From: jon@Turing.ORG (Jon Gefaell (KD4CQY))
Subject: Re: Editor-in-Chief of THE ADVOCATE Resigns!
Organization: The Turing Project, Charlottesville Virginia.
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1992 03:38:35 GMT

In article <1992Jul29.193025.9048@uoft02.utoledo.edu> gklein@uoft02.utoledo.edu (Gary Klein, bear at heart) writes:
>In article <1992Jul28.142822.18973@news.ysu.edu>, doug@cc.ysu.edu 
>   (Doug Sewell) writes:
>> I dunno, but my subscription has been VERY erratic, in fact, I've missed
>> getting at least one issue since they went perfect-bound.  Their delivery
>> wasn't that fantastic in the boonies of NE Ohio anyhow, and their billing
>> service for subscriptions also left much to be desired.
>
>     In the 12+ years that I have been subscribing to THE ADVOCATE (across 3
>different addresses), there have been a grand total of 5 times that an issue
>did not make it to my mailbox within 4 weeks of the "expected" arrival time.

Well, I did as suggested, and dialed their phone number. I spoke with a very
nice fellow and he related the entire story of how this person at the bookstore
had angrily called and said 'We don't want to carry any of yur 'stuff' anymore'

Supposed to have been her reaction to a review copy of Advocate Men they sent
along with the regular news rag... This from a bookstore which carries Playboy
and Penthouse (along with whatever else is in that section of the magazine rack)

Can you say *homophobia* boys and girls?

I had asked this woman, face to face last week why we hadn't got the last
4 (now) issues. She said 'There's been a change of distributors, and it just
takes time to process our orders' I asked her how long it would take to 
process a change in distributors for TIME, or Playboy perhaps... She became
_quite_ flustered and made a manuever like a bird about to take flight....
       
I also asked for the name of the distributor and their representative from 
whom they would be receiving TheAdvocate, and she handed me a packing slip
from another bundle of magazines, I called them, and they said They hadn't
carried it since December '91.


So, tomorrow I will confront this person, and explain I've spoken to the fellow
who she spoke with, and that he's HAPPY to expedite their order so we don't  
miss another issue. I'll probably ask her why she didn't truthfully represent
the situation to me, and what their policy is in terms of content and such of
materials they take... 

Oh, best part is, The Advocate is sending me the issues I missed! I noted
that for a magazine that started 2 years before Stonewall (25 years) they
seemed to be doing well, and I enjoyed it muchly. I mentioned that I hoped
they would do well even with the loss of their Editor, and he wondered how
I knew 'bout it and what I'd heard. I said 'On the Internet!' and he said  
'What's that?' HeeHee, he was astonished when I told him....


Be cool folkz....

>
>     Each time that I have phoned the Subscription Dept at THE ADVOCATE, they
>have sent me the missing issues FREE OF CHARGE.
>
>     Now that I live in Toledo's version of a gay ghetto, I can always check
>with my neighbor across the street to see if he is also missing his issue (ours
>comes every other Tuesday).  Our big problem with the mail, is that the Letter
>Carrier who is usually assigned to our route doesn't make it to my cul-de-sac
>until after 5pm.  But when we get someone else filling in (like the regular
>person is out sick or on vacation), we sometimes get our mail before Noon!
>
>     Of course the Post Office totally denies that this type of slow service 
>could exist.  But this comes from the same people who took 5 days to deliver a
>magazine that comes first class, every single week.
>
>     Repeatedly filling out those POSTAL COMPLAINT FORMS may not win you any
>friends in the Post Office, but it will help a few months later when they start
>getting your mail delivered on time & without shredding it!
>-- 
>
>                                               "Librarian, Leather bound"
>Gary Klein,   Business Librarian,  (Univ of Toledo)           * * * * 
>PO Box 12650                  Toledo OH  43606-0250            *   *   
>(w): 419-537-2629      fac2813@uoft01                            *   
>(h): 419-243-2740      fac2813@uoft01.utoledo.edu         B4 t+ w- g s+ k