With this math, it's no wonder the newspapers are shutting down...

I was recently really bummed to discover that the double edition of the Sunday paper I buy every Saturday night (so that I can get 2 of each of the coupon inserts)has gone up in price from $3 to $5. A monthly budget difference of $8. So, I figured I'd give the subscription department of the Dallas Morning News a call to see if they could offer me home delivery of 2 Sunday papers for an amount somewhere between $12 and $20.

I checked online first, but they only offered a single Sunday edition for delivery at $2.91 a week. So, I called the Customer Service number to negotiate with a live person. Here is a brief run down of the craziness that followed....

HotMommy: Hi, I wanted to speak to someone about subscribing to the Sunday paper?

DMN Person: Yes?

HotMommy: Well, I currently buy the double edition at the grocery store and I was wondering what the closest price to $3 a week you can give me for delivery of 2 papers?

DMN Person: I can offer you 2 Sunday papers delivered for $28 a month.

HotMommy: (pausing to mentally process this.....$7 a week...)You want me to pay 9 cents more per paper than I'd pay for the single edition if I subscribed to it twice and $2 a week more than I pay for the double edition at the grocery store?

DMN Person: Well, you're paying for the convenience of delivery and it's more difficult to deliver 2 papers than to deliver just one.

HotMommy: (again pausing to mentally process) So, you're not willing to negotiate at ALL to gain another subscriber to the paper? It really isn't more convenient for ME to have to wait until Sunday morning to get the 2 editions I buy easily on Saturday night.

DMN Person: Ma'am, $28 per month is the best price I can offer you.

HotMommy: Well, I'm going to stick to buying it at the grocery store then. Thanks for the info!


So, no wonder no one wants to subscribe anymore. What a horrible sales strategy! I'm bummed that I still have to pay $8 more a month than I use to, but there is no amount of "convenience" that would make me want to pay $16 more than I used to!!!!!