Fairfax has announced, well sort of announced, a change to the distribution of a TV Guide (a combination of the TV guide from The Sydney Morning Herald and The Sun Herald) in NSW. I say ‘sort of announced’ because Fairfax had not told newsagents before telling subscribers. Here is part of the text of a letter sent to subscribers:
I’m writing with news about an improvement to your Herald subscription service.
From this Sunday, April 24, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Sun-Herald will combine television guides into one bigger, more comprehensive television review section, to be called The Guide.
Please let us know if you would like to receive the new expanded Guide, which comes at no extra cost, and which day you would prefer to receive it.
Yep, newsagents will be expected to deliver the TV Guide on the day the customer chooses. While newsagents are to be paid 15 cents for this, such a paltry amount will not cover the actual costs of this Fairfax ‘initiative’.
Once again, a publisher is pushing on to newsagents without consideration or consultation.
Obviously this proposed arrangement was worked by some genius who has NEVER wrapped or delivered newspapers!!
Bruce it’s nuts. The extra hassle for the newsagent is worth well over the 15 cents.
Frankly Mark, this may have a greater impact on Sunday and Monday newspaper subscriptions than the brains at Fairfax realise! I predict reduced mid week subscriptions. It may also be the “last straw” that breaks a few delivery Newsagents will to continue with home delivery!!
I agree Bruce. Ridiculous. One can only hope that they are taught a lesson without it costing newsagents anything.
We see this as a display of sheer arrogance and contempt towards those “business partners” who are not told — never mind consulted — of the “improvement” but are expected to actually make this happen. Delivery newsagents should take this as a trigger to get out of home delivery, and let the genius do the run.
JUST OFF THE SUBJECT IVE HAD IT WITH GOTCH REC AN EMAIL SAYING AFL CARDS ARE GOING ON SALE 25MARCH RING ON THE 17 MARCH TO SEE IF ALLOCATED OR DO I HAVE TO ORDER
HE ASKED ME HOW MANY BOXES I WANTED ISSUMED THAT WAS THAT. LAST WEEK I RANG TO FIND OUT WHERE THE DELIVERY WAS AS I HAD WANTED THEM FOR SCHOOL HOLIDAYS. SORRY ORDER NOT PROCESSED WILL GET THEM TO ASAP. SPOKE TO RASIK TODAY ON SALE 25 MENT ALL STORES THEY ALLOCATED TO WOULD RECEIVE THEM & ALL OTHER ORDERS WOULD HAVE TO BE EXTRAS AND WHEN THE 2ND PHONE CALL SAID ASAP THIS MENT ASAP WHEN THEY HAD STOCK.
I SAID TO HIM IF HE COULD SEND ME A MANNUAL AS I DONOT KNOW THEIR PROCEDURES WHY ARE THEY ASSUMING I WOULD
Laughable. Apart from the fun and games from the delivery side of things, it will simply result in the death of monday SMH sales and probably increase Daily Telegraph sales on the Wednesday. Can’t wait until the ratio drops below 1:1. I might just draw up my own TV program and sell it in competition. 50 cents a copy and people can save a whole dollar. Sounds easier and more profitble than what they are suggesting.
Agree entirely with all comments. Once again, we get treated like dirt by these clowns who have no idea of the implications of their decisions. But of course, they have no fear in doing what they do because who is gonna stop them? Not us poor defenceless newsagents. Exit strategy is the number 1 priority for this sucker. People, take all your well-honed business skills and apply them elsewhere because this industry ain’t changing for the better as far as we’re concerned. And a Happy Easter to all.
Anything in the contract about deliverying exras ? if not stuff it don’t deliver .
Thank you Mark for publishing this.While this does not affect me it is good to know what publishers put newsagents through in other states.
Shame on Fairfax.
TV guide? What TV guide?
I am sooooo glad i am a Retail only Newsagent. On a bright note Happy Easter to everybody and go easy on the Chocolates.
Cheers
Al
The more we stand up to this the better.
i saw this notice, read it once and thought it was too crazy to be real, so i didnt worry about it again.
sounds all too hard , especially for 15c….
there could be problems…. what tv guide?
What’s the ANF’s, VANA’s, QNF’s etc etc position on this – AMAZING all the info comes from this BLOG and never from the Associations??
Maybe AMAZING should be replaced by TYPICAL?
For me, the key issue is the arrogant assumption by Fairfax they are doing something that is practical!! I have no problem with the decision to consolidate to just one TV Guide – that is just logical, although it may well cost retail sales. But be practical regarding subscription deliveries!!! Decide which day is best for the majority of subscribers and INSERT the TV Guide into the paper. Don’t turn it into a separate publication in its own right, with some expected to be delivered on Sundays and some to be delivered on Mondays!! Get real!!Fairfax, this is not like the FORM, where only about 5% of subscribers actually opted in – the opt in for the TV Guide will be much higher and you are creating a real problem for distribution Newsagents with your dumb solution!!
I’m guessing this is only in NSW? WIll fairfax do this in any other states?
Will write to VANA this afternoon. Even though it does not affect me, we have to stop it.
Alan,
If I could ‘like’ your comment I would do so 🙂
And here we go again with QLD Newspapers… After a week of telling us to get our orders in for weekend papers, here we are at 4.45pm today receiving an e-mail advising our Sat casual supply has been reduced by 10% and Sun by 3.5%…
Why the F did they even bother – what a joke, we are in a tourist area, have good weather for the first time in years over Easter and will run pout of papers…
Its our fault they cannot get their production rates right – or is a conspriact theory to get more people onto electronic media…
peter dont supply any subagents if you think you dont have enough papers.
Al, chocolate is good, essential to sanity.
Ex, NANA is aware of this and chasing the issue.
Steven, I’d expect it to follow but it is hard to be sure because of the dominance of the Green Guide in Vic.
It’s realy a crazy decision by Fairfax media. For a separate TV Guide, you’re going to deliver either Monday or Sunday, it’s costing more time and labor to complete the delivery. Crazy Stuff!
what happens to the rest of of the herald customers that don’t subscribe – do they just miss out ?? anybody gotr a direct number to fairfax complaints i’ll hand out the number instead of the tv guide
Couldn’t help but experiment this morning with the new “bigger, brighter” Sun Herald TV Guide (which curiously seems smaller and thinner than the old one). I tried wrapping one on its own – the machine simply won’t grip such a small publication and spits it straight out. So the only option will be to hand insert into the paper as you wrap. How I will then know which is which inside the delivery vehicle will be interesting!! I say again to the smart folks at Fairfax Media – your proposal to make the TV Guide optional is a DUMB solution to everyone but you!!!
The Marketing idiots at Fairfax should all be made to work in a newsagency for at least two weeks, so they can understand tde difficulty and damage they have created for the industry. These clowns have absolutely no idea and probably do not know what it takes to run a newsagency with the difficulties they have been creating.
I am in a small semi rural area my delivery run as well as the fellow newsagents surrounding me have the same problem a few papers for a lot of miles, making the run more unprofitable as expences increase, their latest stupid idea makes it more atractive to give up my run and have shop sales only.
In recent times they had two promotions at the local Gloria Jeans Coffee shop resulting in no extra gain in overal sales, the second time they did not even have the common courtesy to notify me with the papers just turned up for Gloria Jeans. When my Fairfax Rep turned up he said it is out of his control and marketing is responsible for this . I told him that his paper is becomming less and less important for my shop and has about the same value as the free local papers as these cost me nothing and does bring people into my store.
If these Marketing Gurus keep prostituting their product by giving it away at every corner and opportunity they will only suceed in diminishing the value of a good product and loosing their industry partners. With their latest brainwave the opposition must be laughing.
I think our customers will be told that the tv guide will only be delivered on Sundays. Even then we have to insert the thing manually as Bruce has said the thing can’t be wrapped individually. We also have no spare space available to display it seperately so it will be kept under the counter and customers will have to be trained to ask for it. Can’t wait for all the customer complaints to start rolling in. What’s the Fairfax customer service number again? Oh thats right, its a mimimum 20 minute wait to speak to an actual person.
These comments are terrific. I know that folks at Fairfax and News read this blog and the comments.
I can only agree with most of the comments here. As an ex-newsagent worker I can remember quite well the difficulties you guys go thru’ so when I received the subscriber letter last week I was stunned. The Sunday guide was never much worth keeping and the Mon Guide has been going downhill with each revamp over the last 15 years or more. Reading the new ‘improved’ guide on Sun morning I only felt that this could be the last straw I may possibly switch to the Tele. unless they have a pretty quick improvement. Far too many things wrong with it editorially to go into here but we’ll see how the complaint backlash goes……..
What an interesting time it’s been here. Over the last few weeks, we’ve had a lot of ex-newsagents on holiday. What fun it’s been to take the piss out of publishers and their antics. I’d be lying if I’d said I wasn’t just a teensy bit envious of these people who now exude relief and happiness at not having to deal with these bullies. These are people who have actually tried to band respective local agents together to address and stand up to publishers when such ridiculous ideas and attitudes are pushed on to our businesses. Sadly, to no avail. Their frustration was palpable when stories were being relayed.
