Newsagents in NSW tell me they have been hammered over Easter as a result of the bumper edition strategy adopted by Fairfax for the Sydney Morning Herald. The duplication of some parts of the newspaper over two days confuses customers. Other customers are angry when the newsagent does not have the stock of both parts to make a ‘whole’ newspaper. Staff in newsagencies Friday and Saturday copped a fair beating from customers over this.
Being Easter, Newsagents have no one in authority at Fairfax to take the problems to, they are left to deal with customer anger alone and in the way of these things, the impact on goodwill is felt by the newsagent and not the publisher.
What newsagents want is the newspaper of the day to be provided to them as a complete unit for delivery. Not a bit today which is also to be used tomorrow and not at a quantity which someone in Fairfax controls as opposed to the newsagent applying local knowledge.
While the Fairfax executives reading this will say, here he goes having a whack at Fairfax again, I invite them to actively engage with newsagents across NSW on this issue – find out how botched the bumper edition strategy is and how much it upsets customers and newsagents.
In Victoria we have smarter people working at Fairfax and The Age this Easter has been bumper edition free.
Lucky Victoria!
Fairfax are aren’t responding here in NSW because it’s not them recieving the customer complaints. Even those customers who subscribe to the SMH through Fairfax feel the need to complain to their newsagent.
Enough with the bumper editions. No one likes them and no one wants them. Why keep producing them if it’s angering your readers? It seems Farifax is again putting everything but the quailty of the product and the satisfaction of their readers first.
I can’t equate their statement in Friday’s edition that this system “offers more reading each day” when the vast majority of the content of that edition was also in Saturday’s paper!
Jarryd, Maye we could oput a petition out for customers? mark
As much as i like the idea, a petition relating to the SMH at our store would probably not get too many signatures.
Let’s just say that the people of Singleton are often less than articulate and their choice of newspaper reflects that. And i would say just between a third and a half of those who get the SMH are home delivery customers.
Jarryd, Nice to see how much respect you have for customers spending money in your business.
Ted,
While i can’t say i respect every customer (i am of the notion that respect must be earnt) i cant say that i don’t disrespect them.
It is you who have chosen to interpret my comment with a negative connotation. The people here are very well aware that they are often not the most articulate, and embrace their ozzie-bush personality to the fullest.
Im not going to apologise for knowing the demagraphics of customers.
Nice try Jarryd but you’re backpedalling at a great rate. Your comment was a deliberate putdown for a particular segment of your customers and does you no credit.
I find it hard to see how knowing the demographics of one’s market does them no credit. Especially when the customers themselves know the demographics they fall into.
Good retailing doesn’t rely on your particular notions of business ethics.