Four months ago, my wife gave me two-year gift subscription to Mix, a new monthly food magazine from The Oregonian that is mailed to subscribers. One of the enticements to subscribe was the offer of a free cookbook. I've received a few issues of the of the magazine which I like for its innovative content and attractive layout. However, today I called The Oregonian, our state's largest circulation newspaper, to ask why I have not received the promised cookbook. The service representative was nice and told me that the she was aware that the book was late to many subscribers and that the paper "wouldn't deal with the guy who did that book anymore." However, when I pressed her about when I would receive the book, she told me that she had no idea. She took my number and said somebody would call me and that they're handling calls on a case-by-case basis.
If The Oregonian knows that there is an issue following through on one of their promises, why are they waiting to hear from subscribers to react? It would be smart to send a letter of apology to all subscribers expecting the book stating that there has been an unforeseen delay yet the book will arrive. In an age of rapidly diminishing circulation numbers for print publications, proactive customer service is the best way to hang onto existing subscribers to avoid nightmare scenarios like this video spoof about the steps that The Boston Globe must take to retain a highly diminished circulation.
