Outside Magazine Will Send Your Free 2009 Calendar When It's In The Discount Bin
Outside Magazine offered Tracey two free 2009 Calendars if she signed up for an annual subscription early last December. She thought her dad would enjoy the magazine and the calendar, so she accepted. Now it's March and there's still no calendar, and Tracey says every time she calls to complain, they tell her they'll send it. In the meantime, her dad still has no idea what day it is.
Here's her story:
At Christmas, I received a special offer via email from Outside Magazine for a gift subscription. The offer was that "an offer too good to refuse" promotion to order a year subscription to Outside Magazine for Christmas. With that, you get a free Outside 2009 Wall Calendar for your gift recipient, and a free Outside 2009 Wall Calendar for yourself. The subscription was going to be a Christmas gift for my father. I placed this order around December 10th. This sounded like a great deal because the calendar was really nice, and was going to be an extra Christmas gift for my dad. And I was looking forward to getting it for myself also.
I have yet to see the calendar. Nor has my father. His subscription started in February. I have called Outside Magazine 3 times in regards to the calendars we never received. They keep telling me they will send it. I've had to call once a month at least to check in. It's now March. I called again a week ago, and the customer service rep said it was "on order" to both of our addresses, to be delivered in 4 to 6 weeks! Meaning, almost May 2009?? (If I ever see them at all!)
I would have never ordered this subscription if I knew the "great Christmas promotion" with the free 2009 calendars weren't going to arrive until mid-year of 2009…
Tracey, we suggest you call back and explain to them that the calendar is at least 25% useless at this point, and that they didn't deliver as promised. Perhaps they can either substitute another free gift or add an extension to your subscription. If they refuse, you can always cancel the subscription and find another magazine that your dad will like. You shouldn't do business with companies that don't deliver on their side of the deal.
And yeah, we know it takes a while for magazine subscriptions to kick in (apparently the back-end to magazine fulfillment is handled by a horse and buggy system), but if they always knew they weren't going to deliver the calendar until after the sub started in February, they probably should have offered a premium that isn't so time sensitive.
(Photo: Trevor Manternach)
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Comments:
Am I the only one who thinks this is a super lame Christmas gift?
This really fits into the article posted earlier in the week about knowing the value of your time. I am honestly glad that you are fighting the good fight for all of us (and i hope that doesn't sound sarcastic, because I'm glad you are), but there is no way that two free calendars are worth 3 phone calls to customer service. In December the calendars were worth maybe $10 apiece, by mid-January they worth $1-$3 apiece.
It's time to give up, grumble about Outside under your breath for a while, post the story online so people realize the company is too incompetent to ship a calendar and buy some calendars off the clearance rack at Borders.
@IT-Chick:
I'd assume it was one gift of many.. My inlaws usually get me some random crap (8-bladed razors, lighters, etc) along with some really good stuff (GPS, tool set, etc).
IT Chick, eh? How you doin'?
@IT-Chick: The gift of a calendar always screams 'it was Christmas Eve and I realized I don't really know who you are, so here are some pictures of cats', but Outside is honestly a really cool magazine.
@ScottRose: Not in the print subscription world. That is to say, it may very well arrive sooner, but as far as CSR scripts go, "4-6 weeks" is boilerplate.
@IT-Chick: First, I suppose it's an outdoorsman type magazine. Maybe her dad is a big outdoorsman and has everything he wants/needs. A magazine can be a great gift when the material is useful and pertinent.
Second, the calendar being a second gift, maybe it is a really nice calendar.
Third, we don't know anything about Tracey. Maybe she's been hit hard by the economy. The mag may have been on the outside of what she could afford.
For me, yes, it would be a lame gift, but that's because I don't really care for outdoors magazines. Send me a subscription of The Economist or Cooks Illustrated, on the other hand, and I'd be happy.
@gparlett: But also cancel the subscription. It's quick and easy to do that, and then you aren't giving your money to a company that doesn't honor its promo.
It doesn't sound like they intend to send any calendars at all. I would just write it off. Did he actually get the magazine?
When The Dark Knight DVD came out, Kmart ran an ad in their circular that stated the DVD came with a free 2009 calendar. I was psyched, and went to Kmart on my lunch to get the DVD for me and my sister (her Christmas gift). Well, it came with a calendar all right; I had to go to the customer service desk to get it, and she handed me a little scrap about 5x5 inches square.
After I finished laughing, I thought, Cool, it will fit right under the counter in my cubicle at work. It's actually a neat calendar; it's just tiny!
@gparlett:
Optimistically, if she and some other stiffed customers spend enough time complaining, that may give impetus to the company to expedite the calendars to all customers. Then it's worth it IMO, even if it seems overly altruistic.
Of course, the key word up there is optimistically.
@nbs2:
I guess I'm just surprised that what pushed her over the edge to purchase the subscription is the free calendar. Calendars are generally not expensive or collectibles, and therefore do not see how it's worth her time to call so many times.
Sure, she should get her point out, they didn't honor a promo, but there's a point where your time exceeds the value of what you're fighting for.
I'm down for promos, but only if it's something that will be worth my effort going somewhere else or something I would have already purchased without the promo and it's just an added bonus.
I know everyone values time differently, I just don't see this being worth the effort. Print out some outdoors pictures, print out monthly calendars from MS Outlook, done.
@IT-Chick: It can also depend on the family. If her dad is older, he may not wish 'things' as much. A magazine is something he can enjoy, and then not have to keep it.
@IT-Chick: When my Dad was alive, I can't remember the last time I bought him a Christmas gift. It always seemed like a waste to buy gifts for folks who don't need/want much. Some people just go for little things and don't blow the budget on "the holidays."
I am a golfer.
If I got a subscription to Golf magazine, that came with a calendar that had pictures of various holes from famous courses, I'd enjoy that quite a bit.
@nbs2: A friend and I take turns giving each other (and ourselves) a Cook's Illustrated subscription for Christmas. Eminently satisfying. Maybe we should expand to The Economist.
maybe they meant you'll get your free calendar next christmas
I used to subscribe to OUTSIDE MAGAZINE back in the early 90's and I remember it took 3 months for my subscription to start up. At the time I didn't mind waiting since it was a good magazine. They had it in their fine print that they could take forever to send you the magazine if they chose to do so. This was when I had started many subscriptions and OUTSIDE was the worst in their delay to start sending me their issues compared to the rest. Not surprised to see they haven't changed their policies.
At one time it was an outdoorsy, literary magazine and it won many awards. The guy who wrote THE PERFECT STORM had written it originally as an article for the mag.
for IT-chick: Our father does enjoy the outdoors to an extreme. He is an avid bicyclist, and thoroughly enjoys the magazine.. It was not so much about the calendars for him, as the magazine, they were just a plus. So lame, not really. It is actually a very nice magazine.
Kayla
I wasn't aware that those free gifts were ever delivered..
And yeah, I thought that whole "4-6 weeks" delivery time was a thing of the past.