Bloody IPC media

[kev_off_the_tee]

I can't believe it, you sign up for the magazine subscription only to get a letter through the post saying you aren't gonna get your magazine until June (2 1/2 months) but you'll start paying in April - I DONT THINK SO

I know it takes less than 3 working days for a bank to process a standing order request but forgetting that, they want me to pay for 2 months before I recieve anything.

They'll be getting the sharp end of it tomorrow and if things aren't sorted I'll tell them where to shove it.

 

[robbest3offthetee]

Kev, I didnt have any problem with my subscription,when i rang them they asked which issue i would like posted out and that was that,recieved the doz balls a couple of weeks after....

 

[Happy_Gilmore]

You sure that's not the June issue which will be next month, May's issue dropped through my letterbox the other day....

 

[PhilTheFragger]

Im sure that they are referring to the June issue which is actually due out in 4 weeks time

It is a constant area of misunderstanding why they call the magazine which we get on 20 March, The May issue

April I can understand, But May???

Then again im not a journo so I obviously dont understand these things.

Hey Ho, for a simple life

Fragger

 

[MikeH]

Hi Kev I'd be 99% sure that as the guys have said above the subs department mean the June cover dated issue (the one we are halfway through working on at GM towers) which will be due for publication on April 21st although as a subscriber youll get a few days before. Please do call and clarify and let me know if it's anything I need to look into for you

 

[bignev]

I sent off my subscription earlier this month what sort of time scale am I looking at for delivery? Anybody got an idea?

 

[kev_off_the_tee]

June copy in May, that is confusing. I dont have the letter to hand but I'm guessing that must be the case.

I'll still ring in tomorrow but will be nice. I still find it wierd how I wont be getting the April (May ) edition since I'm paying on April 2nd

 

[FourPutt]

The "May" one is already out. It's the "June" one that is out at the back end of April.

I just started my subscription again and received my first magazine the other day, having paid at the start of March. So I would think you will receive yours at around 19-20th April.

 

[FourPutt]

I think the issue with the dates being squiffy is because the mags are out every 4 weeks, so they get out of sync. That's why with most mags you get an issue marked "Summer" between Jun-Jul and/or marked "Christmas" between Dec-Jan, so they can catch up with themselves!

 

[MikeH]

Hi all ref coverdates I have posted a few times on this in the past but in a nutshell...

The practice of putting a forward date on the cover of a magazine (ie May wen the issue is on sale in April or even the last week or March) is one that is standard right across the industry - from fashion magazines to angling magazines and everything in between.

I believe it was originally introduced by publishers so magazines did not seem out of date but whatever the original reason it has stuck it has certainly been this way since I started as a journalist over a 20 years ago.

This has been further skewed by the fact that as of 2010 we now publish 13 times a year which means there is a new mag every 4 weeks and in soem issues we are on sale two months before the coverdate - like now May being on sale from March 24

We do however need to keep a 'month' on the cover for the newstrade accounting with the exception of our 13th issue which last year was titled 'ryder cup' and this year will be 'centenray'

To bypass any confusion I always advise readers who query the format not to go by which month is written on the cover but instead by which Tour player is on the cover, so the issue out at the moment is the 'Tiger' issue. The month before was the 'Kaymer' issue and the June coverdated magazine that if you are a subscriber will land on your door step on or around April 16 (and goes on sale at newsagents on April 21) will be the McDowell issue

Clear as mud? Thought so!

Kev - drop me a mail michael_harris@ipcmedia.com with yoiur home address and I will happily send you a copy of May in lieu of our subs department making you angry!

BigNev - subsscription can take up to 6 weeks to kick in but you should be told when you take one out which issue will be your first as a subscriber

any other queries please fire away

 

[chrisd]

Mike, I was thinking of subscribing from the December edition - any chance of the copies till then, to see if I like the mag (love this months Tiger edition by the way!)


Chris

 

[Aztecs27]

Kev - drop me a mail michael_harris@ipcmedia.com with yoiur home address and I will happily send you a copy of May in lieu of our subs department making you angry!

BigNev - subsscription can take up to 6 weeks to kick in but you should be told when you take one out which issue will be your first as a subscriber

any other queries please fire away

I'm not being funny, and I know this has been mentioned a billion times before, but which other National Publication has an Editor-at-Large who goes to the length Mike does for the Golf Monthly readers and forumers?

It's probably no great shakes for Mikto send out a copy of a magazine to a disgruntled reader, but if there's another magazine that offers the same service, I've yet to find it.

GM Team for Prime Minister!

 

[viscount17]

I believe it was originally introduced by publishers so magazines did not seem out of date but whatever the original reason it has stuck it has certainly been this way since I started as a journalist over a 20 years ago.

actually it was Gutenburg that started it - his 1455 bible was started in around 1452. printing was always labour intensive, what with hand setting the type, running the proofs, hand engraving plates etc. then deliveries were by slowmail so dated publications were always dated forward.

we still do it in my job, sometimes by two years or more, as it takes a long time to write and compile technical manuals.

 

[daveyc2k2]

Got to agree with Aztecs here. The GM team really do seem like they do everything they can to keep us happy. If we have a moan on here, no doubt Mike or someone else will come along to explain and advise what we should do. The service they provide is fantastic.

Thanks GM team and keep up the good work.

(even if I'm still waiting for my free balls)

 

[john0]

GM Team for Prime Minister!

Your still not getting that free Mizuno coston-fit!

 

[Aztecs27]

Dammit!

 

[DCB]

Got to agree with Aztecs here.

I've been a subscriber for more thime than I care to admit and have never had any serious problems. House moves and bank detail changes have all been taken in their stride by IPC Media unlike some of the other companies I have dealings with.

So, I'm a happy bunny with their service

 

[MashieNiblick]

Got to agree with Aztecs here. The GM team really do seem like they do everything they can to keep us happy. If we have a moan on here, no doubt Mike or someone else will come along to explain and advise what we should do. The service they provide is fantastic.

Thanks GM team and keep up the good work.

+1

As a relative newbie I have been really impressed by the way Mike and the team obviously care about the forum. Responses where required are often posted within minutes and we always get proper answers and explanations not the usuual "we know best" fob off that the editors and programme makers at the Beeb for example always seem to give when people raise issues with them.

Not only that but things like the comp based on the GM away day, the gear testing opportunities, and the regular section in the mag really make us forummers feel like members of the team. Just look at how Mike responded to the request for the 2-4-1 vouchers.

(Yeah, Ok I'm after a place on the mega Mizuno fitting with Luke in Florida in December too where we will be able to try on his green jacket/drink from the claret jug. It is still on isn't it Mike?)

 

[chris661]

They'll be getting the sharp end of it tomorrow and if things aren't sorted I'll tell them where to shove it.

Well I, for one, want to know did you eat humble pie or tell them to shove it?

 

[kev_off_the_tee]

Didn't eat humble pie thats for sure.

They did inform me that I would recieve the June issue in May, to which I asked why I should pay in April. They said it was down to the standing order dates being after the published dates.

I asked that the confirmation letters in the future confirm the date subscriber would recieve their first copy by which would save the confusion over the 'month in delay' issues and they said it would be something they'd look into.

suffice to say I'm still a subscriber