The eye-rolling was hilarious when the topic of the latest bright idea was broached 😀
Today was Sydney Magazine day in Sydney, so a chance to directly consider the impact on my run if the DUMB proposal for the TV Guide proceeds. It took approximately 30 minutes extra (over a normal day) to insert 240 SMH with the magazine this morning. The extra time comes from the handling of two sets of bundles, cutting and stacking the magazine and newspaper bundles side by side before you can insert. Lots of extra movement around the wrapping machine. The Sydney Magazine has volume and is easily gripped by fingers – my guess is that the TV Guide will take longer to handle because they are thinner and more difficult to grip when piled in a bundle.
I dread the thought of how this may affect my Sunday run given that is my biggest day. Fairfax Media, if you will no longer insert the Guide at your end, will you guarantee to deliver the papers at least an hour earlier to allow me time for the insert??? Or will you allow me to deliver later and ignore your contractual requirements??
Or will you yet see common sense and use your efficient machinery to continue to insert a Guide into every paper??
At best, this is a text book example of a “head office” decision made by someone with absolutley no understanding of how it will work at the coal face. At worst, it is contemptuous and exploitative.
For Fairfax to dress this up as anything other than a cost saving exercise on their part is an insult to our collective intelligence.
Someone has calculated the savings on making The Form “optional” & decided to apply it to the TV Guide. The fundamental flaw is that perhaps 1 in 10 readers have a punt, whereas 10 out of 10 own a TV.
Anyone who has spent more than 5 mins in a newsagency will know that many customers check the Sunday paper to ensure the TV Guide has been inserted before they even remove it from the stack. They would also know that there is barely room for the driver in the delivery vehicle when it is loaded with the papers on a Sunday. There is literally no room for a pile of TV Guides.
Accordingly, they wiil need to be manually inserted into EVERY Sun-Herald before they are rolled, despite 2011 being well post the industrial revolution. Don’t Fairfax have a machine that could do this? I think it is called an “inserter”.
The worry for Fairfax is that this will mostly affect the larger distribution agents who need to employ staff. It is difficult enough to find people who will work the early hours as it is, let alone making them perform Dickensian tasks. I fear that my staff will simply walk away.
This will be the rock upon which the distribution model will perish, and the first to go will be the big agents who will simply be unable to find people to do these tasks.
Fairfax’s latest decision is economic rationalism gone mad. At least they will be able to quote great cost savings when they have no customers.
It is about time all Newsagents stick together and refuse to deliver anything not inserted into the paper by Fairfax. There is a easy fix to the problem – Fairfax to insert the TV programme on whichever day they choose and we will deliver,otherwise we may be put in the too hard basket !
what about starting by refusing to deliver the spectrum part of the sydney morning hearld?
Well it does beg the question doesn’t it – why aren’t we paid a handling fee for the extra section of the Saturday SMH???
Typical fairfax bullshit. Probably the worst company to deal with in terms of customer service. The phone operators are rude, lazy amd very unhelpful. Let’s not get started on the representatives (the one in my area in any case).
I would also advise that we have recently been sent wrong direct subscription information via connect. The customer signed up for a weekend deal, we were told it was seven days. We only realised the mistake fairfax had made when the customer called us directly.
Now they introduce this new fantastic arrangement. Newsagents have to stand up and show we will not be screwed with.
Too easy, just dont do it ,three stikes your out bulshit who the bloody hell else is going to service thier subscription customers.It wont be suppermarkets or petrol stations cause whos going to deliver papers to them? Not us! dont do it just dont do it screw them its about time we took some control ourseves.
I HAVE BEEN DELIVERING NEWSPAPERS FOR ON THE 27 TH MAY FOR 40 YEARS AND WE SEEM TO BE HEADING BACK TO THE DARK AGES OF ABOUT 25 OR MORE YEARS AGO WHEN WE USED TO HAVE TO INSERT THE TV GUIDE INTO SUNDAYS PAPERS.WHAT FAIRFAX SHOULD HAVE TO CUSTOMERS IS THERE WILL BE NO MORE MONDAY TV GUIDE IF THEY WANT THE GUIDE THEY HAVE TO GET SUNDAYS PAPER I WILL DELIVER THE PAPER BUT I WILL NOT INSERT ANY GUIDES.I FEEL THE SAME AS OTHERS ON THIS BLOG .EXTRA TIME WRAPPING, HOW TO PACK THE DELIVERY CAR,ETC
Spoken to our rep and sent a formal complaint to fairfax and told them i will not be inserting any guides and if they don’t like it they can take the delivery run from me .They have the machinery and the technology and with our paper supply figures they are split up into shop supplies and subscription figures.if worst comes to worst they are going to head the way of a separate tv guide, give us the papers with the tv guides in them of which the subscribers they know have opted in and we will keep the loose ones for retail sales ,of which 99.9% buy it for the tv guide .But this wont solve the packing issue in the car. If you haven’t already you can view Andrew Packam view on mumbrella , i also believe NANA has a meeting with fairfax on Monday
ANF, NANA, VANA, QNF etc.. need to issue a direction/advice/suggestion to ALL their members to NOT insert OR deliver the seperate TV Guide.
This should also be conveyed to Fairfax in the strongest possible terms on Monday.
Failure to do so will be a betrayal of the wishes of their collective membership.
An updated advice by Fairfax today (see Connect) says “You may wrap The Guide around tha SMH or Sun-Herald as it suits your drivers”. Presumeably this is the Boardroom solution to how to tell the papers with a Guide from those without when working within a darkened delivery vehicle. Well, I don’t know how your machine works, but with mine, to get The Guide around the paper would require feeding the small thin Guide into the wrapping tongues UNDER the bigger paper. Anyone who has ever tried this will tell you that smaller inserts must of necessity be inside the roll, not outside. Another dumb development!!!
BruceH I agree. Dumb. Maybe it would be worthwhile contacting the major advertisers in the TV Guide – the value of their ads is at risk depending on how newsagents react.
CRAZY CRAZY NOBODY AT FAIRFAX LIVES IN THE REAL WORLD.
Just got my first list of “opt in” Customers. 95 opt ins (25% of customers) on the first run. I expect many more, especially after this weekend once the other 75% realise that they really did need to respond to that Fairfax letter. It is going to be a disaster!!! Fairfax, save youselves (and us) while you still can!!!
I got my list also only 25%. looks like fairfax has made up their mind i still wont be inserting any guides into home delivered papers
TRIAL the deliveries for one week with a seperate 1 day invoice (sent daily) to Fairfax for 85 cents per TV magazine on Sunday or $1.50 on selected day. If not paid – stop delivering – there is no contract for this and if Fairfax do refuse your first invoice – then cease deliveries.
Any answers from ANF, VANA, QNF, NANA etc????
NANA should make a stand on this issue, and newsagents should go strike on this TV Guide insert together just as wharfies on 8 May. We need a strong united front for newsagents like ACTU to lead us for a great strike.
I thought they meeting yesterday to put an end to this idiocy,however this morning my inbox is empty while my fax is spitting out lists of soon to be dissapointed subscribers(must be a break down in communication}Im with samuel come Suday ill be boycotting it!
We have just received a 2nd list of subscribers from Fairfax. Now over 100 deliveries. This is a logistical nightmare. We have informed subscribers that we will not be delivering The Guide until it is reinserted into the paper.
We also only have anout 25% of subscribers who have opted in. That means the phones are going to be ringing off the the hook on Sunday because no one wil have their TVG. We will refer them directly to the fairfax 1800 number but thats hardly the point is it. We also have to spend time educating every casual buyer of the SMH on Sunday that they have to ask for for TVG as its no longer inside the paper. IF we dont do this, they will also be on the phone as soon as they get home which in turn just creates more hassles for us again.
From what I understand as well, Fairfax are going to pay us 15c for every guide that is not returned. Obviously then, there will never be any returns for the Guide.
we have to all stick together if we don’t this will just be the start. What will be next the goodweekend domain real estate, travel sections catalogs.we already do the sydney magazine
Have just checked our home delivery for tv inserts. Less than 20% are one the list. No way will we deliver separate tv book when smh “clients” complain to us. Installing a answering machine for this major pending disaster.
Its begining to look as though our respective industry bodies are lacking the balls to let us know they dont have the balls to say NO to Fairfax,prefering instead to put the noose around their own necks.WEAK AS PISS!
DITTO
See Mumbrella.com regarding major changes announced at Fairfax today. Outsourcing and rationalising is the main strategy – the TV Guide will be just the start. You watch.
IT MAYBE TIME TO GIVE ALL INDUSTRY BODIES THE FLICK. WHAT A WASTE OF HARD HARD EARNED MONE.DOES FAIRFAX PAY THEM TOO WELL SO WE GET SO LITTLE
WHY DON’T WE AS NEWSAGENTS MAKE A STAND AFTER ALL THESE YEARS OF INACTION. IF NON OF USE INSERT OR DELIVER THE TV GUIDE AND THEN ADVISE CUSTOMERS TO DIRECT ALL COMPLAINTS TO FAIRFAX DIRECTLY. WE DID THIS AS AN INDIVIDUAL NEWSAGENCY TO GET SOME ACTION ABOUT LATE DELIVERY TIME AND IT WORKED. IF WE ALL WORKED TOGETHER JUST IMAGINE WHAT WE COULD ACHIEVE.
