Ivanishvili
Kirill
Newt
UPDATE: 07/34/13
I restarted my NYT subscription after a long hiatus owing to the fact that when the promotional rate expired, my bill jumped from $29-something every four weeks to $66.40!
Not long before the suspension of delivery expired, I moved. And when the paper resumed delivery, I was charged again - even though I wasn't receiving the paper.
"Well, what did you expect?", you might say.
But here's the good part. I only found out I was being charged again because I got a letter from the Times at my new address. Did you catch that? My new address. Why were they able to find me for billing purposes, but not for delivery? Let's move on.
When I called to inquire about the bill, I happened to mention to the customer service rep that the reason I had to suspend was that I couldn't justify paying $66 a month for 6-day delivery. She said that the $66 dollar rate was for 7-day delivery, and that 6-day delivery was only $34.08 every four weeks.
Being of an inquiring mind, I thought to myself, "Since I not once received a Sunday paper, why was I charged for 7-day delivery?", and the only reason I could come up with was that the promotional rate for 6-day delivery somehow morphed into 7-day delivery. Must be that old New York magic.
So I went ahead and restarted Home Delivery. Who wouldn't. Arguably, the finest newspaper in American History for $1.22 a day? You'd have to be crazy not to, right?
Well.
When I got the email confirmation, the rate was $9.84 per week. According to my calculator, that's $39.36 every four weeks. Same decimal system. Same electricity. Why the discrepancy? Was I mistaken about the $34.08? I didn't see how. I'd confirmed it with the first rep who first quoted it to me. And re-confirmed it with a second rep while arranging credit for the papers I didn't receive.
So I called the NYT subscription department and was told that the rate was indeed $9.84 per week. So I said, "Then why was I quoted a rate of $34.08 - a figure that was confirmed in a subsequent conversation?
And she said, "Can you hold while I check something?"
"Sure, I'll hold".
When she came back on the line, she said that what she found out was that my address, in this section of Bloomington, IN, was "in the New York area," (a direct quote), that my rate was in fact $34.08 for four weeks, and that the situation had been corrected.
Then I got this email:
Thank you for contacting us. We are happy to change your service on account 890371511. You will receive Monday through Saturday delivery starting on 7/26/2013. Your subscription rate will change to $9.84 per week, which will be reflected on your next statement.
You can also visit our web site at https://homedelivery.nytimes.com to receive information on your account 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Please follow the instructions to register if you have not done so already.
If there is anything else we can do to help you, please e-mail us at customercare@nytimes.com or call us at 1-800-NYTIMES (1-800-698-4637) from 5 a.m. to midnight Monday-Friday and 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday & Sunday (ET).
We appreciate your business and understand your concerns regarding your New York Times account.
Sincerely,
Sarah Ray
Online Customer Care
The New York Times
www.homedelivery.nytimes.com
So I replied:
No. That is incorrect.
When I called to restart my subscription, I was told it would cost $34.08 every four weeks. That figure was confirmed by a second customer service representative with whom I spoke in order to have my account credited for papers delivered to my Martinsville, Indiana address upon expiration of my suspension, after I moved form there - a suspension I requested after I started getting charged $66.40 every four weeks for no apparent reason, and which I could not afford. At the time, I thought it must be due to expiration of some "promotional rate" hidden somewhere in the fine print. Not so. It just happened all by itself and nobody at the NYT knows why.
When I restarted my subscription about two weeks ago, in Bloomington, Indiana, and started getting Sunday papers - even though I had told TWO customer service reps that I wanted only Monday through Saturday - I called AGAIN and found I was still scheduled for 7-day delivery! I changed it to Monday through Saturday AGAIN, and was told it would cost $9.84 per week. When I asked why $9.84 per week when I was quoted, and had gotten confirmation of, $34.08 every four weeks, she said she would look into it. When she came back on the phone she said that the $34.08 rate was correct, and that I was eligible for that rate because the area of Bloomington, Indiana I lived in was "in the New York area", whatever that means.
I do not want Monday through Saturday at $9.84 per week. I want Monday through Saturday at $34.08 every four weeks like I was quoted, and had confirmed, and re-confirmed along with an explanation of why I was eligible for it. If you don't know how to do it, please have your supervisor contact me.
To which I received this response:
www.homedelivery.nytimes.comThank you for contacting us. We understand your concerns regarding the delivery of The New York Times and are happy to help you. In response to your inquiry, our records indicate that you are paying $9.84 for the Monday through Saturday delivery. However at this time you do not qualify for a promotion and your promotion had expired as of 4/28/2012 and you been paying the regular rate since. We do apologize for the inconvenience that this may have caused. If you have any other questions or concerns please contact us at the phone number below.
You can also visit our web site at www.homedelivery.nytimes.com to receive information on your account 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Please follow the instructions to register if you have not done so already.
If there is anything else we can do to help you, please e-mail us at customercare@nytimes.com or call us at 1-800-NYTIMES (1-800-698-4637) from 5 a.m. to midnight Monday-Friday and 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday & Sunday (ET).
We appreciate your business.
Sincerely,
Zack Palmitier
Online Customer Care
The New York Times
So I sent this:
Your customer service department is misinformed on this as well: that subscribers can opt out of auto-pay by requesting direct billing via "My Account>My Profile>Edit billing information." Negatory. That is not an option. No more making money the old-fashioned way, I guess. Welcome to the new business plan. The collapse of what was such a highly-revered publishing icon is gut-wrenching. Here's the thing you need to consider, though. Once you've driven all the customers away, the company will have no reason to keep you.
Are you suggesting that I invented the story about the $34.08 rate? Or are you suggesting that three customer service reps gave me the wrong identical information? What's the statistical probability of that?
I may have been paying the regular rate since the promotion expired, but I was getting Monday thru Saturday delivery and being charged the regular rate for 7-day delivery part of that time. Or do you think I'm lying about that, too? Do you think I'm trying to cheat you? Because that is the impression you are giving. I'm telling you I was quoted $34.08 for four weeks by three different sales reps. You are telling me I wasn't. If that isn't the correct rate, then you need to train your people better.
It's too bad that subscription rates are falling for what is arguably the best newspaper in the world. Has it occurred to anyone there that it may be due in part to terrible customer relations? I won't ask for assistance again. I will just cancel home delivery and read it at the Library. And when the survey comes, I'll tell them why and who.
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