CUSTOMER SERVICE ON DOWNWARD SPIRAL

Remember when it paid to complain about poor customer service? Well, that doesn’t happen anymore. I suppose it’s because of the pandemic. We can blame pretty much everything that goes wrong on Covid-19. And some people really don’t care if you like their service or not. When the coronavirus crisis is over, I have a feeling that’s not going to change. According to a recent survey at Arizona State University, Customer Service is on a downward spiral, and consumer rage is increasing.

Customer Service is getting worse and so is consumer rage. — Customer service is on a downward spiral and consumer rage is getting worse.

For us, it started last summer with the delivery of the Indianapolis Star. We’re a two newspaper household. For over three decades, a carrier delivered both papers to our side door. But when our local paper went to five days a week, the Indy Star had to find another carrier to deliver on Tuesdays and Sundays. That carrier decided she couldn’t take a few seconds to turn in our lane, roll down her window, and toss the paper on our side porch. In spite of repeated instructions to leave it on the porch, she kept throwing it near the street. Which means that I must get dressed and walk to the end of the lane so as to have our morning paper when we wake up. Not bad in the summer, but I’m not looking forward to ice and snow.

After exchanging e mails with various customer service representatives over a four week period, nothing changed. The Indy Star representatives repeatedly assured me the paper should be delivered to our side door, but that hasn’t happened. The Indy Star is still out by the road on Tuesdays and Sundays..

I suppose it’s hard to find paper carriers in ordinary times. But with all the people out of work, and scrambling for Uber delivery jobs, you’d think the Indy Star could find someone to take a few seconds to deliver the paper to our door.

Recently, we had another bad experience with the customer service department at Lazy Boy. Although we had thought bulky recliners were kind of ugly, we finally succumbed to the urge for comfort in our old age. We didn’t buy any old recliner. Ours was a custom job with all the bells and whistles, and pale blue upholstery. When it finally arrived, the dealer gave us a phone number to call if anything went wrong.

We enjoyed that recliner for three years. Just press a button to move it back, lift the leg rest, massage your back, or provide heat. And then, one day, it went all the way backward, but wouldn’t move forward. My husband found the Lazy Boy Customer Service phone number. He had to wait 50 minutes to get an answer. They said they’d have to schedule an appointment with a repair man. That was on November 23. A week later, they called to say they couldn’t come until Jan. 7. That meant six weeks with our recliner spread out across the room on its back. Seems the service center is in Texas, and it takes them awhile to get to Indiana.

In both of the cases above, we’re at the mercy of the service provider. No one else is going to deliver the Indianapolis Star, and there is no one in town who can repair Lazy Boy recliners (we checked) . I’m afraid it’s a portent of things to come. Customer Service is on a downward spiral, and it’s only going to get worse.

October 4, 2019October 4, 2019

9 REASONS TO TAKE THE NEWSPAPER

I know what it’s like to go without a newspaper. For over 20 years, we went South in the winter to islands where we couldn’t buy a metropolitan newspaper. Yes, we had the internet, and could access the stories in our local paper at home. But it wasn’t the same at all. Each morning, when we had our coffee, we tried to pretend it didn’t matter. We turned on the Today Show, and surfed the net. But there was a great big void at the beginning of our day. Here are 9 reasons to take the newspaper.

Reading a newspaper in print is more leisurely that online — THE BEST WAY TO START THE DAY IS WITH A PRINT EDITION OF YOUR FAVORITE NEWSPAPER.

1. They’re easier on the eyes. Black and white newsprint on paper has no damaging UV light from a computer or cellphone

2. It’s more relaxing to lean back in your recliner and flip through the pages vs. sitting at a computer or holding an i phone.

3.. You’re better informed. Reading a news story of three or four columns gives you an in depth view of what’s really going on with this particular situation. Yes, you could read it all on your computer, but you probably will read only two or three paragraphs before shifting to the next headline.

4. The funnies. There are three or four comic strips I really like. But if I have plenty of time and nothing much to do, I’m apt to find a few others.

5. The advice columns. I find these columnists immensely amusing. Why do people ask advice when the answer is so obvious?f. It’s fun to mentally put in your own two cents. And sometimes, you can clip a column that hits home and send it on to a relative or friend.

6. Sharing. My husband and I discuss the different news stories, and pass them back and forth to point out what one of us may have missed.

7. The Bridge column and the puzzles. These games are a fun way to challenge your brain.

8. Advertisements. Unlike television, you can pick and choose the ones that interest you. Yes, you can go online to find the supermarket ads. But it’s much pleasanter to go through them in the newspaper. And then, on Sundays, there are the coupons! And, if you’re interested, you can peruse the real estate ads and check out home values in your area.

9. More bang for your buck. You can read a $5 issue of People Magazine in 5 minutes. But you can easily find an hour’s worth of reading material in a dollar newspaper.

