The Word in postal skulduggery shocker!
Posted by Cadabra on 1 December 2008 - 8:06pm.
I arrived home tonight to find a letter from The Word encouraging me to renew my subscription, and offering me a special re-subscriber's price as bait. There was a caveat, however - I must reply within seven days to qualify.
So far so fair - what's the catch? Well the letter is dated 24th November.
Honestly! I bet Mojo wouldn't do this sort of thing...
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This house too
My wife, who bought me a gift subscription last year, got the same letter.
It may be that the Royal Mail is as incompetent as we fear, but could it also be the fault of those subscription agents?
Well I'm not seriously
Well I'm not seriously suggesting it's a ruse to help pay for Mark Ellen's 10th gold-plated Bentley, but clearly something's gone a bit Pierre Moerlen's Gong.
Haha...
....I got one too this morning.
My subscription isn't due for renewal till May 2009 issue.
Maybe it's one of these chain letter things?!
Fair and legitimate expenses
Any regular travellers on London's picturesque District Line, will be aware that Mark Ellen is brought to Turnham Green station each morning by sedan chair; he is accompanied on the Tube by two shoeshine boys (one for each foot), and an assistant whose only role is to offer help when Mark wishes to change listening mode from 'Basket of Light' to 'Dr Strangely Strange'.
Such services have to be paid for, and I do wish everyone could just come to terms with that. I for one, am delighted to see my subscription used in such a sensible fashion.
We're blaming the post office
Apologies for any delays experienced getting these letters.
Suffice to say, going forward we're planning to increase the window of opportunity on these offers from seven to 14 days to prevent this happening again. Also, we'll honour the cheaper price for anyone who received their letter late this time round.
So what is the resubscribe price?
I have had a few letters and the latest one - which arrived yesterday - offers re-subscription to loyal long term customers for a bargain £38 where it is £36 for newby arriviste subscribers on the site.
The rates on my letter were....
....£40 for direct debit and £42 for credit card....and I am a loyal subscribing customer.
Well........
I rang up and convinced her I am not a loyal long term subscribing customer but rather a nouveau arriviste website accesser and she gave it to me for 36 squid.
It's interesting, every year "Guitar and bass", my other subscription, gives nice gifts away to new subscribers e.g. effects pedals, leads etc, but not to loyal long term readers. So every year I let it lapse then resubscribe the following month and get the goodies. Surely you would have though incentivising people to stay makes sense? Clearly there is more to this publishing business than simple folk like me can understand.
Me too.
2 more smackers to stay subscribed than to become a Johnny Come Lately subscriber.
Whisky Tango Foxtrot, as it were.
Well I've just noticed that
Well I've just noticed that the first Special Edition (The) Word I have - which denotes the start of my subscription - is May 2008. So I've got another 3 issues to go before my subs run out anyway.
So I'm being invited to pay more than a casual fly-by-night punter for a subscription I don't yet need to renew, but only if I order it before the date I received notification of the offer. Genius!