I will NOT be delivering the TV guide on Sunday or Monday.
Every customer who has enquired about it has been informed of the reasons why we cannot & will not be doing this. 100% of these customers has agreed with my reasoning. They have either changed to the Sunday Telegraph or left promising to complain directly to Fairfax.
This is a defining moment for newsagents. We must make a stand as a group this weekend. Fairfax are about to kill their Golden distribution Goose.
My next task after getting through this weekend (it’s Mothers Day on Sunday too, thanks Fairfax) is to cancel my ANF membership & demand a refund for subcriptions paid in advance.
This is a cost cutting exercise by Fairfax, NOT an “opportunity for agents to earn additional remuneration from delveries”. Most of us would pay $$ to make this nightmare go away.
Stand together!
I challenge any of the fairfax and news executives who keep coming up with these stupid ideas to come work in my shop and get a taste of what us newsagent’s put up with as a result of their uneducated decisions. I’d like to see one of them step up and have the balls to do so.
Also do they not realize that people just won’t buy their paper if the tv guide is not already in it. Customers are already fed up with having to sort through any number of rubbish catalogues that only end up in the recycling bin.
They say the paper as it is will die. It won’t die cause people like it the way it is but the companies that make mega profits from these papers and give us as little as possible are doing their best to kill it off as quickly as possible.
I am not so sure that it is as much about cost cutting as it is about an ill conceived decision made without thinking through the ramifications.
I don’t see any reason to know the associations over this issue.
Mark, when the ANF goes to a meeting with Fairfax to represent their members and then comes out with a lame announcement that virtually sells the Fairfax line, they deserve to be knocked!! So what if the Fairfax initiative will inject $1.7m of extra revenue into the distribution channel. At what cost to the distribution channel?? Based on their initial email response last night, the ANF has capitulated already!!!
I will not be delivering or inserting any tv guides into any papers. Fairfax have sent me nothing on this matter. I first found out about it on this blog. I had one customer tell me about it yesterday.
If Fairfax had bothered to ask me or at least tell me about it, I would have thought about it.
Sorry Bruce I have not seen the ANF communication.
I will NOT be inserting the TV guide.
We have large volume of business papers held on weekend and delivered on Monday – would be a nightmare to add extra time to insert TV guides as well into the Monday papers. For us it comes down to a OH&S issue – need to be delivering by a certain time or we hit rapidly increasing traffic with obvious increasesd risks for our driver etc.
Will keep TV guides behind counter and put up sign above papers informing Customers of what is happening.
News Ltd must be looking at all this and rubbing their hands together. They will no doubt take advantage of this by reminding Customers that their TV guide is already inserted etc.
Like others who have posted here – this is the final straw for me in dealing with Fairfax. I don’t know what consequences will result from my decision but you have to draw the line somewhere.
Everyone needs to read the article on page 19 of todays telegraph (wed 4th may) and you’ll see the real reason for this. Its all about cost cutting cause their profits are down.
Has NANA released any communication in regards to this debarcle? As far as i am aware they attended a / the meeting on Monday and this member is still waiting patiently for possible direction.
I suppose it doesn’t really matter as there is no way we will be inserting guides for delivery on Sunday.
Hey Jon, they sent this through via e-mail at 5pm mon 4th. It’s not much help and they obviosly got nowhere.
“Yesterday Monday 2 May 2011, Andrew Packham, NANA President met with Mr Robert Whitehead, Director of Marketing and Newspapers sales, to discuss Newsagent concerns with the changes to The Guide.
Mr Whitehead apologised for Newsagents not being advised before subscribers. It was not intended for this to be the case.
Newsagents understand that there is a commercial basis for the changes.
NANA robustly put to Mr Whitehead the practical realities of the decision.
Mr Whitehead explained in detail the dollar benefits to Newsagents ($1.7 million) and the future potential.
At this time, with Newsagents drowning in subscriber changes, we are continuing to work to represent the issues to Fairfax.
NANA advises all Newsagents that you have contractual, legal and OH&S obligations relating to this task.
We hope to have greater advice to agents tomorrow.”
I like the OH&S bit, both Fairfax and News both breach these every weekend with the size of papers drivers are expected to throw.
Nathan what does that mean?do we deliver or not?some clear advise would be good
NO HIDE NO CHRISTMAS BOX FAIRFAX HAS JUST PHONED WOULD WE LIKE A PROMO PERSON INSTORE ON SUNDAY GUESS THE REPLY
It means NANA probably only went for coffee and achieved nothing again as usual. i’m definetly not delivering and everyone i talk to is refusing to deliver.
If we don’t stand united all refuse to give in we won’t achieve anything. Read page 19 in todays tele andy. It’s about major cut backs at Fairfax because of a drop in profits.
I have spoken with representatives off the ANF and NANA on this today. It is clear to me that they strongly disagree with the Fairfax decision on The Guide and that they are frustrated by a lack of consultation.
Given the role of associations, they must turn their attention to the areas then can affect. hence their communication last night which included, in part:
DOES FAIRFAX APPRECIATE THE IMPACT ON NEWSAGENTS?
The ANF spent three and a half hours with Fairfax senior management outlining newsagents concerns:
1. Customer confusion.
2. Difficult to process and separate deliveries with The Guide and without The Guide.
3. The impact on retail display space if the Monday Guide is separate
4. Not enough income to pay staff for the extra time involved in adding an additional step to the delivery process.
5. Not enough space in delivery vehicles for separated delivery units.
6. The total lack of courtesy to newsagents and lack of understanding of the distribution process and cost pressures on newsagents.
7. You will initially receive 75% of your retail supply and then this will be adjusted based on your returns. ( A lot of uncertainty)
WHAT TO DO…?
With falling circulations, Fairfax is taking drastic action to keep their newspapers viable. Staff cuts across the board continue at Fairfax. The rationalisation of The Guide just one strategy to save money.
Newsagents also face declining income if newspapers disappear.
All efforts should be made to assist stem the loss of newspaper sales to the internet. At the same time costs should not be pushed on to the newsagent.
Many newsagents have looked at the issue from all sides and had their say.
The ANF is now asking you, all things considered, if you plan to distribute The Guide as instructed or not.
Please complete the survey HERE today.
I have received the following information from NANA President Andrew Packham on this issue:
NANA has instructed our solicitors to review and advise on all areas of this matter so that there can be no confusion as to responsibilities of Newsagents or the Association. At this time their advice is still pending.
NANA was not consulted in any way by Fairfax prior to announcing this proposition.
We understand that there is a commercial case to merge two into one but the logistical implications have been very poorly considered.
As soon as we heard of this, NANA and the ANF together started calling Fairfax to seek answers.
It was on Wednesday April 27 that ANF CEO Alf Maccioni was able to arrange a meeting for Monday 2 May. He indicated to Fairfax that I would be attending also.
Late on Friday 29 April Alf received a call from Fairfax to say I was not welcome to attend that meeting.
The ANF team rightly took their meeting opportunity.
I believed, as the President of the largest representative Newsagent Association in NSW it was my duty to convey the feelings and issues of our Members.
So at 3.00pm on Monday 2 May, as previously arranged, I attended the headquarters of Fairfax Media in Pyrmont, announced myself, signed the register and sat down. And waited. And waited.
Approximately 4pm, Mr Robert Whitehead, Director of Marketing and Newspaper Sales offered to meet with me.
Mr Whitehead advised that Fairfax had no need to consult Associations as they had an advisory group of “Contractors”, the new name for Newsagents?, and that NANA’s previously aggressive attitude to Fairfax coupled with comments in the media attributed to me cemented their decision to have nothing to do with NANA. There was a vigorous discussion.
In the interests ultimately of our mutual customers, NANA and Fairfax have agreed to put this aside and try and work through this issue.
NANA and the ANF are completely focussed on this issue
The ANF has released an online survey and NANA is preparing a document that all Newsagents can complete to give accurate feedback too.
The NANA Board like the ANF Board are all Newsagents and I can assure you we are all in this with you and scratching our heads on how the bloody hell are we going to make this work.
Yours faithfully
ANDREW PACKHAM
President
Newsagents Association of NSW & ACT Ltd (NANA)
No advice. Therefore, no compliance.
Get stuffed, Fairfax.
We don’t deliver Insert. If fairfax want us to do, bill them for $1 each TV Guide inderted and delivered. And they have to deliver Sun-Herald to us 1 hour earlier
not going to insert ,and will be leaving the phone of the hook Sunday morning
same here just hope everyone else sticks to their guns
smh subscriber nightmare for you guys. why not one paper with guide.want a guide buy paper on that day. so simple and she has a uni degree too.
