Unreasonable Subscription Customer Service

Christopher Walrath · Feb 3, 2011

So, what do you do when you are still owed an issue of a magazine that is three months past due for delivery and past communications have led to your being insulted by customer service and things finally boil up and you fire off an email after another month and tell them to pretty much stick that last issue somewhere because they couldn't deliver it to me on time if all they had to do was drop it through a hole in the floor? Just curious what you all would do.

Christopher Walrath · Feb 3, 2011

And for those wondering, I will not divulge the name of the periodical until I receive a response and, as I expect due to prior communications, get insulted further by someone trying to make money from me. I just don't get it.

THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT UNTIL THEY ARE OUT OF EARSHOT.

tkamiya · Feb 3, 2011

Write to higher up in at the publisher.... I did that once years ago and had success.
If you paid for subscription by your credit card, you may have recourse from there, too.

Sometimes, some customer service reps will do and say anything to avoid actual work......

Christopher Walrath · Feb 3, 2011

Right now, given the tardiness and the unprofessional communication I received, I don't want recourse. I'm just venting (vented back at them as well) and am going to slam this stinking book shut.

tkamiya · Feb 3, 2011

Vent away....
@#!#&((*_*))!!

Rick A · Feb 3, 2011

Go to Amazon and give them a scathing review. Dont hold anything back, and make sure you explain why you feel the way you do.

BrianShaw · Feb 3, 2011

It is a good thing that you are just venting and don't really want recourse. Some magazines are just like that... habitually. They might blame the others in the delivery chain, but often it is poor dedlines on their part that is the biggest contributor. This is most true of the small niche magazines, like some in our hobby/career area. The best recourse, of course, is to not renew your subsciption. Sometimes they notice... but if enough people do that then they REALLY notice. Whether they do anything about it is very much a different topic.

jmcd · Feb 3, 2011

You might be experiencing a magazine in the great struggle between failure and survival.

It is not worth staying upset over one issue of a magazine.

Photo Engineer · Feb 3, 2011

This brings to mind the plight of all of those subscribers to Emulsion Magazine. Did they get their magazines or their money refunded? Wonder what happened? Chris, maybe you are in the same position as they are/were.

PE

paul_c5x4 · Feb 3, 2011

Many years ago, I had some bunch of muppets in a call centre trying to sell me a telecoms package. I was quite happy with the service I was getting from my current supplier and had no desire to change and told Gonzo & Co as much. They rang three times that week - On the third occasion, I told them a credit card number and/or purchase order would be required so that I could bill them for time wasted (at a rate of $1,000 per hour). The following night, four calls in the space of an hour....

Next morning I tracked down the telephone number for the CEO of the parent company and got to speak to his personal assistant. By lunchtime, the manager of the call centre was ringing with a grovelling apology and the lead muppet was on his way to the dole queue. I didn't get paid for the time wasted, but it felt good to give 'em a kick in the knackers

So.... If you have a problem with service, always go for the top dog - They are in charge, so they should be held to account for the actions of their minions.

JBrunner · Feb 3, 2011

Photo Engineer said:
This brings to mind the plight of all of those subscribers to Emulsion Magazine. Did they get their magazines or their money refunded? Wonder what happened? Chris, maybe you are in the same position as they are/were.

PE

Somewhere in the distance, a dog barked.

Christopher Walrath · Feb 3, 2011

Nah. It's not over one issue alone. It's every issue late, this one never showing up, unprofessional and rude communication, which they just redeemed themselves of partially an hour ago with a nice email. Hence the only reason they're not being named.

They offered to send the issue out now. After that last email where they really crossed the line in response to my complaint, I don't want it. It is over and done and never again.

But for those of us who deal with customers and clientele in a sales/retail situation, remember this. The best way to sell is to sell yourself. If folks don't like the you you're selling, they will move on until someone else gives them what they're looking for. I'm good with the public in the parts store. But this is a lesson I need to remember because my reaction could well be the reaction I get when I have an off moment and the customer catches wind of it.

BrianShaw · Feb 3, 2011

JBrunner said:
Somewhere in the distance, a dog barked.

... and a wolf howled.

BrianShaw · Feb 3, 2011

Christopher Walrath said:
Hence the only reason they're not being named.

Andrea tries very hard, and Steve just can't seem to get the schedule to work right.

TheFlyingCamera · Feb 3, 2011

BrianShaw said:
Andrea tries very hard, and Steve just can't seem to get the schedule to work right.

And Steve has the customer relations skills of a cactus.

Sim2 · Feb 3, 2011

Hallo,

Not knowing who the magazine is or the publisher/distributor this may be well wide of the mark, but...

some magazines have their subscription facility and or delivery outsourced to a third party. These companies may not have the same concern as the originating magazine. If you can find the publisher/owner of the magazine and email/communicate your problems directly they might get the weight they deserve. Who knows, the publisher may be unaware of the shoddy customer service being perpetrated in the name of their magazine, alternatively they may not care too hoots.

A good email into the ether can make you feel better even if little is achieved,especially if you're leaving the mag anyway!

Sim2.

TheFlyingCamera · Feb 3, 2011

paul_c5x4 said:
Many years ago, I had some bunch of muppets in a call centre trying to sell me a telecoms package. I was quite happy with the service I was getting from my current supplier and had no desire to change and told Gonzo & Co as much. They rang three times that week - On the third occasion, I told them a credit card number and/or purchase order would be required so that I could bill them for time wasted (at a rate of $1,000 per hour). The following night, four calls in the space of an hour....

Next morning I tracked down the telephone number for the CEO of the parent company and got to speak to his personal assistant. By lunchtime, the manager of the call centre was ringing with a grovelling apology and the lead muppet was on his way to the dole queue. I didn't get paid for the time wasted, but it felt good to give 'em a kick in the knackers

So.... If you have a problem with service, always go for the top dog - They are in charge, so they should be held to account for the actions of their minions.

