Here we go again. Geez Louise!!

What does it take? Once again, after a single day of proper delivery, the Chicago Tribune and Aurora Beacon News are 20' off the drive, in the snow.

Unbelievable, Part II -- Success!

Posting the photo as promised earlier today.

Will miracles never cease?

WooHoo!!! Success!

I'm running a little late for work, so the photo will have to follow, but my newspaper is directly in the middle of my drive this morning.

Thank you, Eric, from the Tribune.

And thank you, too, Ms. B.  Seriously.  Thank you.

Unbelievable

Yesterday, I finally got through to the Tribune's Special Services department. I was again assured that the problem would be taken care of. This is the result. I wonder if they're trying to get rid of me. It's like they're trying to make me angry. I'm calling again for redelivery and will talk again with Special Services, too. Finally, I'm calling the Beacon News. Being more local and smaller, maybe they'll actually do something about this.  (note: I posted a picture earlier which indicated that an object under the fence was one of my papers.  That was incorrect, as the object was a plastic antifreeze jug.  The papers are actually together in a single bag, but still very far from the driveway and in the snow.)

And you want a Christmas TIP, Ms. Paper Delivery Lady? You've GOT to be kidding!

It's been more than two months since my last posting.  No, the service hasn't improved.  They've just beaten me down.  Nothing works.  I just got tired of taking the same pictures of the same papers in the ditch every day.  It hasn't helped.  But NOW I'm mad.....!!!

Last week, I got a holiday greeting card in my newspaper with a small piece of paper containing the name and address of my paper delivery person.  Apparently, she thinks I'll want to tip her for her outstanding delivery service.  I discarded the card, but kept the address slip, trying to decide what exactly I should do with this newfound information.  Should I send a nastygram to the address?  Save all my wet, muddy, gravel-filled newspapers and deposit them in the middle of her lawn in a foot of wet snow?  Ignore it?  Post her name and address on my blog?

On Wednesday, we already had snow on the ground.  Both papers were in the ditch.  I didn't bother retrieving them.  Thursday, same thing.  All four snuggled together in the ditch near the culvert, like a group of homeless newspapers huddling together for warmth.  Friday morning, both papers were again in the ditch, but 25 feet from the driveway.  Enough is ENOUGH!  I called Tribune Customer Service yet again to cancel.  I was ASSURED that this would be taken care of and that on Sunday, I could be certain that the paper would be on my driveway.  

HAH!!!  This morning, my Tribune was 40' from the driveway, under a 1/2" of snow and slush from the road.  

I have a new idea.  Every day that the paper is not on my driveway, I'm going to call to request redelivery, starting today.  Maybe they'll get the idea.  

In the meantime...

To Ms. newspaper deliverer, whom I can trust to deposit my newspaper almost anyplace except my driveway,   Thanks.  A lot.

Sunday, September 26, 2010 - On Target

Nicely placed today. My usual theory is, the bigger the paper, the more likely to be on the drive.

September 24, 2010 - 15 feet off the drive

Not so good today. At least 15 feet from the driveway, but at least not in the ditch.

Thursday, September 23, 2010 - Almost, but not quite

Just off the drive and nearly in the culvert. Apparently, the previous day was an abberation.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010 - Bullseye!!!

Wow! Smack dab in the middle of the drive. No damage. Dry. Great job today.  Could today's performance be related to the fact that I notified the Tribune of this blog the day before?  I have my doubts, as I've received no reply from them.

Sunday, September 19, 2010 - Worst yet. Easily 30 feet from the drive and in the ditch.

Really. This is absurd. My paper has only been in the driveway once in the last few weeks. Every other day the Chicago Tribune and Aurora Beacon News have been in the ditch, or almost in the ditch. At least, in the lawn and not on the driveway. How hard can this be? And most days, the paper is kind of chewed-up from sliding across the pavement at 30 or 40 mph.

Friday, September 17, 2010 - 15 feet from drive

Thursday, September 17, 2010 - Guess Where. In the ditch.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010 - In the ditch again

Sunday, September 12, 2010 - In the ditch 15' from the driveway.

