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I still wait on my Replace May Issue, been full month. I very upset.

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Posted by M636C on Monday, May 2, 2016 7:55 PM

greyhounds

 

 
M636C
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

 

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!  

 

 

"Contacted Customer Service"

I just tried...

- quoted my subscriber number from the cover of the May issue..

"not recognised"

- filled in my full address exactly as on the cover (and e-mail, both times)...

"not recognised"

-got to the default form and tried to complete it, noting that it doesn't address electronic subscriptions at all...

-forwarded it without much confidence....

This is not a good sign for someone 10 000 miles away from the subscription office. I wonder if I'll see any more issues, e or otherwise?

I never got any reply from Kalmbach on my earlier requests for my subscriber number regarding site login. Of course, if they couldn't find it, that might be the reason....

Of course, I checked Zinio and the May issue was the last. The subscription lasts until August.

This sounds as though it is nothing to do with the website but a major problem in their subscription records.

I wonder how much an international phone call will cost, assuming I can work out the time in the USA?

M636C

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Posted by conrailman on Monday, May 2, 2016 7:59 PM

Euclid

conrailman,

How many times have you contacted them by phone, and what did they tell you each time?

 

 I called them 3 times Now and they sent one out in 7 to 10 days. It has been full month now. and no  May Issue yet. Also last night i  E-mail them about this.

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Posted by dakotafred on Monday, May 2, 2016 7:59 PM

Continues to sniff of an outsourcing problem to me, hiring a gum chewer to conduct the second-most important job you've got, after staying in business: customer relations.

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Posted by NorthWest on Monday, May 2, 2016 8:33 PM

M636C: there is a current thread about people suffering similar issues on the MR forum at http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/256323.aspx.

EDIT: the link worked! Don't ask me how...

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Posted by Leo_Ames on Monday, May 2, 2016 9:25 PM

I've had I believe one issue that didn't show up and they were having troubles with their contractor for a while a few years ago that resulted in several issues I received from various Kalmbach publications missing pages, having duplicate pages, etc.

So while patience was running short when I had 2 or 3 incomplete issues in a short span of time, I've always been impressed at the ease of contacting them and the speed the replacement arrived. 

Hope this is an isolated problem, since their customer service used to have a reputation of being excellent. 

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Posted by dakotafred on Tuesday, May 3, 2016 7:08 AM

NorthWest

M636C: there is a current thread about people suffering similar issues on the MR forum at http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/256323.aspx.

EDIT: the link worked! Don't ask me how...

 

 
Those MR forums are sure well-hidden, indicated nowhere (that I can see) on the site's "masthead." I had a memory of them, from several site remodels ago, but could never find them recently -- until your link. (But wonder if I could find them again.)
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Posted by BaltACD on Tuesday, May 3, 2016 7:35 AM

dakotafred
NorthWest

M636C: there is a current thread about people suffering similar issues on the MR forum at http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/256323.aspx.

EDIT: the link worked! Don't ask me how...

 
Those MR forums are sure well-hidden, indicated nowhere (that I can see) on the site's "masthead." I had a memory of them, from several site remodels ago, but could never find them recently -- until your link. (But wonder if I could find them again.)

From the 'bread crumb' line at the top of the page - click on HOME.  It will then display all the forums Kalmbach is supporting in the 'railroad world'.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by NorthWest on Tuesday, May 3, 2016 9:11 AM

But apparently quoting the link breaks it-unless one reenters the [ url] tags.

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Posted by conrailman on Tuesday, May 3, 2016 2:36 PM

Nothing Yet from Trains, from the E-mail I sent them on Sunday night.Angry

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Tuesday, May 3, 2016 4:02 PM

Send me your address.  I'll mail you my copy.

Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.

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Posted by dakotafred on Tuesday, May 3, 2016 4:36 PM

BaltACD
 
dakotafred
NorthWest

M636C: there is a current thread about people suffering similar issues on the MR forum at http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/256323.aspx.

EDIT: the link worked! Don't ask me how...

 
Those MR forums are sure well-hidden, indicated nowhere (that I can see) on the site's "masthead." I had a memory of them, from several site remodels ago, but could never find them recently -- until your link. (But wonder if I could find them again.)

 

From the 'bread crumb' line at the top of the page - click on HOME.  It will then display all the forums Kalmbach is supporting in the 'railroad world'.

 

Thanks, Balt, altho this didn't work for me. Maybe I'm doing what Sherlock Holmes always accused Watson of, "looking but not seeing." Happy ending, tho. I finally found the MR forums under "Community," on the masthead.

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Posted by Goodtiming on Tuesday, May 3, 2016 7:11 PM
Some of you guys get torqued over a missing magazine? Wow! Your lives must smoother that mine.
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Posted by M636C on Tuesday, May 3, 2016 8:24 PM

NorthWest

M636C: there is a current thread about people suffering similar issues on the MR forum at http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/256323.aspx.

EDIT: the link worked! Don't ask me how...

 

North West

Thanks again....

While I do check the MR Forums from time to time, I hadn't noticed the transition from my former problem being reported to my current problem being reported. Clearly I'm not alone but I am still concerned about the extent of confusion in the Kalmbach system.

My not being able to find my subscriber number isn't really a Kalmbach problem.

Kalmbach not recognising the number off my Trains cover is much more serious...

At least I got May Trains both "e" and paper...

I'm going to check now before missing the paper June issue.

And yes, the link worked well...

Peter

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Posted by M636C on Tuesday, May 3, 2016 9:06 PM

One more "small step for mankind"...

I was able to log in to Customer service using my site login.

My subscription details now only show a print subscription, no e-subscription...

I've enquired about that now,

Peter

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Posted by NorthWest on Tuesday, May 3, 2016 11:36 PM

No problem. Happy to help anyone (particularly one that shares my love of ellipsis...)

I've always found Kalmbach's customer service a breath of fresh air and a model for other companies who are more troublesome to deal with, so these developments are troubling. Hopefully things will be restored soon.

I don't have an 'e' subscription but I also live nowhere near as far from Kalmbach's distribution center.

As for hot links, I've given up. Even with HTML, sometimes they work, sometimes they don't...

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Posted by M636C on Saturday, May 7, 2016 10:02 AM

Well, I got my e-mail response from Kalmbach and the very next e-mail was from Zinio linking the June issue, which I've downloaded and started reading...

Clearly the secret is to log in using my website login, which has always worked, due to a fortunate selection of password back in 2003.

M636C

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Posted by dakotafred on Sunday, May 8, 2016 7:19 AM

It's been a few days, conrailman. Any relief?

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