This week my wife and I looked at the online options for the weekly tv listings, something the Washington Post suggested we do since they wanted to stop including the TV Week magazine with the Sunday edition. The online option is fairly useful. And since we only watch a handful of shows regularly, it’s not a huge hassle. This morning I looked for the online versions of the WaPo’s comics. Not a bad selection, I wish they would deliver to my inbox, but ok.
So I called the Washington Post (since you can’t cancel your subscription online). Only a couple of minute on hold. I told the representative I would like to cancel, she of course asked why. When I mentioned the TV Week change forced me to look at my online options, she quickly said she would add that to my subscription so I’d keep getting the magazine each week. She seemed honestly surprised when I said I’d prefer to read the online version.
Then she offered to let me keep paying my promotional rate of 49 cents per week. I said, no thanks. Then I asked for a refund of my outstanding issues, she said she would do that, and that’s it. I’ll be getting tomorrow’s paper, then no more.
I hope the editors and publishers at the Post aren’t surprised. It was after all their own suggestion that I look online for the TV listings.