A couple of newsagents told me this last week that they are quitting magazine putaways out of frustration with the supply model. In one case, their frustration is to do with partworks and the inability of Gotch to supply to satisfy even only cutaway customer orders. In the other case it is to do with inconsistent supply of a couple of special interest titles and the lack of information from Gotch about this.
Told them I would put the topic up here for comment.
For what it is worth, I think the core problem here is the inadequate use of technology by Gotch. Their newsagent-facing systems are poor and always have been. A modest investment could help newsagents be the magazine experts most would like to be in their local communities.
Repeated requests and submissions to Gotch achieve nothing. Newsagents lose. Newsagency business customers lose. Publishers lose.
Based on our experience it’s a culture problem. In all the years of dealing with Gotch (or Network for that matter) I have never had a sense that I am dealing with some one who cares. It’s all about box ticking, falling into line with their processes, and dealing with their time lines. There is absolutely no evidence of a service attitude. Reality is that due to demographics there is a wonderful opportunity in putaway and home delivery magazines. We already have several nursing homes, with more being built, in our area. These are a very low cost to service with full margin, and healthy volumes. We need reliable supply and have no tolerance to shortages or schedule glitches. By the way we send Partworks customers down the road. It’s just not worth the agro.
100% agree Kevin.
Still do putaways but feel we are always a hair breath from losing a good customer. GG just don’t get it. Putaways for customers who want an upcoming issue as happened at the royal wedding was a nightmare.
We hide and immediately return all partworks and have avoided new partworks putaways for 3 years. Partworks were regularly leading to customer disappointment. Agree with Kevin, let them go elsewhere.
We have a healthy put away list, some being part-works of long standing (Marvel Heroes/DC Comics). There are occasional supply issues (missed deliveries/shortages), but these are minor and usually resolved satisfactorily. Surely supporting your customers who want put-aways is a part of building and maintaining customer goodwill and therefore the value of your business?
We have done customer putaways for many years. At worst we had a list of backorders just shy of 100 deep. At best, 10 deep. It is a constant struggle. We find it harder these days to actually keep the customer coming in to pick up their items then to source them, which is surprising considering GG’s ineptitude at supplying correctly.
As much as we hate on this process inside the shop and all the extra work, these customers have done multiple partworks to completion and also been sold other related materials (Superheroes being the best type)