Mr. Schraml told the CEP Observer that additional markets, will switch to alternative delivery in September with the timing depending upon finalization of negotiations of with delivery firms.
Since the publication of the last article on Businesweek's switch to alternative delivery, Mr. Schraml stated that other periodicals and periodical associations have contacted him to get more information on both costs and service quality. Delivery firms have also contacted Mr. Schraml and he indicated that these delivery firms could allow expansion in markets beyond those that he expect will start in September.
With this expansion, Bloomberg Businessweek will use alternative delivery in the following markets at the end of August:
- Los Angeles, CA
- San Diego, CA
- San Francisco, CA
- Washington, DC
- Chicago, IL
- Boston, MA
- Portland, OR
- Philadelphia, PA
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4 comments:
I usually kick the magazines off of the steps into the bushes....
I tried this for a few weeks and the service was horrible. You never knew what day you would receive the magazine or where it would be - in the street - in the mailbox in the flower bed. I went back to mail and still received alt delivery copy.
A printout of this article was posted on every timeclock in my plant - with a note from the former plant manager saying we needed to keep service levels up and costs down to, in her words, "keep customers coming back."
Excuse me (grin). Why be coy about this. Specify the nature of this "alternative delivery method." The truth is that Bloomberg Businessweek is trying an experiment (magazines like Wired and Vanity Fair are also trying it). New and renewing subscribers are given a FREE electronic subscription. They're hoping that use of electronic subscriptions will dominate - giving them the impetus to phase out paper subscriptions for paperless.
Keeping service levels up and costs down cannot compete with FREE. To use a metaphor, the public is out there looking for a free mini-skirt ... and the postal service is saying, "Hey, but we've got a cheap hoop-skirt for sale."
It's high time that USPS admit that it's a business in sunset mode - an anachronism being quickly outgunned by a paperless future.
I concur with prior comments. I have missed more than half of my issues since they have gone over to "alternative" distribution methods. They don't seem to be able to control the quality a single iota. To make matters worse, it has also resulted in worse service for my Boston Globe, because that now comes late on Fridays (when the Businessweek is supposed to come, whether it is with the paper or not).
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