Where's My Chicago Tribune Today?

This blog is simple -- photos of my morning Chicago Tribune (and Aurora Beacon News) as they were delivered. I live just beyond suburban Chicago and have the Chicago Tribune delivered to my driveway (at least that's the plan). It's a nice, wide driveway, so it's mystifying to me why it's so difficult to place my paper ON my driveway. I'll try to take pictures of every delivery, to be fair. I've thought of painting a target on my driveway, but my wife objects to that idea.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

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

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

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

Monday, September 13, 2010

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.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

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

Why I Started the WheresMyTrib Blog

I've tried everything to get the Chicago Tribune to deliver my paper to my driveway. When I delivered the Tribune, SunTimes, Daily News, Chicago Today, and Suburban News in the 70s, it was expected that the paper would be delivered on the top of the door stoop, preferably on the handle side of the door. Some customers demanded that it be rubber-banded to the door handle.

I now live in the exurbs, far west of Chicago, beyond Route 47. My expectations are modest. Get the paper on my very wide driveway. I don't care how far down the driveway or which side. Just ON the driveway. Not in the lawn. Not in the road. Especially not in the swale, which is a ditch along the road used to divert rainwater. Where is it most often? In the swale.

I've called the Tribune what seems like countless times to complain. I've threatened to cancel. I've actually canceled. I've resubscribed after realizing it was costing far more to buy it at the newsstand. Customer Service is like talking to a computer. Representatives located almost certainly somewhere in Southeast Asia are coached to respond with canned answers. They promise improvement by notifying the delivery service of my complaint, but clearly, this does little or no good at all.

This blog is my final attempt to improve my delivery. Maybe, just maybe, if I can show the world just how abysmally my paper is delivered, they'll actually fix the problem.

I receive the Tribune only four days per week -- Wednesday-Friday, plus Sunday. On each of those days, I will photograph the paper as it lies, hopefully in a way to illustrate where it is relative to my driveway. I intend to photo updates to this blog weekly.