Network and Gotch have ceased using Murrell’s in the ACT for the distribution of magazines after 25 years of service. Both companies have switched to Toll. I am told that newsagents are now faced with higher return costs if they switch to Toll for this as well. Many are contacting Murrell’s to continue the returns arrangements.
It seems that great service is not enough to maintain a contract with Gotch and Network. I feel for the families relying on Murrell’s for their income.
Toll– that is the exact word, that is what it is going to do. Returns is a big issue for Newsagency Specialist. You are right after 25 years I believe there would of been much goodwill between Murrell’s and Distributors.
This type of change in my view means bigger things between Toll & Distributors. I am not saying there is anything wrong with it except as you said families will be without work and off course the cost of returns.
I am sure NANA will investigate if a Agency would put in a request.
If the Sydney experience is typical, ACT Newsagents can now also look forward to more squashed Partworks and damaged magazines too.
If the service from Toll is as bad as it is in QLD as it is down there you guys are in for a very rude shock
Trust me – there is no goodwill when it comes to newspaper or magazine companies. They do not care about individual newsagencies, or a small business in Canberra that has delivered mags for them for 25 years.
There are so many nasty stories that individual newsagencies have told me, and the only thing that personally works for us, is hiring a solicitor.
Well, we have just received our first delivery from Toll, and not the local Murrell’s who have been delivering to us for 25 years!
Murrell’s delivered the night before.
Toll delivered at 6am this morning – meaning that half of our subagents (that’s around 9 of them) had already been to pick up their parcels – so no mags for them today!
Also, our mags will hit the shelves later, as Darren normally does quite a bit of the processing before the newspapers turn up. By 6am when they finally arrived, he’s madly finishing the papers and setting up the shop to open!
We are missing 2 key parcels and 1 bulk – apparently Toll couldn’t load all the mags as they didn’t have room on the trucks!
So what exactly has all the planning been about – the mags are now arriving about 10 hours later, and they didn’t have enough trucks to pick up our mags!