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From: wmartin@brl-smoke.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.dcom
Subject: Re: Communications Week
Message-ID: <1596@brl-smoke.ARPA>
Date: Thu, 6-Mar-86 13:43:13 EST
Article-I.D.: brl-smok.1596
Posted: Thu Mar  6 13:43:13 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 9-Mar-86 09:36:36 EST
References: <174@druhi.UUCP>
Distribution: net
Organization: USAMC ALMSA, St. Louis, MO
Lines: 35
Summary: Issues mysteriously stopped coming

Even if the magazine/paper is still being published, I would suspect that
the "subscription fulfillment" arm of Communications Week (whether it is
in-house or contracted out) is simply incompetent. Let me provide some evidence:

I used to get CW, here at the office -- legitimate subscriber, gov't
ofice address, all up-and-up. They sent one of the usual "renewal" forms
that controlled-circulation publications send out once a year or so. I
filled it out and sent it back. Well, it seems that, somewhere along the
path from here to there, since this was an oversize business-reply
postcard, the USPS's machines tore a corner off which eliminated some of
the data they wanted. They took about *3 months* to send that card back
asking for the missing data!

Now, I was not totally virtuous in this, because their envelope with the
returned card got stuck in a pile of to-be-looked-at-later junk mail
on my desk and remained unread for about a month more, but I could tell
from the dates on the card and their postmark that the main delay was
thier fault. In that interval, I had received and sent in another
renewal card, and I think that one just plain disappeared, because my CW
subscription stopped and then later I got a letter from their
"circulation manager" (or some such title), asking why I hadn't renewed,
and how I was a valued subscriber, and the usual blah. I wrote them back
a description of all this, and since then heard absolutely zilch -- no
resumption of subscription, no invitation to re-subscribe, nada.

So, if this level of competence had since spread to their other
divisions or offices, I wouldn't be surprised if the publication just
folded due to general collapse, or that the staff forgot to keep
breathing, or something like that... :-)

I don't have time to read weekly publications anyway, so I never tried
to follow up on this. I much prefer monthlies (which I also tend to stack
up unread, but at least they occupy less space... :-).

Will