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PAGE 12
PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, SEPTEMBER 2, 1986
MAIL PROCESSING UPDATE
U.S. STATISTICS; ONE MILLION TV CALLS; IN-HOME PROGRAM INVALUABLE;
PC AND CW CALLBACKS; REMINDER ABOUT OFFERINGS;
U.S. Statistics
Our cumulative
year-to-date statistics for January
through July have just been made
experiencing growth over last year.
available.
Most areas are still
Category
Total Outgoing Mail
Total Mail Received*
Average Mail Received
Per Working Day*
Books and Booklets Sent
New Nam.es Added to File*
Total WATS Calls
Member Count
Co-Worker Count
Donor Count*
New
cc
Students
(January-June only)
Here are the figures:
1985
1986
52,718,168
60,901,664
3,586,047
3,428,813
23,681
22,643
2,578,462
3,549,196
1,258,065
1,026,867
583,144
1,112,665
57,864
60,408
61,168
70,701
105,122
103,195
79,293
83,743
Change
15.5
percent
-4.4
percent
-4.4 percent
37.6 percent
-18.4
percent
90.8 percent
4.4
percent
15.6
percent
-1.8 percent
5.6
percent
*The negative percentages in some areas result primarily from the
budgetary cutbacks approved by Mr. Armstrong last year.
One Million TV Calls On Sunday, August 17, our WATS operations received
the one-millionth telephone response to the telecast in 1986. This is the
first time we have ever passed the one million mark in TV calls within one
calendar year. (The total number of WATS calls would b�much larger if we
were to include all other miscellaneous sources, such as changes of
address, minister visit requests, etc.) We reached this milestone because
of the upsurge in WATS responses since the new telecasts began.
In-Home Program Invaluable
The WATS In-Home Program has been a major
factor in helping us keep pace with the large growth in TV calls since
January.
In-home operators have now answered 150,000 calls since the
program began in July 1985.
On a normal weekend, these volunteers answer approximately 20 percent of
all the WATS calls which come in. For example, on the weekend of August
16-17, in-home operators took 7,271 calls, representing 21 percent of the
total calls received. The percentage of calls taken by in-home operators
will increase as more lines are added to the SWIFT system. (SWIFT, which
stands for Supervised WATS In-Home Forwarding Technology, is the name
given to the equipment that our engineers designed to route and monitor
in-home calls.)
PC and CW Callbacks The Personal Correspondence and Co-Worker Departments
are able to save the Work hundreds of man-hours and thousands of dollars
each year by using the WATS line to answer many basic questions from
people who call us. This procedure, known as a "callback," takes much
less time than writing and processing a letter. It also adds a warm and
personal touch. Some of the needs and requests handled through callbacks
are: