Incomplete newspaper

[swilshire]

I am so aggravated that I may call and cancel my newspaper subscription tomorrow. They are the worst about leaving certain ads out. I often compare with my next door neighbor and she has things I don't and vice versa.

Last week, I was missing the CVS ad. Never had before. Called to try to make sure it was supposed to be in there, held for more than 10 minutes and it finally hung up on me. Used the automated system to report the paper incomplete and ask for redelivery. Took multiple emails but finally got a replacement paper on Thursday. It was missing other things that the first one had, but did have the CVS ad (which I had long since looked at on the Internet).

This week, the ad for our local grocery store (Ingles) was missing. Called and got through after 11 minutes to an agent. He said it should have been there and he would have it redelivered. Emailed the person I had corresponded with last week to tell her about it and advise her of my frustration with the ongoing problem.

She called me to say that both of these ads were listed for my ZIPcode as partial delivery and I only got them if they had extras, so she had cancelled the redelivery order. Come on. I've received both of these every Sunday for years. Nor does that explain why my neighbor's paper is almost never the exact same as mine.

I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a complete paper every week without making a phone call or wondering what I might be missing. The news and soft features sections have shrunk to tiny size. The only real reason I take it is for coupons and the ads. The coupons are often missing and they can't even tell you which ones of these you're supposed to get if you call. Any real news, I've already seen on tv or the Internet.

I plan to call and speak to a Manager tomorrow. I had talked to a very nice one a few years ago, but the problem got better for a few years after they installed new equipment and I can't find her name. I may just cancel.

Very frustrating.

Sheila

 

[dis-happy]

I am so aggravated that I may call and cancel my newspaper subscription tomorrow. They are the worst about leaving certain ads out. I often compare with my next door neighbor and she has things I don't and vice versa.

Last week, I was missing the CVS ad. Never had before. Called to try to make sure it was supposed to be in there, held for more than 10 minutes and it finally hung up on me. Used the automated system to report the paper incomplete and ask for redelivery. Took multiple emails but finally got a replacement paper on Thursday. It was missing other things that the first one had, but did have the CVS ad (which I had long since looked at on the Internet).

This week, the ad for our local grocery store (Ingles) was missing. Called and got through after 11 minutes to an agent. He said it should have been there and he would have it redelivered. Emailed the person I had corresponded with last week to tell her about it and advise her of my frustration with the ongoing problem.

She called me to say that both of these ads were listed for my ZIPcode as partial delivery and I only got them if they had extras, so she had cancelled the redelivery order. Come on. I've received both of these every Sunday for years. Nor does that explain why my neighbor's paper is almost never the exact same as mine.

I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a complete paper every week without making a phone call or wondering what I might be missing. The news and soft features sections have shrunk to tiny size. The only real reason I take it is for coupons and the ads. The coupons are often missing and they can't even tell you which ones of these you're supposed to get if you call. Any real news, I've already seen on tv or the Internet.

I plan to call and speak to a Manager tomorrow. I had talked to a very nice one a few years ago, but the problem got better for a few years after they installed new equipment and I can't find her name. I may just cancel.

Very frustrating.

Sheila

Call the ABC (audit bureau of circulation) and complain there. Tell the newspaper mgr. you contacted them too--that will get their attention. Newspapers make their money on advertising and the ABC exists to ensure that the advertisers get what they paid for (an ad in your paper). GL

 

[sharonmickey]

OP - Same thing happens here all the time. I seldom get most of the ads, forget getting all of them. As with you, the only reason I get the paper is for the Sunday ads and usually most of them are missing. Very frustrating. I did cancel the newspaper last year but then a month or so later got a coupon for a years subscription at half price so signed up. I never thought of calling ABC, in fact I've never heard of them but may see what I can find on them.

 

[undertheradar]

If you want to get results, contact the advertiser that you believe the ads are missing from. While the audits are important, do you contact the paper when you receive multiple copies of an ad? When you call for missing ads your delivery agent is charged for your replacement paper, not at the rate you are billed at, a much higher penalty rate. Can't understand getting worked up over a missing ad.

 

[undertheradar]

I am so aggravated that I may call and cancel my newspaper subscription tomorrow. They are the worst about leaving certain ads out. I often compare with my next door neighbor and she has things I don't and vice versa.

Last week, I was missing the CVS ad. Never had before. Called to try to make sure it was supposed to be in there, held for more than 10 minutes and it finally hung up on me. Used the automated system to report the paper incomplete and ask for redelivery. Took multiple emails but finally got a replacement paper on Thursday. It was missing other things that the first one had, but did have the CVS ad (which I had long since looked at on the Internet).

