Tioga Herald

Experience today. Took 45 minutes to reach customer service at Gannett’s Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin. Nobody cares. Most people would likely give up after about 10 minutes so no newspapers get sold. Wonder if that is part of the executive / VENTURE CAPITALIST strategy? To push the newspaper into the ground and then say, “nobody reads newspapers.” That is a lie because many people read newspapers and I can attest to the fact the number of times I have tried to purchase the PRINT EDITION from stores in the area and they RUN OUT OF NEWSPAPERS. But, nobody reads newspapers? Does anyone understand what I am saying, at all, or just brush me off and shun me because I don’t go along with the digital “in crowd” which is plagued and wrong? After all, those in that in-crowd cluster just do a “cluster f***” to me because I don’t go along like a good robot. Like a good doggie. Treat us like animals or slaves to go along with the crowd.

The experience.

Called Gannett customer service. Get all these messages about delivery of newspapers (or non-delivery) for the holidays. Then a voice (from computer / robot) gives me options, but no numbers on the keypad. So, I speak like one does to Alexa. I did spoke what was suggested. Each time got, “I don’t understand.” Do it again. “I don’t understand.” Again. “I don’t understand.” Finally, hangs up.

Went through this about 24 times, figuring I am hip in giving reply to an Alexa-type piece of crap. I am in the “in-crowd” with Alexa-type crap! But each time, got hung up on me.

Finally decided this robot speaking to me is full of crap so I poked the number once used for “operator.” Zero. Hung up. Won’t give me to a person over in the Philippines (forget getting an American).

After expecting this Alexa-type to do something it was programmed to do with freaking AI capabilities, decided to try to poke the number 1. AH! That worked and got me to someone special in freaking Philippines.,

Oh, but before I did, I also tried the chat. Screw you, buddy, because chat cannot help do customer service. Do it online. The only thing available in my online account was to cancel or pause. Really? No “Start” or “Change?” Just cancel or pause. Really intelligent executives running that newspaper with their freaking AI system for answering the phones. And I tried to explain the situation with getting through to customer service by phone. The Filipino provides another number. Does same thing the first number did.

It was THEN I decided, oh, silly foolish me, to push the number one on the phone. It went through.

So, finally, after 45 minutes of grappling with freaking AI robots and so forth, I get through. Most people won’t purchase ANY subscription and just give up. I did not, figuring maybe it was my placement of my mouth and voice on the phone and trying to adjust….. ENNNH. Wrong.

In each case, the chat person and the one on the phone asked me to fill out a survey. I told both they did a wonderful job, so no need for me to take time to fill out a survey. I asked if I could send a survey of the executives in the executive suite because they are the one who are mis-managing the company, not the people on the front line. But no mechanism for me to fill out a survey for the freaking lousy and lazy money-loving greedy selfish executives and tell them about the lousy service of their company. Probably because the only ones I would get are freaking lousy venture capitalists who have the desire to drive the company into the ground and destroy the newspaper industry. And then claim, “no one reads newspapers.” BS and I have plenty of evidence otherwise.

So, FB is the ONLY method I have for filling out a survey and review of Gannett. I give the company a -5 rating. I give the executives a -5 rating. I give the executives a -5 rating for customer service. I give the executives a -10 for the answering system. What else? Never spoke with them, so how can evaluate their communication? Except to say the communication for the company is lousy at the top, but a +5 for the ones on the front line who doing the hard work.

If you don’t like me saying this, then tough shit because I am a union man who believes in the hard work of the people on the front lines. And find those at the top of so many venture-capitalist run companies to be lousy fat pigs who don’t know how to be good leaders, then give money to PACs so as to validate their positions through Congress and other avenues.

Sorry. I used the word shit one time. And it describes those who are fat pigs and lacking any abilities to communicate or have any KNOWLEDGE about how to make a company communicate in the best possible way. They leave it up to lousy computer science people who are nothing but a bunch of nerds who know nothing about effective HUMAN communication. And this is who we have managing an industry which is about NEWS & INFORMATION & COMMUNICATION? A bunch of greedy selfish fat pigs with no concern for the business and the DEMAND SIDE OF THE MARKET?