Reminds me of a time a friend of mine was being beseiged by telemarketers for the local newspaper. He knew a thing or two about telemarketing phone systems, having dealt with them at a previous employer. So when the umpteenth call came in, he knew that they were using this phone system that would not allow the telemarketers to hang up - only the customer could disconnect the call (to prevent the telemarketers from padding their call counts). So, he politely informed the telemarketer that he was tired of having his dinner interrupted, and his time wasted telling them the same thing - that he was NOT interested in what they were selling. He then proceeded to read the white pages of the local phone book (this was a major metropolitan area with a population of approximately 1.2 million including the suburbs) starting with A. In his best radio announcer's voice, he read every name in the letter A section, and started in to B. At this point, I think it was about 2 hours in, and the poor telemarketer was in tears begging him to quit. He told her he would stop only if she guaranteed him that her employer would never call his house again. He got his wish- he has never again heard from the subscriptions department of the newspaper.

Following in his example, I once got an obnoxious phone survey: "this is only a few questions and will not take more than ten minutes". Twenty minutes in, and nowhere near done, I proceeded to tell the survey taker someone was at the door, set down the phone, logged on to IRC and chatted with friends for over an hour. When I came back and picked up the phone again, he was still there, trying to finish the survey. He would not give me a number I could call back at my convenience to finish the survey. Poor bastard.

paul_c5x4 · Feb 3, 2011

Also had a series of calls from some outfit operating out of Atlanta telling me I had "won" a free holiday in Florida and all I needed to do was to provide them with my credit card number. One nice thing about the internet is there are sites that will provide fake IDs complete with credit card numbers (false of course)....

The third time they called back to confirm the card number, a Detective Inspector Barry Stard answered - "We have just arrested your client for credit card fraud and are investigating money laundering activities. You are required to visit your local FBI office and submit to an interview regarding your involvement in this case - Please ensure the file is sent to D.I. B. Stard at Scotland Yard by the end of the week."

segedi · Feb 3, 2011

I had an experience years ago with Expedia Travel magazine, it folded in less than a year, so the publisher decided that everyone was to get some Golf magazine! Really not into golf...

And another magazine that folded in less than a year did nothing. I called, they said they were still figuring out what to do and would get back to me, never happened.

Magazines and perhaps restaurants are the two business that shut the most in their first year of operation, but some of the big names in magazines have gone online only or shut their doors completely. So, I've learned not to be too attached to either if they are less than a year old!

In 2009 it appeared that more magazines closed than started... I bet the same was true of 2010.

Regardless of the facts, ANY magazine should have a policy in place for damage control for when they do shut. Unfortunately, it's the distributors that get the grief and the magazine publishers skate away.

Christopher Walrath · Feb 3, 2011

I tried to sell my Dad's boat to a telemarketer a few years back. And I would not take no for an answer. I said I would hang up after I had been given a creidt card number. I came back periodically to make sure they were still there. At about the four hour mark I heard a new voice. Must have been a shift change. In the morning, they were gone.

Oh, and Scott won the award.

removed account4 · Feb 3, 2011

yeah there you go chris ...

when i was in your shoes, i just cancel the subscription ...

and demanded a refund ... and every once in a while a thread like this comes up,
and i say just that ( and sometimes a little bit more )
recently i was called names at one of the other 2 places i "frequent" ...

just a few weeks ago, i GAVE AWAY all of the magazines from my 3 year subscription
for the price of the shipping

all that said, its a nice magazine if you can get over all the "baggage"
that goes along with supporting it ...

Christopher Walrath · Feb 3, 2011

John: note. 3 FEB. Still waiting on November. Still waiting to get past that baggage. Hell, still waiting on the baggage.

removed account4 · Feb 3, 2011

i had a paper route when i was a kid
and if i treated customers like that,
they would have all cancelled

Sirius Glass · Feb 3, 2011

paul_c5x4 said:
Many years ago, I had some bunch of muppets in a call centre trying to sell me a telecoms package. I was quite happy with the service I was getting from my current supplier and had no desire to change and told Gonzo & Co as much. They rang three times that week - On the third occasion, I told them a credit card number and/or purchase order would be required so that I could bill them for time wasted (at a rate of $1,000 per hour). The following night, four calls in the space of an hour....

Next morning I tracked down the telephone number for the CEO of the parent company and got to speak to his personal assistant. By lunchtime, the manager of the call centre was ringing with a grovelling apology and the lead muppet was on his way to the dole queue. I didn't get paid for the time wasted, but it felt good to give 'em a kick in the knackers

So.... If you have a problem with service, always go for the top dog - They are in charge, so they should be held to account for the actions of their minions.

I like your style!

tkamiya · Feb 3, 2011

Christopher Walrath said:
I tried to sell my Dad's boat to a telemarketer a few years back.

Also few years back (well... almost two decades back) I pretended I didn't know what "copy machine" was when copier sales person called. It was funny to hear him explain "big box with buttons... that makes copies..." Few minutes later, he caught on and hung up.

Unreasonable Subscription Customer Service

Christopher Walrath

Christopher Walrath

tkamiya

Christopher Walrath

tkamiya

Rick A

BrianShaw

jmcd

Photo Engineer

paul_c5x4

JBrunner

Moderator

Christopher Walrath

BrianShaw

BrianShaw

TheFlyingCamera

Membership Council

Sim2

TheFlyingCamera

Membership Council

paul_c5x4

segedi

Christopher Walrath

removed account4

Christopher Walrath

removed account4

Sirius Glass

tkamiya

Unreasonable Subscription Customer Service

Moderator

Membership Council

Membership Council

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency