I been waiting on May Replace Issue for about full month and no issue yet in my mail. It was Damage in the Mail, I called 3 times at trains call center and still no May issue Yet. I am Very, Very, Upset with Trains MAZ. Someone needs to Fired at your Call Center or Warehouse. It should'nt take almost month to get replace issue out to me. I very upset, I hope someone at Trains is reading this post. I just want May isssue sent to me.
Brian Harris
I suggest you call customer service, but first you should remove your name and address from your post.
Norm
I am going call them again on Monday, it 4 times then.
I been a Customer of Trains Maz since 1992 24 years of getting trains in the mail for 24 years. and payed until 2023 and can't get a replace issue of May 2016.
It's not like they have a pile of magazines just sitting around, ready to stuff into envelopes and mail out. The actual printing and mailing of the magazines doesn't occur at the Trains offices.
Remember that a watched pot never boils.... Sit back, relax, enjoy an old issue or two, and before you know it you'll have your back issue.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
Conrail has a legit beef. The one time I received a badly damaged issue -- which happened to be one I wanted to save -- and called up, I had a replacement within days. This was 9-10 years ago, tho; I don't know how reliable their customer service is these days.
Now its 7 to 10 days for Replace Issue, every time i call them. Its getting very old. Someone needs to Fire at this call center or warehouse.
A colleague here in the office was amazed at how troublesome new posters find it to post and what they encounter, and the disjointedness of customer service now. He has never seen such a situation at Kalmbach. It just so happens he is sitting on a TRAINS Magazine renewal, as he is reluctant to send them renewal money if they might go bankrupt, as so many disjointed companies do. He says it will cost him twice as much to go travel to and buy the magazine at a hobby shop, but at least he won’t have to worry about losing his subscription money if the magazine goes belly up. Interesting situation he faces ...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- K.P.’s absolute “theorem” from early, early childhood that he has seen over and over and over again: Those that CAUSE a problem in the first place will act the most violently if questioned or exposed.
K. P. Harrier A colleague here in the office was amazed at how troublesome new posters find it to post and what they encounter, and the disjointedness of customer service now. He has never seen such a situation at Kalmbach. It just so happens he is sitting on a TRAINS Magazine renewal, as he is reluctant to send them renewal money if they might go bankrupt, as so many disjointed companies do. He says it will cost him twice as much to go travel to and buy the magazine at a hobby shop, but at least he won’t have to worry about losing his subscription money if the magazine goes belly up. Interesting situation he faces ...
All things considered, if he is worried about losing subscription money for Trains he has bigger financial problems to solve. I was a 'Newsweek' subscriber when they packed it in. My loss, but it didn't end my world.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
I just want my May issue sent too me again.
conrailmanI just want my May issue sent to me again.
Patience. For all you know, it's already in the mail...
I had a slightly different problem when I renewed my subscriptions to both Trains and Classic Trains: even though the forms indicated that I was renewing, both were treated as new subscriptions until I sent a note concerning each one (I began receiving two copies of each. This problem was easily corrected, since it did not involve resending an issue--which, as has been noted, takes much longer than we might expect since the magazine is not sent from the Kalmbach office.,but from the printer.
Johnny
Johnny - I had the same problem - renewed on line, received e-mail that they would start my new subscription with the April 16 issue instead of November 16. I wrote an e-mail - one liner - and got results I wanted.
A fly in the "oink-ment" (pig salve) somewhere.
She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw
I understand that the replacement magazines do not come from the kalmback offices. However I do think they have such things as phones and e mail, and yes I am sure they have piles of back issues. They are always selling them. Communication today occurs in seconds and simple service should be measured in days not week.
You would think it would be an embarrassment to the company that they can not get a magazine sent to a valued customer. And it has reached the point that its being air on a public forum.
We keep reading how bad Amtrak service is, its seems that simple customer service as gone the way of the stage coach in today's world.
Sounds like Kalmbach has been doing some "outsourcing." Another depressing sign of the times.
You didn't miss much. I was done with the magazine before I was done in the bathroom. Once. Never opened it again. Threw it out.
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dakotafred Sounds like Kalmbach has been doing some "outsourcing." Another depressing sign of the times.
Hardly. Magazines have been printed and shipped like that for years.
I'm sure you'd find that most magazines come from a surprisingly small number of printers. Today, we're printing Trains. Tomorrow, Tiger Beat...
Here's a blurb from one such company's website:
The *********** Printing Company offers complete prepress, pressroom, binding and mailing facilities at one location, our 65,000-square-ft. headquarters in **************, central to the U.S. population. We print and mail monthly and quarterly magazines for Universities, Fraternal Organizations and Niche Publications for clients in more than 25 states. With both web press and sheet-fed capabilities, we also offer complimentary storage and proofreading services upon request. A more flexible organization, we focus our resources on the needs of our clients. From prepress to billing we make every effort to conduct business, as you would prefer.