Absoulte nonsense – no inserts this week. Phone off the hook on Sunday. Next week, common sense must prevail.
I am planing to have the guide next to the papers in store and for the next few weeks, educate customers.
with deliveries, i will be rolling one in every paper on both sunday and monday…
i was told by someone in firfax circulation that we are to expect one tvguide for every paper both days, and if im getting paid 15c for every one, then im going to get them out there.
for me, i figure this to be the best approach at the moment
Peter, the guide will dissapear without a purchase being made just like the Form does now. We’re going to keep them at the counter. Don’t have any space to display them seperately anyway.
Phone off the hook is fine with me …. but remember this Sunday is Mother’s Day. So will be busy.
I need my deliveries from FF at least 2.5 hours earlier. If late then we will not deliver Sun Herald – told all my drivers that already.
I have received the following information from NANA President Andrew Packham on this issue:
NANA has been advised by our Lawyers that any non-compliance with the direction from Fairfax, including the boycotting of placing the television guides in the newspapers, will be seen as a default, which depending on the number of defaults the agent has may lead to the termination of their agreement.
Bugger!
This means that we Professional Newsagents have 48 hours to try and make this work.
There are so many variables in this requested task that no one solution will work for all.
I implore all Newsagents to use the time between now and Sunday to share their strategy with others via methods such as the Yahoo site and The Australian Newsagency Blog. NANA will forward all suggestions as well.
This is a six week trial and to measure its effectiveness and imposts, NANA will release a form tomorrow, to be filled each week so that we may represent the real time and financial costs weekly to Fairfax. I have a meeting now booked with Robert Whitehead for 2pm Monday.
There is nothing wrong with remaining angry with the way Fairfax have treated us, but let us try and serve the customers of our businesses the best way we can.
Andrew Packham
President
NANA
Despite my anger about this issue, I am not surprised by this advice. I only hope that Fairfax Media can in future see some logic in engaging in some meaningful, professional discussion with their business partners about distribution issues, rather than treating us like “mushrooms”. Why should Newsagents as a collective not receive the same courtesy as the Media & Arts Union representing their employees over the sub-editor issues??
Just be prepared to communicate effectively – its what you claim to be good at!!
This move by Fairfax is a reason I am no longer in distribution. If I was in NSW with a distribution business I would have by now lodged a complaint with the CTTT and I would only distribute the TV Guide on one weekend day.
Well said Bruce
We know we have been shafted by Fairfax given their lack of discussion. The fact that Easter and now Mothers Day is here should have made Farifax delay and discuss. If we really are business partners then it is about time they showed us. As for the associations, it is difficult for them to advise anything other than our legal obligations. Talks of boycotts can only come from individuals.
One thing that Fairfax has been able to achieve is that newsagents are now voicing an opinion as never before. We will all be the better if we can form one common voice.
How can Fairfax default me or terminate my agreement??
I have received nothing from them.
How can they default/terminate me for something that they have not told me or informed me about in any way ????
Just another case of the big man walking all over the little man.
Our plan will be
1.forget fairfax directive to insert Sunday or Monday and insert to all customers on Sunday
2.Only deliver to customers on Monday if they don’t get a Sunday paper.
We worked out that we deliver about 380 papers on Sunday and about 240 on a Monday 30 of which don’t get a Sunday paper.This would ease the problems a little with the Monday delivery.
Because with the opt in figures we have at the moment they are well short of what we think the customers wants, the only problem is this might work ok for the next 2 weeks while we are getting 1 for 1 but i hope customers opt in with fairfax in the next few weeks so we can get the correct amount of guides because i can see once the 1 for 1 period is over and customers haven’t opted in we won’t have enough guides.If we end up getting short supplied in a few weeks time still do your deliveries as i stated what is left over keep for shop sales…when their gone their gone.tell them to by the Sunday Telegraph
Now is time for ALL Newsagents TO MAKE A STAND on this issue. The 19% in the ANF survey which have said they will comply must have very small delivery runs or do not understand the full implications of this direction. As members of either the ANF or NANA we should all stick together on this one.
We need a firm Directive from the ANF and NANA to all members advising Fairfa that ALL NEWSAGENTS WILL NOT COMPLY with their new procedures and if necessary boycott delivery of their Newspapers until Fairfax agree to Insert the Guide on one Day only.
If we all stick together on this Issue we have a greater chance of getting some action.If Fairfax have to send Default Notices to everyone that does not comply with their directive,so be it.I for one have had a couple of Default notices in the past and would have no hesitation in boycotting distribution even if it means forfeiting distribution of the papers and a reduced percentage for shop sales.I am sure most newsagents would be better off in the long trem.
How long until you are putting the rest of paper together for them Peter & do you recall the handling fee on the racing form?
David, I agree. If Fairfax want to terminate us, fine, they will have to make arrangements to cover our area as a lot of newsagents are not delivering here. Unless newsagents want to be pushed around for the rest or your time in the newsagency industry, make a stand now. I am NOT one of the 19% complying. Where can I find the results of the survey.
Adding to what i said in my previous post looks like we don’t have a choice on this matter.
The plastic for the wrapping machine comes in 3 colours clear,red and green wrap the paper with the guides in it in a different colour so it makes it easier to work out which is which in the delivery car.Its a pain in the but to have to change the wrap on the machine but what isn’t with this situation
Whilst lucky not be in NSW – I assume you have the same problems as other states, where they cannot offer home delivery as no one wants to do it…
If they do issue a default and stop supply- who are they going to get to deliver them? – Let them deal with the wrath of the customer and the substantial decline in revenues, I think they would see the light pretty quickly and negotiate
Cheers
Peter
in my opinion, the big boys at fairfax are just using the threat of defaulting to scare newsagents to comply.
even if ONLY 80% of newsagents boycott delivery, that is still enough to create news and attention to our plight.
who are they going to find to deliver when they are cutting their own staff left and right.
i think it would actually be good if it got to the public how fairfax treats us, they already have negative publicity for sacking so many staff.
Here is a good idea Fairfax, those people who made the decision should be made to do the delivery rounds…. their mess, they clean it up.
There is only one real choice if we want our businesses to survive and that is to stand up as group united and fight for our future and the future of this industry.
If fairfax get away with this it will only be because we didn’t do enough to stop them and then all the other big companies will follow their lead and it will be the beginning of the end for many of us. We struggle with rising cost from every direction supplying a service for Fairfax and News’s customers that we lose money on daily and they want us to be happy with cpoing another cost just so there profits still look good for shareholders. Maybe they should tell shareholders the truth, that ‘suits’ that have enough industry knowledge or background have made many poor decisions in the past that have directly hurt circulation number.
I feel that anyone who chooses to comply obviously want to see their business or the newsagency industry to survive.
Thanks
Nathan
Correction, last paraghaph. Its supposed to be “obviously doesn’t want to”.
My bad 🙂
Another point that appears to be lost is that its been introduced on Mothers’ Day – one of the busiest days of the year for the shop. Nevermind those of you, who want to get home early or on time to participate in your own family Mothers’ Day activities. Why could it not have been started the following week?
Clearly its a male dominated board room at Fairfax I would suggest?
I am no expert by any means but i dont think its acase of 1 strike youre out.This will only take one week to go away if all the talk thats been going on here is backed up by action.If Fairfax do bother to call there are any number of quite legitemate reasons we were unable to perform the trained monkey routine for them.I get that shit rolls down hill & we sit squarly at the bottom but Im pretty sure not one of us signed up to smile & eat it on request.Dont buckle this is a defining moment for the newsageny industry as a whole.STILL NOT INSERTING !
The Fairfax solution of having one pile of Sun Heralds containing the TV Guide , plus another pile without said TV Guide plus the usual allocation of Sunday Telegraphs within the delivery vehicle confines , considering the size of the item to be distributed by both Publishers on Sunday presents a major OH & S issue for most if not all Newsagents . Alternatively maintaining a supply of wrapped TV Guides only to be distributed as and when required likewise would not solve this problem .Delivery drivers would be required to refer to run sheets continually , search for and reach the delivered items at the same time whilst still negotiating local roads and traffic, it will be a nightmare and may well cost a life should an error occur. Mondays situation is not that much different with the inclusion of Australian, and Financial Review Newspapers also.
For us we will insert and deliver TV Guides to all Home Delivery Customers of the Sun Herald on Sunday customers as well as SMH on Monday Home delivery Customers .
We believe that this is the only viable solution that will satisfy our Home Delivery Customers requirements whilst maintaining some respect for OH & S within our own particular workplace.
No Way to insert!
I have received the following information from NANA President Andrew Packham on this issue:
Fairfax has this evening advised that they have decided to delay the implementation for a week. They will post information on Connect. NANA will have more information about this tomorrow.
Fairfax shares price falling!
Fairfax Reporters being laid off!Circulation falling!
No TV Guide – who cares???
ANF, NANA etc etc should print POST IT NOTES to newsagents (on Mast Head) – “collect TV Guide at store with a copy of your subscription letter from Fairfax – but only on Monday before Noon.
Stuff Them – I’ve sold my shares in Fairfax now – and will not buy anymore Fairfax publications until they rectify this idiot directive on the TV Guide. And this must be in a formal submission. 10 people tell 10 people etc.
great! the best news i have heard all week hopefully after all the feedback we have given, fairfax can come up with a more logical solution ,not just delay the same outcome for a week
I hope this means they are prepared to have some meaningfull dialogue on the issue with NANA and the ANF. I would love to have a debate with the so-called Distributors advisory group (referred to in earlier communication by Fairfax to Andrew Packham), about the distribution logistics of this whole proposal.
The only offer I will accept from Fairfax is for The Guide to be inserted in all Sun Heralds if they don’t want to put it in the Monday SMH as well. We have very few SMH readers who do not buy the Sun-Herald so the loss of readership will be minimal. Maybe they would become 7 day subscribers so they can get The Guide. A win/win.
It’s been delayed a week so we have an extra week to beat some sense into fairfax.
If it wasn’t delayed the week the papers would have been very late anyway because the fairfax truck driver havn’t been informed of the change either. Spoke to one tonight and he had no idea of any of this. They needed to out of the depot much earlier to give themselves and us the extra time needed to deal with this- that is if we were dumb enough to do it- so on top of mothers day trade and the changes to the guide we would have had very late papers.
Well later than the already late papers.
Nothing changes for me – I will under no circumstances being adding any activity that adds time to getting my drivers on the road. I have an OH&S obligation to my staff that overrides any contractual obligation to Fairfax. 1 week delay? 6 week trial? Don’t care – I’m simply not going to do it!
I can’t for the life of me understand how any contract can be held up in a court of law that allows 1 party to make ongoing arbitrary changes that impact not only financially (but also impacts on safety / staff retention etc) on a related party and get away with it. Where’s the line drawn?
What will let us down in this issue is all our ( by ‘our’ I mean all the newsagents that are prepared to draw a line in the sand) neighboring newsagents who will agree to take on the delivery runs of those newsagents who are in dispute with Fairfax.
Also if Fairfax hold that I am in breach of my contract and withdraw supply – I can understand how they can relatively easily move subscription Customers to another newsagent / party – but how do they obtain details of all the many non-subscription Customers that I deliver to?? Do they think I’m just going to hand this information over and be of assistance? I have spent many years developing relationships with these Customers and bend over backwards to help them – I know they will for the most part be very sympathetic and supportive of my position.
I mad as hell and not going to take it anymore!!!
Daniel, vital to what you have written could be the need to engage with your retail and distribution customers on the issue. This is where newsagents can more effectively get their message out. It is certainly a way the channel can work together on a consistent message and influence customer opinion.
Bravo Daniel!
Agree 100% – I’m with you.
Mark, I agree. Prior to Fairfax delaying their decision, we had done just that with letters to all customers who had opted in to receive the guide explaining our situation, asking for their patience and support. When subscription customers start complaining to Fairfax, and they will, maybe Fairfax will finally realise they are going down the wrong path.
fairfax have posted the information on connect does’t say much just that it is delayed a week so that newsagents can have more time to overcome system and logistical issues and the guide will be inserted into all copies of the sun herald and sydney morning herald this week.
I hope they use this week to reconsidder their implementation next week
Eye of the Tiger, are you serious about using different coloured plastic?
You must have excellent car cabin lighting…
This whole thing can’t be true, surely? Someone is taking the piss, please tell me.
Yes, well, all I can hear is the Monty Python march playing, on an endless loop.
Of course, OH&S issues; not to mention working for a bowl of rice.
Just who in God’s name do these people think they are?
Bollocks. No inserting here, & ph off hook.
now we have one week to sort out our problems Fairfax has given us and they thank us for our support and patience. No support or patience here.
Gary if we are forced to do it which i think we are how else will you be able to tell this difference between the ones with and with out the guide and yes to cabin lighting i have a map light in the cig lighter socket which i use on my run sheet and i will have the different colour wraped in a box in the back which i can get as i need them ,the different colour is just a check measure to make sure i have the right paper i only hope to have about 30 on a Monday because evryone will get a guide on a Sunday.
Hopefully fairfax get their act together this week.
i haven’t made up my mind yet if i will insert or not this is only a last resort
Fairfax are having enough problems at the other end & i would say the weeks grace is them hoping to sort that out before facing this debacle at our end.A survey with 57% choosing non comliance would be looking like a huge headache. Hopefully if they dont change their minds by this time next it will be more like 81%( as I assume that other 19% would still be willing to stab their neighbour in the back).I for one will be taking the same stance this time next week!
its time we put a stop to these oppressors.
i thought slavery went out of fashion long long time ago………well in case these people still think slavery is ok……time for them to swallow reality pill.
all fellow newsagents….its time for an uprising. keep this up. we finally getting somewhere….thanks fairfax for giving us the push to unite. i love karma
Does someone have either a 1800 or a 13 number for Fairfax to give to customers so they can voice their complaints?
I have a very large window in which to display it.
I’m a silly newsagent. I’m asking the Fairfax excecutives, why not look at the distribution model of News Ltd? They only put the TV guide inside Sunday Telegraph and that’s enough for the week. So you only need to have the machine inserting the Guide into every Sun Herald, and it will cover nearly all the subscribers and customers. Because the Sunday paper is the highest-volume paper sold during the week. For doing this way, you don’t need to pay the newsagent 15cents for each copy insert fee (saving your 1.7 million dollars planning to pay newagents). Also you save the Guide printing fee for each Monday SMH, and saving you another half a million). In doing this way, the total cost saving for Fairfax would be $2.2 million. This would make the newsagents happy, the shareholders happy, the customers happy. It’s a win-win solution. Please consider my silly idea. I’m a silly newsagent who get up at 4am every morning and don’t have time to apply for the director’s job at Fairfax.
I have just spoken to fairfax and been informed that the there will be no changes to delivery times- clearly this is going to cause newsagents to have to increase working hours for the sunday delivery staff to accommodate the extra time taken to sort, strip, roll and deliver- then repeat the process on Monday- and add the time taken to organise this with staff, POS and contacting customers and then add time for processing with returns- and then for the next 2 weeks[+], the time we will spend on the phones with customers who are already fed up with us [unjustly] because of the previous 3 stuff ups from Fairfax in march in which newsagents bared the brunt of complaints NOT Fairfax————– how does 15c per paper cover that? [our allocation appeared at 275 when we have more deliveries than that without even considering in store customers[which Fairfax clearly haven’t] our second shop or our 9 subagents! ] That’s roughly $40?!?!?! [The fees are only processed monthly] Our drivers start at 230[if the papers arrive on time] roughly costing $28 each hr!… with no extra time given $40 does not come close to even covering the extra time that the one driver will be in for!!! Or the rest.
We may be the biggest in our area but we are by no means going to be the worst affected by this careless decision.
Daniel, I am in SA so this problem doesn’t affect me but I can tell you that all SA agents have assigned their
customers over to the Advertiser and no newsagents have accounts to send out any more. The Advertiser handles them all through subscriptions and you can bet your bottom dollar that JF is going to do the same thing (if they survive that long) I always believed that the product (the paper) was owned by the publisher and the customer was owned by the newsagent but here in SA all distribution agents have had to pass over their data base. Luckily I had sold my round and didn’t have to do so but I would have had trememdous issues with passing over my customer data base but here it was done – and not being a distribution agent anymore I don’t know what ramifications it has had but I would think that the newsagent now has nothing to sell and he has merely become a distributor for the publisher. CHANGING TIMES EH?
Eye of the tiger, they can’t force us to do anything. We have to submit and give in to their pressure for them to get their way. It’s about time us newsagent as a whole stand up at take control of our futures and put an end to the big players bending us over royally every time they want to save themselfs some money. Either stand up and say no now or forever be at the mercy of their stupid decisions.
I have increased our supplies of The Sunday Telegrpah to meet demand for The Sun Herald’s decision to no longer offer a TV GUIDE inside their publication for its customers.
I will not be delivering any further products or inserting any further products into Fairfax newspapers. If they want it inserted then they can provide a Fairfax media representative to come into store and hand them out. There is simply no space on our shelves for this product. So it won’t even reach the store.
Eye of the Tiger, please it is Newsagents like yourself too afraid to take a stand who are ruining the Newsagency channel.
If the majority of Newsagents choose not to do this then Fairfax will revert to putting the guide in the newspaper so they do not lose sales to the Telegraph.
Here here Nathan
At times like these, our worst enemy is not the (in this case Fairfax) marketing/circulation upper management. In a lot of cases, these blokes are just born rat bags, and raised from birth to stand on their fellow human being’s face to get to the top of the pile of dung. They don’t understand it’s wrong, and have no conscience.
No, our worst enemy is the fellow Newsagent who tugs his fore-lock, & wrings his cloth cap.
I smell a much bigger, fatter slimier rat here. Fairfax have already shafted all their truck drivers, ruined all their family’s lives and tendered transport out to the cheapest donkey handlers. Forget 15 cents per copy for the new truck drivers, these guys will get paid nothing at all for handling the TV guides.
