Wow. Just... wow.

B&N has the worst customer service reps. These people are morons. Finally got a(nother) reply, but instead of actually answering my question, which I've stated and restated and simplified and reworded to them so many times, they chose to ignore what I said and assume I was just looking to score some free magazines.

We regret we are unable to donate unsold editions of magazines from our
newsstands. However, many magazine publishers sell previous issues of
their magazines directly to the public. We recommend contacting the
publishers directly by the information available on their website or
through Books in Print.

We look forward to seeing you in our stores again soon.

I don't think they will.

That wasn't what I asked. I have STILL only asked them to tell me what they do with the expired magazines. That's it. I never indicated I wanted them, I just want to know where the old magazines go when they die.

OK, now I will admit that my reaction to this latest response could be considered a bit harsh (I didn't actually call them morons to their [email]face), and I probably wouldn't express such vitriol if this were the first response I'd had from them. But after all their dicking around, I hate them.

So, I sent them YET ANOTHER email, giving them a chance to get it right the... 5th time. I gave them the example of what Borders said, hoping this would give them an idea of what a correct response would look like.

More updates soon.

SUCCESS: An Answer!

Anyone from Barnes & Noble should listen up: Here's how Borders handled all this.

Last night (technically this morning, appr. 12.35AM [midnight-thirty]) I sent an email to Borders via their website's "Contact Customer Care" section. I said:

What do your stores do with the expired magazines when the new ones come in?

Today, at 10.19AM, they replied:

Thank you for contacting us about Borders.

When a magazine is taken off the shelves as expired, the covers are ripped off and mailed back to the publishers/distributors for a refund for the store, while the inside part of the magazine is sent off to recycling.

I hope this information was helpful. If you have any other questions or comments, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

Lois
Borders Customer Care

Holy crap that was so simple!! See, B&N? That's how it's done.

So, now we know that Borders is ensuring the old magazines get recycled. This is what I wanted to find out. Now let's see if B&N will EVER tell us what they're doing.

On a "Quite Interesting" Note

I don't know how many of you (you? nobody reads this yet, who am I talking to?) are familiar with the BBC programme QI [Quite Interesting], with Stephen Fry and Alan Davies. If you are not, I suggest you immediately go to YouTube and search for QI ... this link should (if I did that right) take you to Episode Adam (1) of Series A (also 1).

If you are familiar, I think you might be interested to know that I've politely asked the BBC to release the series on Region 1 DVDs.

I called Netflix to ask if they had any plans to acquire these DVDs and they said that they only exist as Region 2, but if Region 1 were to be released, they would indeed snap them up. The fella I talked to knew exactly what show I was talking about (I expected to have to describe it a bit, but no!) and intimated that he, too, would love to have these shows available on Region 1 DVD.

In my QI-related internet excursions, I did find evidence that many US networks, including BBCAmerica, have attempted to option these shows for airing in North America, but the albatross in the works is all the media within each episode. The images behind the guests, the snippets of dialogue or music; all must be licensed and paid for. This makes airing the show cost-prohibitive. That's pretty much the only reason you haven't seen it on BBCAmerica, PBS, or any other networks that have pursued it.

As for why it hasn't been released on Region 1 DVD, it seems to be the consensus that the BBC doesn't think there's a market for it. I can understand not hearing about the other networks interest, but I'm baffled as to how they could be unaware of BBCAmerica's intent.

If you want to join me in asking the BBC nicely to release Region 1 DVDs, here's the link I used. (Then choose Enquiry > TV > BBC1 > and the full programme title is QI: Quite Interesting, but QI will suffice).

Wild Goose Chase

B&N is NOT making any friends here.

As I mentioned in a previous post, B&N's customer service rep referred me to M2MediaGroup regarding their expired magazines.

Fine.

Seemed logical enough with what I had heard from places like Home Depot and their third-party magazine distributors. M2MediaGroup, however, is bloody clueless and tells me to contact B&N! I reply saying that B&N told me to talk to M2 and I get a terse reponse from someone called Tirza saying

We do not have expired magazines as we do not have a retail store. If you wish to contact a store regarding your inquiry you will need to so.

I'm not happy about this. I don't shop at Barnes & Noble frequently because their books are overpriced, but this is very close to guaranteeing I never go in another Barnes & Noble again. Why would they have such ridiculously inept customer service for such a SIMPLE QUESTION??

Also, if you don't have a retail store all rules of time and space are lifted and magazines never expire, apparently. ;)

Initial Contact

Some information: It seems even everyone, even Barnes & Noble, uses third parties to stock and handle the magazines they offer in store.

I asked a lady who worked at Home Depot what they do with their expired magazines and she said somebody comes in and deals with them (as in, it's not some employee of Home Depot). She said she thinks it involves something about ripping off the back cover and then disposing of the magazine, but she didn't know how or where.

B&N finally got back to me and said that M2MediaGroup handles their stuff and to contact them. So I shall.

I guess it's a little silly to not name the company I worked for but I'm naming every other company I'm talking about. I actually don't know why people "censor" company names in this context. So I won't.

I worked at Staples. I haven't worked there for ... must be about 4 or 5 years, now. Maybe more.

The Paper Problem

I used to work for a national office supply chain that does not have the word 'office' in it's name. All the time I was there we sold magazines (mostly business/computer titles) and when the new issues came in it was corporate policy that the old, unsold magazines all be thrown away.

Thrown Away.

Not recycled. Not donated to employees, doctor's offices, schools, or charitable organisations. Just thrown away (in a locked bin). This was a few years ago, but with the glacier-speed that corporations catch up with the times, I'm concerned this is still going on.

I'll tell you what prompted this:

I went to Barnes & Noble to buy a couple of specific magazines, since they're the only store nearby that sells a nice selection. They must have thousands. I highly doubt every magazine (or even a few) sell out every month, therefore disposal is an issue. I didn't see any industrial-size recycle bins outside (then again, I didn't look that hard) and I'm sure if they donated magazines I would have heard (lots of my family & friends work in hospitals, doctor's offices and schools; the likely targets).

OK, my point:

I intend to contact B&N, Borders, office supply stores, grocery stores with magazine racks and other places that I think of and find out what they do with the old magazines. I might try to get in touch with a couple of publishers as well. If they are still regularly putting these forests-worth of paper in the landfill, I intend to raise a stink.

It's all well and good for you and your neighbours to recycle, but if giant corporations don't play their part...

To reiterate: I don't KNOW what these companies do yet. I'm going to find out. And then post it here. I hope they all recycle. Or something.

INTRODUCTION

"We'll get there eventually" is a phrase I've learned to employ when the people around me are unnecessarily freaking out about

1. Being late

2. Being lost

3. Being alone

4. Being unemployed

5. Being unsuccessful

6. Et cetera.

It illustrates my attitude toward the small stressors in life.

... At least some of them...

There are PLENTY of things that make me go crazy and you'll likely hear about them here.