Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Has the Worst Customer Service System I Have Ever Dealt With
I didn't get my paper on Saturday, called into the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, had to listen to long sales pitch on their online services, then asks for my telephone number and address, then says it cannot find my account and it will switch me to a person, and then get message that their customer service department is closed and to call again.
On Sunday still no paper. Call again and go through same nonsense, then says it will switch me to customer service representative. Get put on hold, and then voice comes on and says I am in their call back system either because I want to be, or there are too many calls at this time, asks me to leave phone number which I do.
No call back after one hour.
I call again, and again, and again, going through the same nonsense, and then somehow I actually get a person. She said her name was Lisa.
I tell her I haven't gotten my paper and that their automated system did not recognize my account. She says that is strange because all the info is right there.
Then she says paper was suspended as I did not send in payment, and I told her it was on automatic withdrawal. She then says, yes it is, and this is strange, but it is showing that your account is paid up to date.
I ask if I can then have my paper, and she says that she needed a supervisor to set that up, and she would switch me to one.
I ask what happens when she switches me if the call is dropped, and she says that could not happen, as she could see the supervisors (plural) from where she sat, and none of them were busy.
Of course as soon as she transfers me, I get a message that the anticipated wait is 3 minutes and some seconds. Then it says after a while it is 1 minute and 53 seconds. Then it says it is 28 seconds.
Then nothing for about two minutes, and finally a guy answers.
I ask him why I was on hold when Lisa told me that the supervisors were not doing anything. He says that he is the ONLY supervisor there, and he has been busy all morning.
He looks up account, says everything is fine, and says he will have my papers to me within 90 minutes.
90 minutes, no paper, 24 hours and 90 minutes, no paper. Monday paper — no paper!
Tried calling system again today, go through all the nonsense, and then throws the call into the "call back" system.
Put in my phone number and push , couple of clicks and then welcomes me to call back system, and please put in my number, did that 3 or 4 times, boy am I dumb
Well maybe it finally happened, the JS has decidedly gone Conservative in its Editorials, catering to the outburb crowd in Ozaukee, Waukesha ,etc, where the demographics are better for advertising. Maybe they decided to cut off Milwaukee County from delivery as well — or maybe just Shorewood — even though the editor lives in Shorewood.
Well next call to Chicago Trib. and Wall Street Journal, I use to get both of them and never had delivery issues. I know they are conservative, but they admit it and at least I know where they are coming from. (Much better national and international coverage as well).
Bob McBride
10:13 pm on Monday, August 20, 2012
You hit the nail squarely on the head here.
I hesitate to call it customer service. But whatever it is, I concur. It's the worst, ever. If my wife didn't insist on getting the Sunday paper, I'd have been done with them years ago. I could essentially match your story point for point, but one telling is enough and I was starting feel my blood pressure go up just reading yours.
Any company that makes it as difficult as J/S does to purchase their product (don't get me started on the vending boxes...) doesn't deserve to remain in business. I'd be willing to bet that a significant portion of their loss of circulation has nothing to do with the changing news gathering habits of the general populace and everything to do with the sales side of the organization.
Bren
10:24 pm on Monday, August 20, 2012
The pay is abysmal and the adage is true, "You get what you pay for." I believe they have also cut the number of carriers; a few years back our carrier lost their route. Their circulation has plummeted and much of the content is wire service. I think most of us read the paper for in-depth coverage of local events and I wish they would focus more on that. I've already read most of the national/international stuff online before the paper arrives.
Jay Sykes
12:15 am on Tuesday, August 21, 2012
@David... We switched to the Sun &Wed subscription/delivery of J/S, it allows complete access 'all' days of the week on-line. The 'internet-version' of the paper is posted about 3 hours before it arrives at my home. A Sun & Wed subscription is 1/2 price of 7 day delivery.
The J/S does contract delivery for the WSJ, NYT and Trib in the Milwaukee area. So, the same carrier delivers our 6 days of WSJ and Sun NYT subscriptions too. Don't think you can make one call to stop the carrier delivery for a vacation, it requires 3 calls, one each, to each paper. And then, there were all the calls to get it straightened-out when we returned home. I found it much easier to just pay the neighbor kid a couple bucks a day to pick it all up.
Tansandy
6:02 am on Tuesday, August 21, 2012
You must forgive the JS about the poor communications about customer service. But didn't you read about the huge power outage in India?
Amy Oechsner
7:42 am on Tuesday, August 21, 2012
This happened to me a few months ago, but was resolved 2 trys. Did you try emailing them?