Believe it or not, we take two newspapers at our house, which gives us a different perspective. Besides, it’s nice to see what’s going on in Indianapolis where my daughter lives with her family. Many local newspapers are going out of business. But we hope ours doesn’t.

Viva La Newspapers!

January 25, 2019January 25, 2019

HELP! OUR NEWSPAPER IS SHRINKING

Why do people buy newspapers today? Simple. It’s because they like the feel of a newspaper, the leisurely way you can skip back and forth between different stories. It’s not at all the same as online reading. And so, it was a big disappointment when the Indianapolis Star announced that it’s owner, Gannett Company, will no longer send us the USA today section we’ve grown accustomed to. Help! Our newspaper is shrinking.

I realize that real, paper, newspapers have been losing money for years. The reason, of course, is the internet. As an example, classified ads used to bring in some money to help run the paper. But most people use Craigslist if they’re looking for an apartment or household services. It’s free to the seller and buyer alike!

We have had two newspapers delivered to our door for over 30 years. Our local paper for the obits, advertising, local events, city politics, and general gossip. For more in depth coverage of national news and broader interests, we’ve always loved the Indy Star. While on winter vacations in Texas, Ga., and Florida, we never found a metropolitan newspaper more to our liking, with its common sense reporting and intelligent editorials. And since my daughter lives in Indy —and doesn’t take the paper—I often know more about what’s going on in her city than she and her family do.

Reading newspapers online isn't nearly as satisfying — ONE OF LIFE’S SIMPLE PLEASURES IS READING THE MORNING PAPER OVER A CUP OF COFFEE

As retirees, one of our simple pleasures is having a morning cup of coffee while poring over the newspapers. My husband loves all the funnies, and has even converted me to a couple of them. We both enjoy the bridge columns. He likes the jumble.

Often, we spend the better part of an hour rattling the papers and discussing different news stories. Sometimes, one of us will miss a story until the other asks what we thought of it. We may pass the newspapers back and forth two or three times to make sure we’ve covered everything.

So now, our paper will be thinner, with the elimination of the USA today section. I hope this isn’t a portent of things to come, but I’m afraid it is. Reading the newspapers online is not the same experience, at all. You can’t absorb it in depth, or pass it back and forth. And if you have achy fingers or carpel tunnel, it can be painful reading long articles on your smartphone.

All we can hope is that our newspapers won’t leave this world until after we do.

November 19, 2018November 19, 2018

FORMER SNOW BIRDS STAYING HOME

Why are two former snow birds staying home this winter? Before our retirements 20 years ago, my husband and I dreamed of spending the winter in a warmer climate. As we trudged our way to work through blizzards and freezing rain, we were comforted by the promise of escaping northern winters once and for all, once we began collecting social security.

That dream finally came true when we spent our first two winters in Costa Rica. What a beautiful romantic country with so much to see, charming people and near perfect weather. And yet, it seemed unwise to stay so long in a place where our health insurance wasn’t good, and our children would have to fly down to rescue us if we got sick.

We spent one winter in Florida, but it wasn’t right for us. Way too much traffic—so bad that the “natives” were forced to grocery shop in the middle of the night . Going out to dinner entailed long drives to get the the restaurant, and slow service once we arrived.

Next, we alternated between rented condominiums in Jekyll Island, Georgia, and South Padre Island, Texas. For the first few years, while our health was still good, it wasn’t a big deal to load up the car and drive to our destination. And, we didn’t mind the inconveniences that come with staying in a rental unit. We enjoyed shopping, walking the beach, enjoying a change of scene, and making friends from all over the USA. .

Island vacations sometimes disappoint — FORMER SNOWBIRDS ARE STAYING HOME THIS WINTER

But all of a sudden, I knew it was over. We couldn’t face packing up the car and driving through miles of hectic traffic, in snow, sleet, and rain; hampered by failing eyesight and slower reaction times. The positives of warmer weather and a change of scene now seemed outweighed by the negatives.

Here are a few things we won’t miss about spending the winter on a southern island:

Not having our local newspaper and the Indianapolis Star delivered to our door.. On an island, you’re lucky to have access to a USA today, if you’re wiling to get dressed and either walk or drive to a gas station.
Small screen TV with a finicky remote, frequent blackouts, and only a few channels.
Barely comfortable furniture, and no big recliner.
Driving miles across a bridge once a week to load up on groceries. .
A too small refrigerator and freezer . Sparse kitchen utensils and silverware.
Iffy weather, accompanied by erratic heating and cooling. I’ve spent many a cold day inside with my coat on, waiting for maintenance to “fix” things.
Forwarded mail arriving 7 to 10 days late.
Uncomfortable beds
Nothing but a walk in clinic across the bridge if you get sick., For years, it seemed that the effort to go South for the winter was worth it. And then, it didn’t. As Dorothy said to Toto, “there’s no place like home.”