The postponement is probably to give Fairfax time to sniff around and explore the possibility of doing the same to us.
Kyle,
Thanks for reminding me to increase my telegraph supplies.
Also I think my heralds will now be -arriving- an hour or two later than they used to.
It might take me that long to put them out.
Oh and Daniel your comments are spot on. These contracts do not stand up in a court of law they are predatory practices. OH&S obligations are a real issue and this Fairfax initiative presents OH&S issues.
have a look at the top of page 2 of todays herald another example of fairfax treating us like sh.t
“we have posponed the guide optional delivery untill May 15 so our newsagents and delivery contractors can process all the orders”
what a load of sh.t
doesn’t say anything about newsagents disputing and not going to comply
Gary/Nathan, this is a very public forum. At this stage, all of the rage should be directed only at Fairfax.
@EYE
they want to paint a picture of US being the irresponsible and lazy party.
if the boycott went on, and it catches the eye some other form of media….the truth will be out there to see.
man they really got balls to print that on page 2. i really hope majority does not give in now.
WE OPERATE OUT OF A SHOPPING COMPLEX WITH GREAT DIFFICULTY. WE WOULD BE QUITE HAPPY TO HAVE OUR FAIRFAX CONTRACT CANCELLED. WE WILL NOT BE DELIVERING THE TV GUIDE. LETS ALL STAND TOGETHER
Kyle/Gary/Nathan
I was only sharing my strategy as Andrew asked in Marks post 81.
I have been in the industry for 40 years and have seen people like you come and go.keep you rage at fairfax not fellow newsagents
Bruceh and Eye Of The Tiger, there is a very big difference between rage and frustration and it frustration that’s behind all the words I speak and put on this forum. I may not have 40 years behind me but in the last decade i’ve seen way to many wrong doings by the big companies and always us newsagent’s have had to just cop the losses while these companies make mega profits.
Now is the time to stand up and take action because this plan by fairfax is ridiculous and to do nothing is suicide for our industry. I am proof that non-delivery is the only way they’ll listen. I was able to achieve a substantial improvement in fairfax delivery time by refusing to deliver their papers if they weren’t to us in reasonable time. I would not deliver and advise all my customers to foward all their complaints to fairfax. When they started getting 400 calls just from my customers they soon took notice and fixed the problem. We all have to stand united to get back the control of our livelihood’s that has been lost by inaction by ourselfs and industry bodies for many years.
I’m not going to just lay down and be walked over by the big companies any more and I don’t think I’m alone.
To Eye of the Tiger; I apologise. You’re right. Direct our rage at FF. I wasn’t directing a personal attack at you. I understand you were looking at all contingencies, and that you’re just as flabbergasted as we are, and you’re in the same boat as us. I guess I’m just hoping everybody refuses point blank.
I’d like to see a communication developed which all newsagents across Australia could distribute. This way we can all make a statement about the treatment of newsagents even thought we are not all in states where the TV Guide decision directly affects us at this time.
Oh Joy!! Its about 4.50am on a Saturday and the Fairfax truck is late again. Connect says up to 60mins late, but I know that my truck left the gate at Chullora 2 hours late, so why do they bother to lie about it? I suspect the inside staff aren’t happy with the developments at Fairfax this week and aren’t exactly rushing to get the paper to print. Don’t expect first drop papers until 5.30am at the earliest. Customers will assume I slept in – I wonder if Fairfax will print a notice on page 2 to correct this? Happy days!!
Hope our subscribers do “brunch”. No hope of being on breakfast table as phone message says. Our Sat. delivery arrived at 6.15am which included several supermarkets and subagents.Fairfax must think we are super heroes.
@ Mark #131
Yes, indeedy!
One of the biggest frustrations for us has been that delivery customers (who aren’t OUR customers anyway), have absolutely no inkling of how the system works. And to try to tell them is pointless, because our demographic just wouldn’t get it, and wouldn’t care.
We’re in the process instead of getting as many as possible to deal direct with the publishers, rather than give us needless headaches and admin nightmares with their comings and goings, meaning stops and starts whose extra work is just not worth the pittance we get for busting our arses. Let the publishers carry that cost.
Thanks again fairfax some spectrums in todays paper missing the goodweekend
been talking to customers this morning that are on home delivery 50% of them haven’t bothered to answer the fairfax letter to opt in for tv guide and they said they want it.
to anyone angry enough, heres something ironic. take a small ad in fairfax, and state the facts…that they did not inform us and stuff like that.
just as a counter to fairfax’s own ad.
im sure they will accept the ads because they are all so greedy they even cover their own branding with ads.
On top of everything I’ve been trying to get my Newcastle Herald allocation reduced for months because of over supply and all my changes that decreased supply were ignored. Then this week they cut my supply by 40-50% and are now ignoring my increases. I sold out at 8.30am this morning and had many unhappy customers.
Thanks for that fairfax and for the that delivery of the SMH.
You know why circulation numbers are falling, it because when people come into a ‘paper shop’ they at the least expect to be able to buy a paper. Everytime they can’t we loose customers. Poor decision are constantly hurting this industy.
The solution is simple in Newcastle where the majority of home deliveries are not subscriptions. We have educated our staff to respond to the impending questions as follows: “The Sun Herald are no longer putting a TV guide in the paper, If you want a Sunday paper with a TV guide we recommend you order the Sunday Telegraph.” Just the facts. We will not be delivering/inserting a seperate TV guide for a company like Fairfax. Not a chance.
Thanks for the heads up Gary. Most of the points you have raised are converiable to a value based statement. As Mark suggests this may be the way to go in showing this proposition is a folly rather than all the emotional based only comments which are flying around.
It’s possible they’re just asking readers for the most popular day, and then will deliver to everyone on that day. It makes little sense to deliver the thing on various days.
The other point I would not that every response NANA received is a vote on this issue. It is the best way of demonstrating strength and unity. NANA and the ANF are working together.
Just had a subscription customer come in and tell me he had spent 20 mins on the phone on 3 different occassions during the week to try and tell Fairfax he wants a TVG delivered. Couldn’t get through at all so he came in to the shop. Therein lies the problem. Its one thing to try and get our customers to complain to Fairfax but as no one can get through they are not going to get to many complaints are they. They will probably then use the spin that 99% of customers are happy with the new arrangements (as only 1% complained)
Just a silly suggestion?…
How about a large poster-add outside the shop, offering employment to a school age person, to deliver the TV guide.
• Do it the way Murdoch’s local rags are distributed. During the day Sundays & Mondays.
• On foot. I’ll supply the trolley, a printed sequential run sheet & highlighted street map.
• Fine days, a rubber band.
• Wet days a cheap plastic bag.
• I’ll pay him/her 100% of Fairfax’s remuneration, i.e. 15 cents per drop.
• If any punters ring up, we say “yes, no problem, it’s on the way to you”.
I can just picture dear old Uncle Rupert, over there in a nice restaurant in New York’s China town, along with his loving young wife Wendy, laughing so much about this TV guide thing, that he’s choking on his broiled duck’s head. Oh! My lord! what a terrible thought!
Gary
it would be fine to employ on piece rates however Fairwork would not see it that way and any employee would have to be under the Shop Assistants award a 3 hour minimum (or prehaps the transport award 4 hour min) a 3 hour minimum then follwed by the the approiate daily rate (including weekend rates). I doubt most Newsagents would have 3 hours work involved in doing the Guide.
One could look at contractor however the hurdles to jump over there are designed in most cases to force this sort of thing back to an award.
Peter
Does anyone really need a TV Guide anymore? I mean with digital TV and guides freely available on the internet why all the angst.
It’s time someone @ nana or the anf showed some real leadership.Fairfax refused to deal with you – so look at this weekends TV guide and contact each and every advertiser – notify them that “the majority of newsagents that have contacted you have indicated they will not deliver the new guide. Recommend that they contact John Fairfax to express their concern about their advertising circulation. Call for a national day of action against John Fairfax. Softly softly hasn’t worked – 25% was agreed to on the basis of exclusivity, they removed exclusivity and it’s been down hill from there. This is just another cost shifting exercise that newsagents are being intimidated into … and the threats keep coming.
20ys, what specifically would you say should be done on the national day of action?
@Brian #146
That may be the case, but they’re often slow and lacking information depending on the set top box/television used. (At least in my experience.)
Everyone who bought a paper today (or at least a good majority) physically checked the paper for the TV guide.
Same thing on Thurs for the Green Guide in the Age.
Me thinks newsagents and Tv Guides ranks about #246 on a list of Fairfax’s problems.
They are slashing and burning to keep the red ink at bay. Don’t expect any favours from any of your print “partners”, those days are well and truly gone.
Instead apply the same microscope to your business and cut costs where you can.
Don’t bother trying to change the unchangable, it won’t happen and you might even make things worse.
@ mark 142
it is great to see the 2 associations working together, this is a huge step in my eyes.
the smh today says on page 2 that the tv guide will NOT be inserted next week… . . . .