This week, the ad for our local grocery store (Ingles) was missing. Called and got through after 11 minutes to an agent. He said it should have been there and he would have it redelivered. Emailed the person I had corresponded with last week to tell her about it and advise her of my frustration with the ongoing problem.

She called me to say that both of these ads were listed for my ZIPcode as partial delivery and I only got them if they had extras, so she had cancelled the redelivery order. Come on. I've received both of these every Sunday for years. Nor does that explain why my neighbor's paper is almost never the exact same as mine.

I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a complete paper every week without making a phone call or wondering what I might be missing. The news and soft features sections have shrunk to tiny size. The only real reason I take it is for coupons and the ads. The coupons are often missing and they can't even tell you which ones of these you're supposed to get if you call. Any real news, I've already seen on tv or the Internet.

I plan to call and speak to a Manager tomorrow. I had talked to a very nice one a few years ago, but the problem got better for a few years after they installed new equipment and I can't find her name. I may just cancel.

Very frustrating.

Sheila

Just wondering OP, if you cancel your delivery where will you obtain your ads?

 

[mrsklamc]

Can't understand getting worked up over a missing ad.

I can. I'm sure for a good majority of folks here on the budget board, it's the only reason we get the paper. Newspapers are pretty obsolete otherwise - they should be upping their customer service game, not getting worse, if they plan on surviving.

 

[undertheradar]

I can. I'm sure for a good majority of folks here on the budget board, it's the only reason we get the paper. Newspapers are pretty obsolete otherwise - they should be upping their customer service game, not getting worse, if they plan on surviving.

How exactly would you "Up" the customer service? If you believe that there should be someone verifying that every paper gets every ad, how much do you believe the cost of the paper will increase?

With regards to the ABC audits, the circulation verification is for copies of papers distributed. Not every ad goes to every edition.

 

[adventure_woman]

ITA - It drives me CRAZY when I don't get all my ads. That is why I get the paper. I look forward to Sunday mornings when I can go through my paper. AND, when I know that I am missing something, I do call immediately and get another one sent. Thankfully, they are good about answering the phone and sending me a new one.

 

[mrsklamc]

How exactly would you "Up" the customer service? If you believe that there should be someone verifying that every paper gets every ad, how much do you believe the cost of the paper will increase?

It should be much simpler-and more cost effective-to put an ad in every paper than try to put them in some and not others.

 

[undertheradar]

We receive 2 different newspapers, local and major city. There is a variation of the ads and coupons included between the 2 papers. The national coupon sections vary between the 2 papers, as well.

 

[undertheradar]

It should be much simpler-and more cost effective-to put an ad in every paper than try to put them in some and not others.

The ads arrive several weeks before distribution and are machine sorted. The delivery agents put the "filler" sections(comics, ads, Parade, coupons), together with the mains(news, sports, business, etc.) on delivery day. The delivery agent does not handle the individual ads.

 

[swilshire]

If you want to get results, contact the advertiser that you believe the ads are missing from. While the audits are important, do you contact the paper when you receive multiple copies of an ad? When you call for missing ads your delivery agent is charged for your replacement paper, not at the rate you are billed at, a much higher penalty rate. Can't understand getting worked up over a missing ad.

I'm not worked up over a missing ad. I'm worked up over week after week of not getting what I paid for.

Let's say you bought groceries every week and when you got home, time after time an item was missing from the bag. Maybe it was something cheap like a pack of gum. Would you keep shopping there? At least you'd have a receipt to compare the contents against. I don't even have that. I have to call when I suspect part of the paper is missing. Since I don't know what is supposed to be there, I'm sure I miss a lot.

Sheila

 

[Alexander]

The ads arrive several weeks before distribution and are machine sorted. The delivery agents put the "filler" sections(comics, ads, Parade, coupons), together with the mains(news, sports, business, etc.) on delivery day. The delivery agent does not handle the individual ads.

Don't you think this is going to vary from paper to paper? Some papers like ours are really small and I find it unlikely that they have a machines to insert ads.

 

[swilshire]

Just wondering OP, if you cancel your delivery where will you obtain your ads?

Most, if not all, of them are on line. I prefer to read them on paper rather than the computer, but I could change. The only thing I would miss is the coupons. As the kids have grown up and left home, I use fewer of them all the time anyway.