Jenny Heyden
9:30 am on Tuesday, August 21, 2012
I think they go by zip. There's some reasoning behind people calling it the WJS - Waukesha Journal Sentinel. That's the base of subscriber-ship apparently. Try a Waukesha zip next time and then change it - I had to do that in discussing delivery of the NOW, which you can now get in lieu of the whole paper - except in our zip the system bumps you out.
N. Peske
10:18 am on Tuesday, August 21, 2012
I just read it online and grit my teeth when I pay the bill--not nearly enough decent reporting and coverage of important topics for what they charge for a digital subscription, but at least I don't have the hassle of a physical paper or delivery.
David Tatarowicz
10:47 am on Tuesday, August 21, 2012
UPDATE ---- UPDATE---- UPDATE
As the saying goes --- Fool Me Once --- Shame on YOU --- Fool Me Twice --- Shame on ME !
I succumbed to the Siren Call of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's entreaty when calling their phone number to instead try their online service. I was enticed by promises of faster service and better control of my account.
I was weak --- frustrated and desperate --- I know, those are not good excuses, but I was caught in this web of trying to get my service back on without having to ever, ever, ever call the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel customer service line again.
Yes, I fell off the wagon and I went online and sent an e mail to their customer service department. Following is their response promising "fast" resolution of my problem (sarcasm intended).'
" Dear Valued Customer,
Thank you for your email. Your request will be processed within the next 48 hours. If additional information is needed, we will contact you accordingly.
For your convenience, our automated phone system and website are available anytime and most requests can be processed immediately. Please call 1-800-759-6397 or visit us online at www.jsonline.com/services.
Thank you and have a wonderful day!
Sincerely,
Customer Care Department
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
333 W State Street/PO Box 661
Milwaukee, WI 53201-0661"
Satori
10:55 am on Tuesday, August 21, 2012
I thought it went "Fool me once, shame on.....shame on you. Fool me.....You can't get fooled again" ?
Dawn Higgs
3:03 pm on Tuesday, August 21, 2012
As a former delivery person for the Journal Sentinel I will attest to the fact that the pay is terrible, the hours are long and the supervisors are mostly jerks. If you have a decent delivery person, tip them heavily. They deserve it.
Don't bother calling them if you have a problem. The system is way to much of a hassle. I always email them, and usually things get fixed. If not continue to email. The squeaky wheel will eventually get the grease.
JS isn't much, but compared to my Mom's paper in St Paul at least you get some actual news here, and the price is not that bad. Good luck!
Greg
3:05 pm on Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Step 1) Cancel your subscription.
Step 2) J/S will call with a "get you back" rate. (less than the Sunday only price)
Step 3) Pay only for the special deal.
Step 4) Enjoy ? your paper until they stop delivering it. (several months past special deal)
Step 5) J/S will call you that week with a new deal to "get you back"
Step 6) Wash and repeat.
I know that this sounds like "Romney's tax loopholes", but I don't make the rules, I just play by them. I really do it for my bird, he/she loves Eugene Kane.
Bren
3:45 pm on Tuesday, August 21, 2012
This also works with ATT U-Verse. ; )
David Tatarowicz
4:19 pm on Tuesday, August 21, 2012
A Supervisor from MJS called me and has finally resolved the problem. I will give them credit for at least following up, even if it was very late in the process. I'll have to see how it goes from here on ..
Now if the could only work on their editorial side :-)
Bob McBride
4:27 pm on Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Unless they're willing to adopt "The Shepard Express"'s business model, they should probably keep the editorial policy right where it is - in the middle, where no one is happy with it.
And I wouldn't count your chickens just yet, Dave. See how a week's worth of delivery goes, first.
$$andSense
9:08 am on Thursday, August 23, 2012
Bad customer service? Try Time Warner. Yikes!
David Tatarowicz
10:42 am on Thursday, August 23, 2012
@$$andSense ------- Roger That !!
Jenny Heyden
11:46 am on Thursday, August 23, 2012
funny story - after my debacle with signing up online and notifying customer service about the NOW delivery to 53211 not being possible, I just started getting it. Am I paying for it? I'm not going to fight it, but I can't imagine how this biz is operating.
Jeff Warg
11:18 pm on Thursday, August 23, 2012
The Milwaukee Journal's service in Racine is terrible. My sister missed her Sunday paper last week. She called and was told it would be delivered, it wasnt. When she called to ask where it was, all she was told was she would receive a credit. She did not call for a credit, but for the paper to be delivered. The JS needs to get a clue and find out what customer service means.