We print and mail monthly and quarterly magazines for Universities, Fraternal Organizations and Niche Publications for clients in more than 25 states.
With both web press and sheet-fed capabilities, we also offer complimentary storage and proofreading services upon request.
A more flexible organization, we focus our resources on the needs of our clients. From prepress to billing we make every effort to conduct business, as you would prefer.
Especially today, with communications being what it is, a magazine publisher can assemble its publication in a relatively small office and send the finished product "over the wire" to the printer, who does everything else.
Magazines probably get delivered to the office by mail, just like us. Or maybe a courier.
Ever notice that most magazine subscription cards have an address that is nowhere near where the magazine is headquartered?
Broadcasting is little different. A sixty second, hi-def, broadcast-quality commercial will fit on a thumb drive. I've produced commercials in a studio and driven across town with a thumb drive to deliver the finished product to the folks who will be broadcasting them...
My goodness. If this is causing such major issues in your life, send me your address and I'll mail you my copy.
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
Soo 6604 You didn't miss much. I was done with the magazine before I was done in the bathroom. Once. Never opened it again. Threw it out.
Could speak to the magazine - or it could speak to your digestive functions.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.
BaltACDAll things considered, if he is worried about losing subscription money for Trains he has bigger financial problems to solve. I was a 'Newsweek' subscriber when they packed it in. My loss, but it didn't end my world.
And spending twice the amount of money for the magazine because you fear it may go out of business? Seems kind of silly.
Murphy Siding My goodness. If this is causing such major issues in your life, send me your address and I'll mail you my copy.
I wasn't planning on sending my issue, but I do wonder what the urgency is. I know my issue didn't have any cash or winning lottery tickets in it...
Soo 6604 You didn't miss much. I was done with the magazine before I was done in the bathroom. Once. Never opened it again. Threw it out
You didn't miss much. I was done with the magazine before I was done in the bathroom. Once. Never opened it again. Threw it out
I hope that was because you read REALLY fast. Otherwise, perhaps more fiber.
I E-mail trains late last night about this. Hope they reply soon. I just check my mail Today No May issue.
tree68 dakotafred Sounds like Kalmbach has been doing some "outsourcing." Another depressing sign of the times. Hardly. Magazines have been printed and shipped like that for years. I'm sure you'd find that most magazines come from a surprisingly small number of printers. Today, we're printing Trains. Tomorrow, Tiger Beat... Especially today, with communications being what it is, a magazine publisher can assemble its publication in a relatively small office and send the finished product "over the wire" to the printer, who does everything else.
Got all that; I was thinking more of the customer-service function. You can print and ship from anywhere, and still keep a pile of "spares" in the home office for prompt resolution of a problem such as Conrail's.
dakotafred Got all that; I was thinking more of the customer-service function. You can print and ship from anywhere, and still keep a pile of "spares" in the home office for prompt resolution of a problem such as Conrail's.
Periodiclly Publishers are required to publish statistics of their distribution. How many printed in total, How many to subscribers, How many to retail outlets, How many returned by retail outlets, how many damaged in printing, how many 'stored' at the home office and probably a number of other catagories I haven't thought of.
Trains make Extra 10,000 thousands trains Maz every month, so they alot of extra maz every month. its in the Dec Issue in the back every year.
conrailman,
How many times have you contacted them by phone, and what did they tell you each time?
Much to my amazement, I haven't got my electronic copy of June yet...
Has anyone else had this problem?
My copy comes via Zinio (their choice, not mine).
M636C
M636CHas anyone else had this problem?
Ever since my tablet died, I haven't seen the electronic version at all.
I dug out a recent issue with circulation figures and was surprised to find that they do, indeed, have over 30,000 copies of the magazine each month under the category "Copies not distributed."
They must do something with that number of copies besides stock them for lost copies such as this or back issue sales. That's a third of their paid circulation. I can't see them printing that many copies without some expectation of a return on them.
As I discussed earlier, the magazine isn't printed at HQ. Odds are back/lost issues aren't, either.
Regardless - when it does finally show up, sit back and enjoy it. I have many years of back issues in my "stacks," and I enjoy pulling out an old one from time to time for amusement's sake.
Like I said before, there was no money or winning lottery tickets in my issue, so late wouldn't have been a problem for me.
M636CMuch to my amazement, I haven't got my electronic copy of June yet... Has anyone else had this problem? My copy comes via Zinio (their choice, not mine). M636C
My eTrains was late too. I contacted their customer service and it showed up on Zinio. Of course, they said it was my fault and that I should watch my email better. Horsefeathers!
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