Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 13, 1993 TAG: 9311130114
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RON BROWN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
With the "Early Bird Collection System," post office employees will collect mail from street boxes earlier in the day.
The mail from some boxes in the city is not collected until 5 p.m.
The speedier pickup system will have some of that mail picked up between 1 and 4 p.m. The Postal Service has not set a date to begin the program.
"Our emphasis is on better service to our customer," Roanoke Postmaster Billy Martin said.
The Early Bird system was proposed by a committee studying ways to improve customer service. It is seen as a way to eliminate bottlenecks in mail processing.
The logo for the new service, just now appearing on some mailboxes, was designed by Linda Maxey, a Roanoke postal employee.
By picking the mail up earlier from 23 street boxes, Martin hopes to get more mail into the pipeline in the afternoon, when mail processing traditionally hits a lull.
He hopes the increase in afternoon volume will mean less mail to process in the evenings and early morning, when historically there have been bottlenecks in the system.
Martin said the changes mean some mail will leave Roanoke on earlier trucks, and local delivery will be speeded up.
Under the system now, if a heavy volume of mail comes into the post office late in the afternoon, it strains the system's ability to get that mail sorted and out to customers on schedule.
Postmaster General Marvin Runyon has challenged postal worker to increase their proficiency in getting mail delivered on time.
"This new system will help us meet our commitment on that," Martin said.
Mail processing centers in Roanoke and Lynchburg handle 1.8 million pieces of mail each day, Martin said.
by CNB