I've been out of town for much of the last two weeks.  The fun resumes.


Wow, there goes my theory about the paper being more likely to be on the driveway if the paper is larger, like a Sunday edition. This one is a good 15 feet from my drive in the swale. For those of you from the city, a swale is like a country storm sewer, so it can be wet and muddy quite frequently.

As you can see from the hay on the ground next to the driveway, the culvert beneath my driveway was replaced.

This paper must have slid along the pavement for a ways. The bag is badly damaged.

August 29, 2010

This was a good one. All that was missing was rain or snow. My daughter took this photo with her camera phone, as I was out of town on that day. Sorry you can't see the road or driveway, but the closeup is illustrative. Refer to earlier posts for the tall grass near the drive for perspective.

August 27, 2010

August 26, 2010

At least the Tribune is on the pavement today.  Too bad it's on the shoulder of the highway.

August 25, 2010

August 22, 2010

Friday, August 20, 2010

SCORE!! Both the Tribune and Beacon were on the drive today.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Both the Trib and Beacon packed in the same outer wrapper. Both about 4 feet off of the drive.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Strange. Both delivered by the same person. Trib is about 10 feet off the drive.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Although a tiny bit on the late side (7:45 am), these Sunday papers are ON MY DRIVEWAY!!! Woo hoo.....!!!!

I should note that on the whole, Sunday papers are more likely to be on the drive than the daily papers. My theory is that it's due to their larger size. When they're flat, they're harder to throw very far so the driver might have to slow down a bit. In addition, the flat paper will have more drag than a folded one once it hits the drive, so it probably doesn't slide as far. Supporting my theory is that the Beaon has slid all the way to the edge of the driveway, while the Tribune is right in the middle.

August 13, 2010

Not too bad today. Three feet from the apron of the driveway.

Dream

This morning, I dreamed that I was standing at the end of my drive when a tough looking 30ish fellow with a ponytail walks by and throws my paper on the drive.  Now I KNOW it's a dream.  He's walking, not driving, and the paper is on the driveway.  After thinking a moment about whether or not to say anything, I said "I thought you should know that I've started a blog...."  He interrupts me and says, "Yeah, I know.  And I thought you should know...  I know where you live."

August 10, 2010

5 feet east. On slope of swale.

August 6, 2010

Below is my first posting to this blog. I will endeavor to post photos of each delivery (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday), although these postings will probably occur in batches of once every week or two.  After all, most things in life are more important than telling The World where your newspaper was delivered.  

As a paperboy in the early 70s in suburban Chicago, I was expected not only to put the paper on the stoop, but also to put it on the side of the door which opened.  As I recall, the Suburban News was actually rubberbanded to the door handle!  Nowadays, an adult drives by in the wee hours of the morning and flings the paper out of the car window.  I never see it delivered, but would love to know just how fast they're driving because my paper is actually on the drive about 50% of the time, or maybe a bit more.  It's not uncommon, though, especially on rainy or snowy days, to find my paper in the swale along the road, soaking wet.  Just getting TO the newspaper can be a messy proposition on many days.

Countless phone calls to the Trib's call center have proven to be fruitless and frustrating to boot.  Please, can't I speak to anyone based here in Chicagoland, or at least the Western Hemisphere?  The same delivery person is responsible for my Aurora Beacon News, which I get on a daily basis.  I don't know why, but it's the Tribune's poor delivery that gets my blood boiling.  Today, I had no Chicago Tribune, but my Beacon was delivered, unbelievably, across the road on the shoulder near the cornfield.  A new record. 

I'll always try to include the driveway in the photo.  Occasionally, I may include a photo of the paper itself.

I was so amused by last Friday's delivery that I took the photo below.  It was just tonight that I decided to act upon my idea to create this blog, so I'm already missing Sunday and Monday.  I just found Monday's paper this morning (Tuesday), in the grass just outside the culvert beside my drive.

Anyway, here we go.  August 6th, 2010.  It had rained heavily the day before and rainwater remained in the swale.  You can see it just beyond the newspapers in the grass.

This delivery was so far from my drive, it's hard to see the papers lying in the grass.  About 20 feet.