A few weeks ago I realized that my subscription to The Economist was on the verge of running out, so I renewed, using the form they sent me in the mail.
It cost 132€, a fact I remembered and discussed with Jerry in (an abridged) chat on August 17th:
Adam: I dropped 132€ on another year of The Economist
Jerry: wow- that is a lot of money. but i guess a subscription is the best way to ensure you get each issue, etc
Adam: it is, and not only that, its a whole lot less expensive than buying it every week
Jerry: 🙂
Adam: it’s addictive
Adam: doesn’t David get it?
Jerry: yeah he does ! So he pays whatever the CDN$ cost is
Adam: Guess how much it costs
Jerry: $150 ?
Adam: 22 issues cost C$67.50 plus GST/AST/HST
Adam: there are, I think 50 issues a year
Jerry: wow that’s a serious chunk of change
Jerry: there are a few mass-market magazines that have Canada-only editions (Time, Reader’s Digest)
Adam: hey!
Adam: I was overcharged
Adam: I should call and complain
Adam: one year on the web is 92€ for Germany
Adam: WTF!
And so it was: I called the next day to complain about the 40€ discrepancy, something the guy said was normal for subscribers of The Economist, but that since my renewal had yet to post, he couldn’t do anything about it and to call back in three weeks.
I finally remembered to do so today, and, I am happy to report that the gentleman I spoke with today was much nicer than the person I spoke to back in August. Back in August I was given the distinct impression that I would have to cancel my subscription, get a refund and then subscribe again. Today I was told 40€ would be refunded to my card within 21 days.
Now I just need to remember to check.
And I’ve learned to double check new subscriber prices against renewal offers that come in the mail.
thank you for the pictures, you know…
I was looking at the cup of coffee in the pix this morning — I’m sure that’s some kind of milk foam on top, but it kinda’ looks like mold. Ewh.
Anki- You’re welcome.
MT: It’s not milk. Actually its how coffee looks when brewed through an espresso machine — although usually there are only two circles at first. Perhaps the foamy part of the brewing process had already decayed by the time it was brought to me, as usally it is still quite evident.
Oh my, a good customer service experience in Germany? I’m about to faint!
Say, do you have any interest in coming to the Meet-Up in Bonn on 18 & 19 Nov?
j: You can save your fainting spell. The Economist is serviced out of Britian. 🙂 As for the expat blog meetup, I will have to see. November is a bit difficult to forcast at this moment.