Wait for it… the US Postal Service is warning customers to not send checks through the mail! Not cash, which has always been a risk, but checks!
I know it feels like I’m unfairly beating up on the Postal Service lately, but I used to have the utmost respect for the organization. As I’ve written previously, both of my grandfathers were mail carriers. But the USPS is no longer the organization it was 50 or 60 years ago.
Why shouldn’t you mail checks?
According to the article, it seems that check theft from mailboxes – both mailboxes in front of homes and big blue collection boxes – is on the rise. Their solution? Mail checks from mail slots inside the post office. This obviously defeats the convenience factor for your customers of merely putting outgoing mail in a mailbox in front of their homes.
What does this mean for your office?
Why not capitalize on this seemingly bad news by using it to convince more of your customers to pay electronically? Bank drafts are the simplest (and least costly) way to process payments. For customers who want more control of when they pay their bill, there’s always online bill pay.
The advantage for your office, if more customers stop mailing payments, is a significant reduction in workload. Mail payments must be gathered from the post office, if you don’t have delivery to your office, opened, matched with a bill stub, entered in the computer, and deposited. All of this is significantly more costly to process than either bank drafts or credit card payments.
Utility Billing Mailbag
Don’t forget the new feature I’m calling the Utility Billing Mailbag. Send me your questions and I’ll take my best shot at answering them.
You can ask your questions at the Mailbag page on my website and I’ll post the answers on my social media. So be sure to follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter.
Complete the 2023 Utility Fee Survey
If you haven’t already completed the 2023 Utility Fee Survey, and would like to, please click here to complete the survey. It should take less than five minutes to complete.
If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me at gary@utilityinformationpipeline.com or call me at 919-673-4050.
Thank you in advance for your participation in the 2023 Utility Fee Survey.
Are there other efficiencies you are missing out on?
Is your utility doing all you can to be as efficient as possible? If you’re not sure, please give me a call at 919-673-4050 or email me at gary@utilityinformationpipeline.com to learn how a business review could help you find out.
© 2023 Gary Sanders