Mark, a national day of action could be as simple as not delivering to sub-agencies, or dumping the form guide, or withholding payments to fairfax until the dispute is settled – I don’t think too many agents would argue with that.
20 yrs, this is where it is challenging since constitutionally these associations are restricted in what they can do. What you are calling for is a breach of newsagent contracts. Associations could not call for that.
Peter
Thanks for that (comment # 145), at least we can rule that idea out.
Re # 152, Well, FM are correct about one thing, it will NOT be inserted. Unless, of course, pigs fly backwards over a frozen hell before Sunday.
It is time to take a stand. We were not able to negotiate the original contract. It was sign or loose your territory. The NANA will not recommend that we take collective action for they fear they are in breach of the law. My home delivery service now runs at a big loss due to changes over the years. I have no control. It is time to say enough is enough. I support a state day of action against both publishers. No deliveries to subagents or homes starting monday 16 may. Let it run until we have some resolution and contract changes. It may bring more people into our shops. This blog is an opportunity for us to unite without being guilty of collusion.
It is time for a day of action. Lets do it
20 yr newsagent. I want some respect and control of my business back
Forget page 2!! Be in absolutely no doubt about Fairfax intentions for next week – see their cheeky full page announcement on Page 15 of today’s SMH. Somehow, their use of the headline on the front of the guide seems deliberate.
Cheers Steve
But we’re probably preaching to the converted here. Let’s do it? Mate, I’ve already done it. Can’t happen. Won’t happen; science fiction. United front or not.
Don’t worry, just as with bill express crime, everyone will be really rarked up once the full implications of this imbecilic plan really dawn on them.
ok guys, question, when will we focus our anger towards NETWORK and Gotch for their massive oversupplies and abuse?
This just goes to show that the team from Fairfax are in fairy land, if they think they can treat all Newsagents like slaves.I agree with 156 and call on everyone to not deliver these TV Guides on Sunday / Monday unless they are inserted by Fairfax – I for one will definately not be and if I lose my contract so be it ! I will be only too willing to give the News Ltd number to anyone who wants a Paper with a Tv guide inserted.22 years as a Newsagent and never experienced such crap !
Maybe smh readers have had enough just like us. Buyer resistance appears to be the order of the day in this agency
desperate people, desperate times.
Fairfax media are struggling to survive and newsagents are very low on their list of priorities, unfortunately.
This would have been a kneejerk reaction to try to increase sales with NO THOUGHT at all for the distributing newsagent.
“news”agents and “news”papers…… do you ever wonder why they are in the red? they should treat us better, its not like we ask for the moon and the stars.
for everyone who states their deliveries are running at a big loss; why are you still delivering?
Hand your runs back to the publishers
The only sensible approach is to leave the TVG inserted in ALL Sun Heralds and insert it into Monday customers who do not receive the Sun Herald. We have 380 SMH on Monday and of these only 41 don’t receive the Sun Herald. I have seen similar numbers posted by other Newsagents showing about 90% of Monday readers are covered on Sunday.
I am happy to oblige!!!! Fairfax with 41 special deliveries on Monday to give them a massive saving on 90% of home deliveries print cost of the TVG and the 15c on Sunday insert fee to agents.
Keep it in Sunday and insert at Newsagent level the 10% approx required to the Monday customers.
What could make more SENSE??????
does any body know how the meeting went today at fairfax
In the ten years I have been in this buisness Ive not seen any of our ongoing problems resolved .Still oversupplied with mags still throwing two thirds of my daly papers out the window of a moving vehicle at great cost to my buisness in terms of both dollars & customers through my door.But right now Im excited because it looks as though the majority are about to make the stand thats been a long time coming & tell these bullies enough.Maybe they will all start to take us a bit more sriously.STILL NOT INSERTING
To David # 165
I really like your idea but I need to ponder it a bit more.
When you say a special delivery, do you mean a separate trip, or together with the main delivery (e.g. the form)? Possibly manageable for newsagent self drivers but paid drivers will not be impressed.
A separate trip would pay you $6.15, (41 papers @ 15c.) burning around your whole circuit as they’re probably spread out; so this would be like paying FM to make this insanity go away.
Anyway, I think your idea is well worth further exploration. It should keep both FM & customers happy.
David #165 I agree thats the only way to do it i have said the same thing to our rep and to fairfax but i think it has fallen on deaf ears.
Had a customer ring me yesterday and ask what to do to get her tv guide, she is a 7 day subsriber but gives her sun herald to one of her neibours and will require 2 guides, 1 one Sunday and 1 on Monday which i believe farfax said was possible bloody hell! What next
Re David #165 – Yes sensible for you…. but each store is unique. While it’s great and I’m happy that you think you have a solution that might suit your unique delivery set up, be careful to assume that suits many others. Both my wrapper and driver who work M-F have other jobs to go to straight after they finish with the papers. I am not adding any additional task that adds any extra work/time to what they already do – if I did I would lose them. They already cover up the incompetencies of the 2 paper companies enough as it is – i.e. late deliveries, deliveries to the wrong location etc.
I don’t need any discussion or negotiation with Fairfax regarding the amount I’m to be paid or the days I am supposedly going to insert something into a paper or if I will participate in a trial run etc etc.
The fact of the matter is that under no circumstances am I doing what they are asking. They are in newspaper business and it is therefore their responsibility to insert whatever they like in the paper on whatever day they like and then deliver it to me. I’m not adding any additional task that adds time to getting papers on the road. If they can’t handle this then I suggest they subcontract out their entire print function to someone who can.
The minimum I’m prepared to initially do is put the TV guides behind the counter – Customers will have to ask, I will not prompt or offer them one. If this proves to be to much trouble or I get too much flack I will then simply put all TV guides in with my recycling and direct all Customers to alternative publications and advise them to contact Fairfax with their complaints
Just found this helpful guide on connect seriously 1st and only option leave things how they are
Tips for Agents dealing with The Guide opt-in launch
We have been in touch with hundreds of agents directly to gather their thoughts on how best to approach The Guide, as well as conducted test rolling of thousands of papers on the different types of machines. This has led to this list of tips which you may find helpful.
1. The Guide will be set up as a separate publication in the circ system and it is simpler to reflect that in your run sheets. ie The Guide with SHD, The Sun-Herald and The Sunday Telegraph, for example on a Sunday.
2. Make the products look different. Wrap copies that include The Guide first and do it so The Guide appears around the Sun-Herald or SMH to make it look visibly different.
3. This is often best achieved by placing The Guide on the bottom of the stack to be rolled so it will appear around the outside.
4. The rolls of the different paper combination should be kept separate in the vehicle. Remember you will now have less weight in the vehicle than before this change. Most home deliveries will occur on a Sunday based on our current data and the change means most of you will now have three separate publications in your delivery vehicles.
5. You’ve asked for it and we’ll give you plenty of copies for retail which will also accommodate home delivery customers who haven’t yet told us if they want to receive The Guide.
6. You’ve asked us to adjust supplies quickly as the sales pattern emerge and we’ll do it. Please make sure your subs have enough copies across Sunday and Monday and record the sales so we can bed down quickly the required supply changes.
We appreciate this is a significant change for your businesses and know that this will take some weeks to settle in.
Why are we doing it? Because our research says far fewer people now use TV Guides because of electronic program guides, and we need to reduce our costs while making an improvement edition of The Guide available only to those who want it. The result will see newsagent paid an extra $1.7 million in handling fees and we appreciate your assistance.
Yours sincerely,
Adam Lamb
Director, Circulation Operations
Fairfax Media Limited ABN 33 003 357 720
One Darling Island Rd Pyrmont 2009
Postal Address GPO Box 506 Sydney NSW 2001 Telephone (02) 9282 2648 Fax (02) 9282 3520
Adam, nothing personal, but: WANKER!
Curious as to who these hundreds of agents are. Have not heard of any willing to insert guides.As far as i am concerned there are still only 2 Sunday papers I am required to deliver ,if ome of them is shipped to me incomplete its not up to me to fix it!
We go about delivering papers 364 days/nights a year to their customers rain hail or shine.Do they think we are stupid?
Thanks for the advice Adam,I am sure nobody would find it condaceding at all you arrogant …..Your customers,your problem, come Sunday.
Maybe Adam should spend some time reading through this ever growwing list of entris here as it would seem the veiw of the non fictituos newsagents has not yet reached la la land,or possibly have a go at rolling a few himself.NO TO INSERTING!
WOW Thats helpfull…. not.
Are any newsagents on this blog some of the hundreds of agents that fairfax contacted .And i hate the way they keep pushing this 1.7 million in handling fees , divide it by all the newsagents in NSW and ACT or whatever other areas it affecting. it won’t sound like much then.This sucks can’t get my head around it i am getting a head ache thinking about it.
Its a complete lack of respect for the newsagent they are taking us for granted, without us their products wouldn’t be in circulation.SAY NO TO INSERTING
funny how he wrote lines 5 and 6.
