Return to Sender | Lost & Found

In 1974, a Mrs. Edward Steeb of Cleveland, Ohio, a longtime Yankee reader, began having problems with her subscription. Namely, she wasn’t getting her issues of the magazine or her copy of Mysterious New England, a gift promised with her renewal. So, she wrote. And fortunately for her (and for us) the always funny, sometimes acerbic, Austin Stevens, the magazine’s managing editor, replied.

We don’t know if Mrs. Steeb’s book ever showed up. But we do know that she cherished Austin’s response because following her death earlier this year, a family member discovered the letter in her belongings. And then they sent it back to us. We are so glad they did. Read on and you’ll know why.

August 8, 1974

Dear Mrs. Steeb:

I wouldn’t blame you for reporting us to the Better Business Bureau, or to a Senate Investigation Committee. I had your trouble with Newsweek once but not being as loyal a reader as you are, I never followed through—so much for Newsweek, I said, and subscribed to Time.

Let me explain. About a year ago we “streamlined” (note quotes) our subscription fulfillment program. We turned over our work to a fancy computer and said that’s that. It was three months afterwards that people started to complain and six months later we realized we had made a terrible mistake.

In the magazine world everything is that advanced or retarded. Presently we’re working on the editorial of the October and November issues and our advertising campaign is all geared up for Christmas. Conversely, our subscriber complaints are at least three months to half a year behind the problem that caused them.

Which means, of course, that once the complaint comes in you have to solve a giant problem—that takes two or three months—and then you have to answer the complaints—and that takes another 30 days.

It’s a nightmare for us—and letters like yours break our hearts.

By this time, you probably have decided that this is just another form letter, cleverly written to suggest a personal interest. No way, I’m writing to Mrs. Edward Steeb, who has sent in $16.50 and doesn’t have a book or a two-year renewal to Yankee to show for it…and who like thousands of others has been thoroughly frustrated and disgusted by our blundering.

We think we’ve fixed the problem—but it will take another six months before we’re sure of even that.

In the meantime, I’ll look into your problem personally. I know for starters that Mysterious New England is out of print—see card. If you are still interested in the book, we can get it for you by mid-October.

I will hand carry your complaint to our new set-up. I will make them read your letter and I hope they will be so embarrassed that the emotion will galvanize the whole group.

If in a month’s time you do not get the answer, let me know, and you and I will go see the Mafia and get a contract out on the whole company. Deal?

You know, in closing I’d like to say that the thing that bothers me the most is that (according to you) we’re so fouled up we never even cashed your check.

If we’re not cashing our checks, then we really are in trouble.

Sincerely,

Austin Stevens

Managing Editor