Apology to our readers, gratitude for understanding

Boy, that sure wasn’t the start to 2023 that we were hoping for! Publishing and distributing the first issue of 2023 on Tuesday, January 3rd proved to be a combination of obstructions from Mother Nature, frustrations with technology, disappointment in human errors, but ultimately, pride in the incredible cooperation displayed by the Gazette team.

Even so, most of you did not get your paper on Tuesday. Many still did not get it on Wednesday. Some still did not get it on Thursday. For that, I sincerely apologize.

We aren’t going to cuss the much-needed moisture we received Monday night. In fact, we’re giving thanks for that blessing.

We’ll cuss a bit over the computer glitch that didn’t allow us to process all the paperwork needed to distribute the paper on Tuesday. We normally process that paperwork the day before publishing, so if there is a problem, we have plenty of time to resolve it. But since we were closed on Monday as the New Year holiday for staff, it wasn’t done in advance. As essential as it is to have a good computer system to keep track of subscribers, that system also takes a human operator who knows how to run it. Our operator lives outside of McCook and couldn’t make it in early Tuesday morning.

No problem, I thought. She can talk someone through the process of completing the paperwork. But you will notice that I referred to our computer system as essential and good. Ours is essential and adequate, but not necessarily good. We are in the process of fixing that.

Even though all of our staff made it in and were willing to do their best to deliver, the computer glitches didn’t get fixed until well past the time needed for delivery on Tuesday. That, combined with the icy snow-packed road conditions, played in our decision to print the paper, publish it online, but not distribute it until Wednesday.

And that is where my pride in the Gazette team comes in. Our inserters (who process the papers and get them ready for delivery) and drivers all agreed to come in early on Wednesday to get your paper to you. They normally do not work on Wednesdays. But not one of them balked at coming in on their day off. Not one. They are dedicated to getting the papers out. Thank you, Ginger, Amanda, Byron, Darrel, Shawn, Elmer, Lonnie, Roger, and Cliff.

Many of you got your paper on Wednesday, although we did have a few carrier routes that didn’t get delivered. I apologize for that. Quite frankly, it is an issue that we have been struggling with since last summer. Workforce shortages that are affecting so many service providers are affecting us as well.

We are in the process of evaluating our delivery system and considering changes. Our office staff, including myself, were delivering routes on a regular basis as substitutes. Thank you, Sharon, Brenda, and Russ. But that practice was unsustainable. In December, we had to convert many of our carrier-delivered subscribers to mail simply because we could not find carriers or substitutes to fill all of our routes.

But then on Wednesday, a human error occurred. Blame it on going outside our normal routine. Blame it on someone thinking someone else was going to do it. Blame it on a simple mistake. It certainly was not intentional. When staff came in on Wednesday to process Tuesday’s publication, some of the mailbags didn’t get taken to the post office. It is a simple task that is done every publishing day. But it didn’t happen on Wednesday.

Those of you who get your paper in the mail were expecting to see Tuesday’s paper in Thursday’s mail. It didn’t show, and that was our fault. We are incredibly sorry for that mistake.

Throughout it all, our subscribers have been mostly understanding. Those who have expressed their frustration at our failures have done so because they expect more of us. We expect more from ourselves and we’ve learned several lessons throughout the process.

In the end, I want to express my appreciation to the Gazette team, including our carriers. Everyone worked hard to get the paper out through tough circumstances. Know that they care deeply about serving our subscribers and want to do their best for you.

Mark Twain wisely said, “If you eat a frog first thing in the morning that will probably be the worst thing you do all day.” Bring on the rest of 2023.