Not Everyone’s Cup of Coffee

I recently answered a few questions regarding MTI’s DocuSend web based mailing service for an owner of a small independent cable company in the Midwest.  “I love the simplicity and time savings of your system, and I manually mail 2,200 invoices a month, but I have a big problem using it.” he said.


“Tell me your concerns and I’ll try to help you with them.” I replied.  He said “We print the statements on our desktop twice a month and my mother-in-law comes in with her best friend to fold, stuff, and stamp them.” “How long does that take them?” I asked. “About three hours each time, but they enjoy it and my wife would kill me if I stopped the tradition. They even have dinner together after they deliver them to the Post Office” he answered.

I thought about his dilemma for a few moments and said “Unless you can find something more productive for them to do that takes about the same amount of time, I don’t think I can help you. You probably shouldn’t endanger your life to save six hours of labor costs per month.”

I don’t know how many other business owners are in similar situations, but I know his is not unique. It made me think back to something that happened between my wife and I a few months ago.

My wife drinks two cups of coffee a day and I only have one on rare occasions. She keeps our cups in a cupboard above the stove. She must have at least fifty of them in there, and I always open the cupboard door very carefully to prevent an avalanche. One Saturday morning, I got up early and was enjoying my coffee while quietly congratulating myself for securing a mug without setting off a landslide. She enters the kitchen without warning and exclaims “Hey! That’s my cup!”

Every cup she has stuffed into that cupboard came from someone in her life that she loves. And every cup has a memory that means something to her. I think our cable owner friend thinks the same way about his helpers. But for the rest of us, if you want to save hours doing the menial task of printing, folding, and mailing invoices, statements, or any other important document, use DocuSend. You can even sit back and enjoy a cup of coffee while we do the mailing for you.

Jim Stewart