Tuesday 2 September 2008

The Australian Financial Review Part 7


This is Part 7.

Click here for previous parts:

6... 5A... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...

Previously, on Double The Fist...

OK. Not that exciting, but I'll keep you up to date anyway.

Sonny from The Age rang me yesterday to see where I was at with this one. After I informed him that I hadn't, in fact, received my copy of the Fin on Saturday, this is what he said:

"I think that it would be best if I filed an official complaint for you."


I nearly shat.

"Sonny," I pointed out, "I've already done that. Twice."

"OK. But if I do it, I'll be able to get the right people to speak to you."


I asked the question.

"Sonny, are you aware that I've already referred this to Consumer Affairs?"


A pause.

"No."

"You have received a forwarded copy of the email thread containing my initial complaints?"

"I might... um that is to say... there is..."


"Look. All I want is my Financial Review delivered on Saturday. Can you fix it?"


Sonny assured me that he would. Not before also assuring me that other people would be calling me. Yawn.

The time for talking is through. I want my newspaper.

5 comments:

Indefensible said...

Dikki, I think it's time for you to face the fact that Fairfax is a hapless shitstorm of a company and that you should cancel your subscription to any and all of their newspapers because until Fairfax folds there will be no room for quality journalism in this country.

The Age is a shameful farce masquerading as proto-maché, and the Fin is a black hole that has devoured anything else good that was in Fairfax.

If you want to give money to people who hate you in return for some newsprint, then that's why they have the Big Issue.

Dikkii said...

Well, Indefensible, I suppose that I could cancel my subscription and replace it with one to The Oz instead. Sadly, though, The Oz wouldn't make any sense to me, since I'm not a Nazi.

Indefensible said...

That's a touch undergraduate, don't you think?

In any case, the Age is mostly filled with wire stories one could get elsewhere, and comment pieces largely by people I know personally and can hear for free at the pub or overhear in any café in Elwood.

I can see a place for the Fin (much as I dislike it), but the Age has been a kid in big-boy's pants for over a decade.

And given their shameful customer service, it's hard to see why you support them at all.

The Hulk said...

This is a complete farce. I agree with indefensible whomever he may be. The Age is a piece of shit not to mention far too big as well. Sam Newman has a point. Either way Dikkii you have to see this through. Have Consumer affairs gotten back to you?

Dikkii said...

Oh look. I agree that Fairfax is a basketcase, so Indefensible, your point is well made.

Unfortunately, until News comes up with more credible competition to the Fin than the Oz, I’m stuck with the Fin.

Is it a touch undergraduate to be pointing out that the Oz is only marginally less right wing than Fox News? Maybe. But true, nonetheless. Let’s be honest here: Phillip Adams is only kept on at the Oz out of sheer tokenism. He’s the Alan Colmes of the newspaper.

In any case, the Age is mostly filled with wire stories one could get elsewhere, and comment pieces largely by people I know personally and can hear for free at the pub or overhear in any café in Elwood.

Agree, but when you can read your average copy of the Herald-Sun in under ten minutes and still be none the wiser about anything other than Schapelle Corby’s second cousin’s boyfriend’s florist, Britney Spears’ latest meltdown and the cutting-edge satirical take on conservatives that Andrew Bolt dishes up week in and week out; you take what you can get.

And no, Hulk. Consumer Affairs suggest on their website that two weeks is optimistic for turning around a complaint to them. So I’ll have to wait a little bit longer.

Not sure that siding with Sam Newman on anything is necessarily a good career move though, Hulk.