Makuski
Several Metro Wire subscribers have contacted us with complaints about late delivery in recent days. We’re taking a moment to address your concerns directly (because we have them, too) and give you at least some kind of update.
Since expanding into print last October, we’ve been overwhelmed with news, new subscribers, advertising clients, and a jump in online readership. Each member of our staff typically works 16+ hour days to ensure news is complete, timely, and accurate, that print and digital products look sharp and function well, address problems as they arise, and provide excellent service to our readers and advertisers—both current and future.
Even though we can’t please everyone, we take our respective jobs very seriously and your support means we’re doing things right. It’s incredibly humbling. Thank you.
But since Wednesday, we’ve received a number of complaints from readers who say they only just received their April 28 copy of the Metro Wire in the U.S. Mail on May 4, 5, or 6.
That’s not okay. While delays during certain holiday seasons are expected, we can plan for that. But two-to-three days is the expected turnaround time we were provided by the Stevens Point Post Office. While it’s not the fastest, it was the most efficient for a startup company, though we may consider other options in the future.
But eight days out? Nope. That’s not good for business. It’s not good for advertisers, and it definitely isn’t good for readers.
Readers need to see the news timely, and advertisers expect their sales ads to be viewed in time for customers to take advantage of them. Without subscribers and advertisers, the news cannot exist. And a local democracy cannot survive without strong, independent news coverage of our community. News is not a “want.” It is a “need.”
A few callers informed this reporter that they called the post office to inquire about their copy of the Metro Wire. Three of them said they were told by whoever answered the phone that “the mailer (which is our printer) did not deliver on time.”
That’s pure hogwash. The Metro Wire is proudly printed at Spectra Print on Woodward Dr., just across the street from the Stevens Point Country Club. We intentionally chose Spectra because it’s locally owned, it’s a good community steward, and it supports many community events and youth sports.
Spectra also delivers our weekly editions to the post office every Thursday, along with many other pieces of mail for its business clients.
Mike Hofmeister, our rep at Spectra, on Friday provided this reporter with delivery receipts from the past two weeks. The receipts, printed by the post office, indicate that copies were delivered at 2:14 p.m. on April 28, and 1:12 p.m. on May 5.
We’ve provided copies for you to see here (account numbers and other sensitive business details have been redacted):
We took these receipts to the post office on Friday seeking answers. An employee at the front counter said the interim postmaster and shift supervisor were both out delivering mail and not immediately available for comment.
Though we’ve suspected staffing has been an issue for the post office, this was the first time anyone from the post office has confirmed with the Metro Wire that it’s experiencing a staff shortage.
The employee also confirmed that Postmaster Trent Graham is no longer in charge at the SPPO, though it wasn’t immediately clear if Graham retired or transferred to another location.
We’ve asked that the interim postmaster call us back with some answers. A message seeking additional information from Bryan Reeves, the customer relations coordinator for the post office’s Wisconsin District, was not immediately returned.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time we’ve had delivery complaints, and on some occasions, we personally deliver that week’s copy to a customer because the mail is late. We reported to you in February that Graham insisted there were no delivery delays despite some local residents claiming otherwise. At that time, a random check of our delivery addresses by Spectra also found that at least some copies of the Metro Wire were shipped for processing to a facility over the state line near Minneapolis instead of Green Bay—the location where the U.S. Postal Service says mail from Portage Co. is processed.
Be assured, we’ll find a solution to this problem. Until then, please continue to keep us informed about your delivery experience, and please know that it can’t hurt to contact Representative Ron Kind or U.S. Senators Ron Johnson or Tammy Baldwin about this problem. And thank you for your continued support.
Got a delivery problem? Call the Stevens Point Post Office at 715-344-8327. To contact the United States Postal Service, https://www.usps.com, or call 7-800-ASK-USPS (1-800-275-8777).