“you’ve asked for it….we’ll give it……”
Here’s what people want…..FAIRFAX INSERT THE GUIDES THEMSELVES…….
just stick together guys. time we get some control back.
Has anyone heard from NANA/ANF in regards to the meeting with fairfax on Monday
How insulting. Lamb actually thought we would actually believe that they had “done thousands of tests” & “spoken to hundreds of newsagents”
BLATANT LIES.
For the fear of losing my drivers, and shop staff (myself included) all Sunday Heralds get a guide. Only leaves me about 20 to deliver on Monday.
Not ideal but will pay my drivers the huge 15cents (thank you for your kindness fairfax) so they pocket about $30 each.
Will try this Sunday and see outcome. If papers late then no guides.
It is greatly appreciated Mr Adam Lamb come to my shop this sunday and show us how to roll as suggested and finish delivery on time.
I cannot believe there is any question as whether to , or not to deliver the TV Guide Sun/Mon . It is very simple Fairfax has taken all our Customers – put them on Subscription and collected all payments.We have lost all control and are only delivery puppets looking after their customers. So I ask all Newsagents to take a stand now and tell Adam Lamb and his company where to put the TV Guide – and I hope it fits !
Up until now most companies at least pretend to show us a bit of respect with the old “its under review” or “there are major changes on the way”lines they tend to feed us.Where this is a blatant lack of respect by Fairfax with a ” we say jump” you ask “how high” attitude.So the way i see it Hemi the only thing to fear is giving up what little respect we have left by giving in & leaving ourselves open to everyone until the old paper shop is finally ground out of existence.But if we make a stand here & now we will have the rest of them looking over thier shoulders & begin to regain the respect we should be afforded as a vital part of this industry.
Just looked on connect and Adam’s helpfull guide has been removed
if some of you don’t get it
just received this from NANA
NANA and ANF Meeting with Fairfax 9th May, 2011
NANA President Andrew Packham and the ANF NSW & ACT State Manager Jerome Jones had a scheduled face-to-face meeting with Fairfax’s Director, Marketing & Newspaper Sales Robert Whitehead.
Unfortunately at short notice Robert had to change this to a teleconference due to an urgent high level meeting and our discussion was cut short to only thirty minutes.
The meeting commenced with both NANA and ANF reiterating our members’ feelings and concerns about the TV Guide as it causes complexities at the consumer, distribution and retail level.
Robert rebuffed our concerns as he still does not see that our findings are correct.
Fairfax has conducted their own trials rolling the TV Guide on the front clearly identifying the paper and the whole process was seamless.
From their current statistics they are getting a majority of subscription customers wanting the TV Guide on a Sunday.
Robert also stated that they have contacted newsagents reminding them of their contractual obligations.
The Associations also asked what the figure of $1.7 million, which is going back to the channel, is made up of. Fairfax stated that it was the 15c alone but ANF/NANA responded that when you extrapolated the average gain by newsagents it does not compute.
We also stated to Robert from our recent survey of newsagents that the 57% would not comply, 24% would partially comply and the remaining would comply to which he did not give a response.
NANA and the ANF presented to Robert a possible alternate solution to the TV Guide insertion and stated that the associations are very keen to find the best mutually beneficial commercial outcome for this situation.
Whilst we are not privy to all the Fairfax costings and desired outcomes we request consideration be given to the following.
1. Fairfax to continue inserting The Guide into the Sunday paper.
2. Newsagents to insert The Guide into the Monday paper for only those customers that do not get a Sunday paper – as we do with The Form.
Robert thanked us for the suggestion and both ANF and NANA would like to be given ongoing communication with Fairfax on this issue. The meeting ended quickly and he stated that he would get back to us but as yet there has been no response from Fairfax.
To further the fight, we need Newsagents to complete the Cost benefit Analysis at http://www.nana.com.au
I hope thats fear I smell!
Fairfax are quite welcome to come to me on Sunday morning. If they can show me they can roll and deliver 400 papers seamlessly, and make a profit(we did buy this business to turn a profit) i will eat humble pie. I will just sit and wait for them, twiddling my thumbs like i did for 3 years while waiting for late deliveries – that was until I refused to deliver twice on OH&S. They soon improved their deliveries.
I hope the associations remind Wobert that our contractual obligations include completion of accurately executed and placed deliveries on a Sunday by 0700; and opening the shop by (in my case 0730) on a Sunday.
My Sun H run = 445
Already my Sunday TV guide run = 150, & the campaign hasn’t even started yet! Obviously that 150 list will at the very least double in size.
I haven’t even bothered to mention the tele.
No bloody wonder Lamb removed that pathetic piece of tripe from connect.
INSERTION?
I’LL SHOW HIM ALL ABOUT INSERTION.
Sorry David #165, I have given it a lot more thought, but in the end…nah.
Can’t see any better than Daniel’s post # 170; . WHAT HE SAID, ALL OF IT.
IN FACT IT’S SO DAMN GOOD I’M GOING TO PLAGERISE IT (Sorry Daniel):
Daniel // May 10, 2011 at 9:27 AM
Re David #165 – Yes sensible for you…. but each store is unique. While it’s great and I’m happy that you think you have a solution that might suit your unique delivery set up, be careful to assume that suits many others. Both my wrapper and driver who work M-F have other jobs to go to straight after they finish with the papers. I am not adding any additional task that adds any extra work/time to what they already do – if I did I would lose them. They already cover up the incompetencies of the 2 paper companies enough as it is – i.e. late deliveries, deliveries to the wrong location etc.
I don’t need any discussion or negotiation with Fairfax regarding the amount I’m to be paid or the days I am supposedly going to insert something into a paper or if I will participate in a trial run etc etc.
The fact of the matter is that under no circumstances am I doing what they are asking. They are in newspaper business and it is therefore their responsibility to insert whatever they like in the paper on whatever day they like and then deliver it to me. I’m not adding any additional task that adds time to getting papers on the road. If they can’t handle this then I suggest they subcontract out their entire print function to someone who can.
The minimum I’m prepared to initially do is put the TV guides behind the counter – Customers will have to ask, I will not prompt or offer them one. If this proves to be to much trouble or I get too much flack I will then simply put all TV guides in with my recycling and direct all Customers to alternative publications and advise them to contact Fairfax with their complaints
Thanyou so very much Adam for your insight into how best handle The Guide you half wit. “Remember you will now have less weight in the vehicle than before this change”. ?????Are you for real? Last time I checked the average car weighed in at approx. 1.5 tonne, What on earth difference do you think a few TV Guides is going to make? I dont know what you are smoking but I want some of whatever it is. I will be telling my customers to buy the Tele, best of luck with your new circus tour Fairfax.
I have publish the following communication from NANA President Andrew Packahm with his permission:
Tonight I received a call from Adam Lamb, Director, Circulation Operations, Fairfax Media to advise that they had considered our proposal and it was a fit.
Thus, The Guide will continue to be inserted into all Sun Heralds by Fairfax Media and Newsagents will insert op ins of The Guide on Monday for the 15c fee.
This will commence this weekend.
Newsagents will receive faxed advice of the subscribers for next Monday in the morning.
Details of the changes will be on Connect tonight.
next thing will be Tuesday Good Living, Wednesday …, Thursday ….
Good work people three cheers for us
Just to clarify, there would be no extra run. We would just wrap the 41 odd heralds with the guide on the outside and deliver these as they drive around on their normal run. At least Fairfax eventually came to the sensible solution with a significant cost saving (for them) on the Monday Print of guides. I don’t mind mucking around with 10% of our deliveries on 1 day but NOT most of them on TWO days.
Congratulations everyone, united we stand.Thanks Andrew NANA and ANF
David # 191
Hopefully in your case you’d actually have a lot less than 41 now.
My Monday list has dropped from 50 down to 14, as I cancelled those who opted for the Monday, even though they get the Sunday paper.
Don’t see the point in giving them same TV guide twice
Looks like this post is dying. The result we were all hoping for has been achieved, not just for us but for common sense.
Only thing I want to add is that the personal attacks, gutter language and rude comments really serve no positive purpose – so next time you need to unite, have some manners! and if you give some respect you (we) might receive some.
David – Rose Bay
It is frustrating the hours lost by newsagents who started implementing the original TV Guide changes for customers in their computer system and now having to go back and make changes to the new approach.
I know that at Tower Systems over the last couple of days a ton of time has been lost in newsagencies and at Tower helping with this. It’s all okay in the end but an unnecessary waste of time.
Good to see that fairfax have finally decided that having the TV Guide inserted in their Monday Herald is better for sales. It has only taken them just under a year to work this out. What about all the distribution newsagenst who changed all their deliveries so that it reflected the changes, now they will have to change everything back again. I know I made the right decision not to insert the guide on mondays or deliver it full stop.
Maybe next time Fairfax make a change they should consult some newsagents about it to see what affect it has on the ground, not just for the newsagents but for the sales of their products!
I had a little panic when i couldnt locate out guide bundles yesterday, i checked inside a copy to find it was there, and then read on connect that it is back to the good old days.
yesterday we sold out our paper