On Thursday, I happened to run into a lady who was a pretty faithful reader of my column and Lapeer stories during my Flint Journal career. She asked me what was going on at the Journal (obviously not a reader of the blog, but she's 78 and not a computer user).
Kind of filled her in on what I knew. Then she told me that the Journal had basically cancelled her subscription. A subscription that she had carried for about 50 years. She 'loved' her Journal.
What happened, she told me, is that her Journal carrier, faced with the three-day-a-week scheduled and apparently a contract she didn't like, up and quit ahead of the June 1 changeover.
When she called to complain she had not gotten her paper, she was told of her carrier's departure. What happend next really upset her. Instead of offering her a new carrier, they simply told her they were refunding her unused subscription and that she would no longer receive her paper.
During the years I covered Lapeer I had many, many stories of people who wanted the paper, but were told it could not be delivered to their home. In a business sense I understand that some routes are not economical and the Journal did try several times to make advertising inroads to Lapeer without much success, but it is hard to explain to people who want the product that they can't get it. Especially in an area where the paper offered news coverage.
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2 comments:
Jim,
This long-time customer is not alone. Many people are being turned off by having to pay MORE for LESS paper and service.
http://thedailyderelict.blogspot.com/2009/05/flint-journal-is-turning-away-paying.html
-Ezra
I was going to offer to become a paper carrier, but then I thought about the delivery conditions in Michigan and may need to pass on this employment opportunity for now. :)
Do any companies actually know how to run a business anymore?
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