Lori Bovalacco is our Guest blogger today with a wrap-up of what she learned on the 2009 Rate Change Roundtable -- thanks, Lori!!Hi Pitney Bowes Forum Users,
This was my first time hosting the 2009 Rate Change Roundtable. What an exciting experience! I have to admit, I learned a lot from your posts. While most of you were pleased with the rate download process, I see that there are a few areas you feel we need to get better at. Below are three areas that worked well for most and three areas that we'll look into improving prior to the next rate change.Areas that worked well
- Communications - the consensus is that most of you received a letter and/or email notifying you that the new rates were available for download
- Instructions - many of you stated our written instructions were better understood than in the past, that they were "more clear" and "easy to understand"
- New price displayed on effective date - for those who processed the download prior to the effective date, the new rates were present on your meter on May 11 without having to do anything. This is great! This means that most of you have your meter set to a "class", for example 1st Class Reg. Because of this, you'll never have to change the meter display (Normal Preset Setting) again when the Postal rates change, you'll just have to process the download.
Areas for improvement
- Update took too long to download - for most of you who experienced this, it appeared that a software version update was being processed along with the new rates. This is the reason for the extra time which caused some inconvenience for those who waited to the end of the day, on a Friday and wanted to go home. I recommend that whenever your meter displays there is an update or add on available, you should always go through the process so that your meter will be up to date with the latest software version.
- Restart meter or meter got stuck - many times when a software version is updating or rates are downloading, you may need to power cycle your meter. This can take longer than we want due to modem speed and the volume of meters trying to connect to the data center. We do, however, offer some connection solutions such as connecting your meter to your PC as well as having a dedicated LAN line. You can find out more about these solutions from your local Pitney Bowes sales representative.
- Rates should update automatically - Guess what? This is exactly what we're working on today. We'll keep you posted.
Over the past week, I personally read all of your comments. We will try to uphold what worked well for you and will investigate what needs improvement. Thank you all for your feedback and taking the time to post your comments.
Regards,
Lori
