The United States Postal Service now has Informed Delivery and you can sign up free at usps.com/intheknow. After signing up you will get a daily email that lets you view exterior images of your letters and check on packages arriving soon. You can view your mail from an easy-to-use dashboard and you can keep tabs on USPS package deliveries without inputting tracking numbers.
If it is in the mail, it can be in your email.
I have been working on updating my house for the last few years. Hopefully the last thing that I am doing is the kitchen. I had a customer a few years back that paints kitchen cabinets and they do a really good job. My cabinets are pretty old but were in good shape. I had to take everything out of the drawers and they took the doors and drawers back to their shop for repainting. I put everything in boxes according to the drawers and was able to cook despite the mess. Last week they finished and it makes the kitchen so much brighter. Today the granite people are coming to make a template of the counter tops and they have to have everything off the counter tops in order to do this. My job this evening will be to put everything back in place. Hope I remember how to hook up the computer.
One thing that I have been putting off for years is cleaning out the attic . When my youngest daughter Joy was in college she asked when were we cleaning out the attic. I told her we were not cleaning it out and that we were going to die and leave everything to them, including the attic. I was only kidding but I bet she was surprised when I had it cleaned out. I had 3 helpers and it was a trip down memory lane for sure but what a mess. All 4 of us were covered in dust and it took some time to vacuum up the mess.
With the remodeling, puppy sitting and working, my summer has started off very busy. I think I need a trip to the beach already.
It is Friday and who doesn’t need a break. After sitting at a computer all day Amy, our Mailing Manager need a break and came into my office to play with Lincoln. He has been lazy all day, snoring under my desk. She had to coax him from under my desk to get him to play. It is Friday and I think that he has started his weekend early. Oh wait, he doesn’t do anything every day, he is living the life. He could be just a bit spoiled.
Hope everyone has a great weekend. I am having my attic cleaned out, bright and early in the morning. It will be interesting to see what is up there. A lot of my two daughters things from childhood and teenage years. Joy once asked he when were we cleaning out the attic. I told her we were not cleaning it out, we were going to die and let them clean it out. I changed my mind on that. Joy will be here next Friday, no telling what might end up in her car.
There are a lot of things happening at my house this summer. One is that I am keeping my Granddaughter’s dog, Lincoln for two weeks. Today was the first day that he came to work with me and he really loved it when he came in and saw all the people who wanted to pet him. After the excitement died down he just pretty much sleeps under my desk. He likes confined spaces, I guess it makes him feel secure.
The second thing is that I am doing some work to my kitchen. 32 years ago Ken and his two best friends took out all the old cabinets and put in new ones. Ken and I sat down at the house we had just bought and planned out the kitchen. We must have done a pretty good job because in 32 years I have never once thought that I would like to change something. Instead of new cabinets, I opted to paint them through a company called the Painted Room. They have been customers of mine in the past and I like to do business with folks who do business with me. The doors and drawers have been off for over a week and tomorrow they come and put all the drawers and doors back in place. Can’t wait to see how it will look. The next step is new counter tops and back splash.
It is hectic at my house, I think I need a beach trip.
At Burns we are not so hectic that we can’t handle your design, print and direct mail needs. Call me today at 865 584-2265 or email me at phyllis@burnsmp.com.
P.S. I am looking for a social media guru to help me with marketing and social media. Know someone who would might be interested? Call me at the above number.
For next two weeks I will be having a special guest, Grand Puppy, Lincoln. He will be visiting while my granddaughter Kate goes to camp and my daughter Joy and her husband John take a vacation.
Lincoln is a very sweet Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. They are very laid back and loving dogs. He will love coming to work with me and getting all the attention from my employees.
It will be really different at my house after not having a pet for over 10 years. That is what Grand Puppy’s are for, you love them, spoil them and send them back home.
My son-in-law, John Day, a trial lawyer in Brentwood, TN, publishes a newsletter every quarter that goes out to other lawyers. We print and mail it for John so I often read it. The subject on his latest newsletter is about Reputation. Reputations can be good or in some cases bad. A quote in John’s newsletter is “ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right”. (Potter Stewart) That says a lot about any business or person. Is doing what is right always the easiest, not it is sometimes the hardest thing but in your heart if you know it is the right thing to do, then do it.
I had an example of this today. There was some confusion about a mailing date for a customer and we thought that we knew when he wanted his post cards mailed. Turns out we mailed it a little earlier than he wanted, so I told him we would print another post card for him to be mailed on the date that he desired. Did I lose a little money, yes, but the most important thing is that I have my reputation as a company intact and that means everything to me.
John’s reputation as a good lawyer is know state wide and beyond, but he is one of the most ethical men that I know. He is a good Dad, husband and family man.
The answer is with great difficulty. I am so interested in doing social media for my company but there are so many ways to do it and how do I get the most attention on social media? I started by having someone come to the office and get me started. Now when I blog it goes to several social media sites. That is good but is it good enough? I don’t think so. I have even looked at various training centers in town and from my research I cannot find any classes on social media. I know that there are companies who do this for a living but call me crazy, I want to do it myself. I did find an online school but there is just something about having a teacher in front of you who can answer questions and I am sure that I would have lots of them. I will keep plugging along and I am sure that I will get there. Who knows might one day be a social media expert, NOT.
However, we are good at several things here at Burns Mailing & Printing and that is graphic design, printing and mailing. Three good reasons to have everything done under one roof..its a big roof.
Email me for a free quote at phyllis@burnsmp.com or call me at 865 584-2265.
Personalization is the best way to have a professional look to your mailing. If a person has a connection to your organizations they want to think that you know their name. This is especially true with non-profit organizations who are seeking donations. With variable data the mailer can be personalized within the body of the letter or on a post card. At Burns we have the capability of putting a bar-code on the back of the letter and inserting it into a closed envelope (non window) with our insert/match machinery. The machine reads the bar-code on the back and puts the correct address matching the personalized letter. It is like a hand match with out the high cost of a hand match. Our NeoPost DS-1200 inserter runs at speeds of up to 12,000 per hour.
I love this golly, gee whiz technology. Call Phyllis Burns at 865 584-2265 or email me at phyllis@burnsmp.com for a free quote.
Phyllis Robinette Burns, President
Burns Mailing & Printing, Inc. has been in business since 1981. It was started by my late husband, Ken Burns, in our garage. Ken was very good with anything mechanical and printing came very natural for him. He put two presses together that were not running and made a working press. After a couple of moves out of the garage, we built our current location at 6131 Industrial Heights Dr. in 1994. This was the same year that both of our daughters got married. If you think that building a building, moving a business and having two weddings all in one year is stressful, you would be right. I was Vice President of a local car dealership and supported the family while Ken got the business going. In 1990, I joined him and I have now been in the printing/mailing business for 28 years. In 2010 Ken had a major stroke and could not work in the business and in 2014 he passed away with Leukemia. He was the love of my life.
I have a very professional and supportive staff with most of the employees being here for some time. The great thing is that if I cannot be at the business, I don’t have to worry that my customers are not being taken care of. We pride ourselves with great customer service. Their success is our success.
If you would like to find out about our great customer service for yourself, give us a call at 865 584-2265 or email me at phyllis@burnsmp.com for a free estimate. You can also set up an appointment for a free consultation about your project. I think every good direct mailing or printing should start at inception.
We are 100% women owned and certified by the State of TN as a Women Business Enterprise (WBE).