spear@ihopb.UUCP (11/10/83)
I tried mailing my first "free" MCI letter from
Naperville, Illinois to Hastings, Nebraska (sort of
the middle of nowhere). I entered the letter via terminal
on a Friday evening. Now normally, a letter mailed on
a Friday evening would get in the mail Saturday and
would arrive out on the Central Plains (about 600 miles)
on Tuesday or maybe Monday if you were lucky.
I was hoping that MCI might get it there Monday without
fail by sending it on Saturday from some location nearer
like Omaha or Kansas City.
It actually arrived Wednesday or one day LATER than the
normal mail time. The reasons for this were:
1. No Saturday service. MCI mail works only Monday - Friday.
2. Chicago WAS the closest site. They don't even have a
location in Denver yet (though I was told it is the next
planned location).
When I talked to a PR person from MCI the above was explained to
me along with a reasonably valid excuse that the service is only
5 weeks old. But still the Saturday limitation and the
lack of locations in the Central US are something to bear in
mind before your shell out $2 for a letter.
Also, I was disappointed in the appearance of the letter. It
is a xerox or laser print of course, but it had a very pale,
bad photocopy look to it - both the printing and the letter
head.
Regarding having to supply your social security number - my
understanding of the law is that no one can REQUIRE you to
give your ssn without giving legal justification but they
can ask you for it and refuse you service if you don't
supply it!
Steve Spearman
ihnp4!ihuxm!spear