Sheila

 

[swilshire]

Call the ABC (audit bureau of circulation) and complain there. Tell the newspaper mgr. you contacted them too--that will get their attention. Newspapers make their money on advertising and the ABC exists to ensure that the advertisers get what they paid for (an ad in your paper). GL

Thanks for the suggestion. I was not aware of them.

Sheila

 

[swilshire]

Thanks for the responses. This is likely an equipment problem since they were horrible before they got new equipment a few years ago and then much better for a while. It probably goes to adjustments of the equipment.

It seems inexcusable that they don't do enough random quality checks to be aware of the problem. I don't expect them to check every paper, but when problems are reported, they should correct them.

I agree with the previous poster who said they should be improving customer service. Look how many papers have gone out of business already. If enough of us drop our subscriptions, this one could be on the way out as well.

I did email both CVS and Ingles. Maybe I can get an advertiser or two involved who will express concern. I'm sure they pay a tidy sum to have their flyers distributed.

Keeping the Monday - Saturday paper has been silly for a while. I work the Sudoko and check the tv listing. At the end of the week, I check the estate sale ads, but I've noticed that a lot of people don't even list in the paper any more. On Saturday, I check the one column with events, but I've usually heard about all of them via email or the local Mom's forums. The news is only a very few pages and old news by the time I get it.

Sheila

 

[kaytieeldr]

I'm not worked up over a missing ad. I'm worked up over week after week of not getting what I paid for.

All due respect, you're paying for the newspaper. The advertisers are paying for the ads.

Don't you think this is going to vary from paper to paper? Some papers like ours are really small and I find it unlikely that they have a machines to insert ads.

My local paper is owned by a larger, but still comparatively small, newspaper corporation. All the stuffing is done in one location, but with some different ads depending into which Saturday (no Sunday locals) paper they're being inserted.

Even the two Boston papers, serving pretty much the same distribution area, carry different ads and coupons.

 

[undertheradar]

I'm not worked up over a missing ad. I'm worked up over week after week of not getting what I paid for.

Let's say you bought groceries every week and when you got home, time after time an item was missing from the bag. Maybe it was something cheap like a pack of gum. Would you keep shopping there? At least you'd have a receipt to compare the contents against. I don't even have that. I have to call when I suspect part of the paper is missing. Since I don't know what is supposed to be there, I'm sure I miss a lot.

Sheila

You aren't comparing even entities. You know what you bought at the store, you don't know what ads are included each week. Not every advertiser participates every week. Your initial post is about missing ads.

 

[undertheradar]

Don't you think this is going to vary from paper to paper? Some papers like ours are really small and I find it unlikely that they have a machines to insert ads.

The ads arrive in pre-bundled sections, ready to be used. Those bundles are assembled in a warehouse via machines, not by humans.

 

[kydisneyfans]

A couple of notes coming from someone who has been in charge of directing where ads should go in a newspaper-I have been in circulation for 20+ years.

-ABC will do nothing regarding a missing ad, don't waste your time there. I doubt contacting the advertiser will do anything either for reasons below.

-If you are missing an ad repeatedly, contact the district manager at the paper. Chances are the person on the other end of the phone is 1,000 miles away from your town and wouldn't know NYC from the middle of a desert. Ask for the name of the local manager-I am not aware of any newspaper that won't replace the ad, but it might not be on Sunday.

-The advertisers tell the newspapers where the ads go. The problem is that Sunday newspaper circulation has grown double digits in the past year from the coupon binge, but advertisers base their ad orders on the number from the year before, leaving papers thousands of ads short each week when circulation grows.

For example:
Jan 2010 Sunday circulation=50,000
Jan 2011 Sunday circulation=57,000
Jan 2012 ads received=50,000-7,000 customers will be missing an ad.

My policy has always been to get every ad to every home delivered customer, then use stores as the next priority, then vending boxes, then schools/hotels/etc. There are boxes every Sunday missing ads/coupons and it's completely out of the newspaper's control.

I do not know of any newspaper that inserts by hand now, it's all machine oriented. There may be some small papers where it still exists, but it isn't many. The ad package was likely not even done in the office of your own paper, but done elsewhere and transported to the office sometime late the week before. Again, this varies by paper.

Your issue is likely a random skip of an ad by the sorting machine, it happens. It also could be just a shortage of ads provided by the advertiser. It may be a carrier deinserting the paper, but that is highly doubtful. With any of these reasons, a call to your local office should at least get you the ad you need early in the week.