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This is anecdotal, but just today I cancelled my print subscription to the NYTimes because they kept messing up the delivery (not showing up, going to the wrong

This is anecdotal, but just today I cancelled my print subscription to the NYTimes because they kept messing up the delivery (not showing up, going to the wrong house)... and every time I contacted their customer service reps (who were obviously outsourced) they had absolutely no power to do anything about it. I wonder how much the simple things like "taking care of your customers" factors into their business struggles. (Probably "not much", but just seemed strange to me that they'd drop the ball like that for honest-to-goodness paying customers).

forgetsusername 10y ago
>but just seemed so strange to me that they'd drop the ball so much on the kind of customer they should be very much desiring Don't get me wrong, I'd have done the same, but: What makes you think you're such a desirable customer? What sort of effort did you put into solving the problem? I can easily imagine a scenario where the delivery guy is so far removed form the news business (doesn't care a wink), that it would be night impossible to ensure the paper "gets there" without incurring costs beyond your subscription fee and satisfaction. This is reality.
- emodendroket 10y ago
  RE: delivery: You get what the company pays for. https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/01/09/delivering-paper-long-hours-low-pay-vacation/QrIavPpVa8QIi3B2Iz7B4N/story.html https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/01/09/delivering-pape... > “I have found myself so exhausted, literally sitting in someone’s driveway, door open, and I’ll wake up and say, ‘Where the hell am I?’” he said. “I fell asleep right in my car. It might be 30 seconds and it might be 10 minutes.”
- jordanlev 10y ago
  I was a desirable customer because I was paying for their most expensive offering (delivery of the print paper, as opposed to just digital access). And I'm baffled by the rest of your response... What sort of effort am I supposed to put into solving their logistics problem?? Other than repeatedly telling their customer service people about the issue, how or why would I investigate any further? (Honestly I would have loved to get in touch with the actual delivery company in my area to ask them if they have the wrong address or can't find the house or something... but this is one of the many ways in which the customer service reps could not help me because they either didn't know or wouldn't tell me who the delivery company was!) I think perhaps you misunderstood what I wrote or think I'm actually a delivery person?
emodendroket 10y ago
Hardly makes the Times unique though; how many businesses don't operate that way now?

forgetsusername 10y ago

>but just seemed so strange to me that they'd drop the ball so much on the kind of customer they should be very much desiring Don't get me wrong, I'd have done the same, but: What makes you think you're such a desirable customer? What sort of effort did you put into solving the problem? I can easily imagine a scenario where the delivery guy is so far removed form the news business (doesn't care a wink), that it would be night impossible to ensure the paper "gets there" without incurring costs beyond your subscription fee and satisfaction. This is reality.

emodendroket 10y ago
RE: delivery: You get what the company pays for. https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/01/09/delivering-paper-long-hours-low-pay-vacation/QrIavPpVa8QIi3B2Iz7B4N/story.html https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/01/09/delivering-pape... > “I have found myself so exhausted, literally sitting in someone’s driveway, door open, and I’ll wake up and say, ‘Where the hell am I?’” he said. “I fell asleep right in my car. It might be 30 seconds and it might be 10 minutes.”
jordanlev 10y ago
I was a desirable customer because I was paying for their most expensive offering (delivery of the print paper, as opposed to just digital access). And I'm baffled by the rest of your response... What sort of effort am I supposed to put into solving their logistics problem?? Other than repeatedly telling their customer service people about the issue, how or why would I investigate any further? (Honestly I would have loved to get in touch with the actual delivery company in my area to ask them if they have the wrong address or can't find the house or something... but this is one of the many ways in which the customer service reps could not help me because they either didn't know or wouldn't tell me who the delivery company was!) I think perhaps you misunderstood what I wrote or think I'm actually a delivery person?

emodendroket 10y ago

Hardly makes the Times unique though; how many businesses don't operate that way now?