Address Corrections

Address corrections are to be done on an ongoing basis by the Receptionist, for returned bulk mail and for personal letters written by all staff. Corrections are not allowed to pile up!!! They should be done daily if at all possible. They need to be done within 2 days being received, and ideally the same day.

If you notice that you have not received any address corrections in a few days, ask Shipping to contact the post office to see if they are being held up for any reason. We may need to refill our BRM (Business Reply Mail) account or the Post Office put them to the side and didn’t send.

The following are the steps that need to be taken when correcting addresses:

1. If there is a new address given then change the address in the file and make a note under Contact Log that the address was updated. That is all that needs to be done.
2. When a piece of mail is returned for the first time without an address correction and there is no new address make a note in the Contacts Log that mail was returned.
3. Add an Alert to the customer’s BM record that says we need to verify their address, so it will appear the next time the customer comes in.
4. Call the customer to get a correct address, update the file completely and resend the piece. If there is no phone number on file:
   1. a) Call information (411)
   2. b) Check for duplicate file
   3. c) Look up on the internet
   4. d) Send an email to the customer asking for their updated address
5. If the Receptionist is not able to get the address within 24 hours of doing the above steps, then send the piece of mail to the salesperson’s assistant (or to the salesperson if they have no assistant). They will do the below steps until they get the address or have exhausted all possible ways of getting the correct address.
   1. a) See if customer was referred by another customer and call that person to get a number.
   2. b) Call any other friends or family in our files that knows them to get their updated address.
   3. c) Write customer asking if address changed and to call or write back.
   4. d) Or any other way you can to contact the person
6. If and/or when the second piece of mail gets returned, the Receptionist does the following:
   1. a) Check that file to see if all of the above steps were done.
   2. b) Change the Contact keys to Mailings OFF.
   3. c) Delete the address. If the customer ever calls or comes in again the person who pulls up the customer will see the blank field and ask for a new address.
   4. d) Make another note in the Contact Log that the mail was returned 2nd time no # and customer removed from mailings.
7. When a second piece of mail is returned AND if it is over 2 months since the last returned mail or over 4 months for Mailings Three because they are only mailed every 4 months, make a note in Contact Log that mail was returned. Do not take steps described in #5 above. The reason for this is the original return was probably an error and the person has received our mail since then.
8. VERY IMPORTANT! Before taking any customer off of the mailing list, especially an active customer, try to call any phone numbers that are in the file. If you reach the customer, get their new address and enter it. If there are no phone numbers on file, try calling information to get their current number.