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Globe Direct sucks
By adamg on Wed, 10/23/2013 - 7:13am
A month ago, I finally had enough with those stupid Globe Direct circulars winding up all over the place - occasionally on our porch, often just sitting on the sidewalk in front of our house, like one of those Pinckney Street poop bags. So I actually called the number on one of the bags to get them to stop delivering the things (which we never signed up for to begin with). The woman said it would take two to three weeks to process the order and stop delivery.
Yesterday marked the fourth week. I came home to find two of the damn things on our porch. Hey, Globe Direct, you suck.
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Hey, Globe Direct, you suck.
Hey, Globe Direct, you suck.
Amen.
This forced unsolicited trash is a plague of litter.
Is there an end?
Eight times I have called the Boston Globe, called Globe Direct and spoken to someone in
another country who assures me I will be taken off the list. I have called the Mayors Office
in Boston and told them about this trash being thrown on my property. There is no solution
to this problem. I see homes with more than five of these plastic/paper garbage for weeks
lying on their property. The funny thing is I to get the Boston Globe, which owns Globe Direct,
and so I do get the advertisements within the newspaper.
Try the Better Business Bureau
Globe Direct complaint form.
After two weeks, so far, so good: No Globe Direct on our steps.
I feel your pain
I called that number a while back and got an obviously off-shore boiler-room that was really no help at all. I kinda figured it would be tricky cancelling something I didn't subscribe to in the first place. Anyway, the stupid trash kept coming until one day when I was lucky enough to look out the window at the right moment and saw the guy who as delivering them. I ran out, told him I didn't want it any more. He laughed and said he'd prefer to throw his entire load directly in the trash since that's where everybody was tossing it immediately on receiving it. Anyway, problem solved - no more Globe Direct for us.
Hey John Henry, I Blame You!
I emailed the address on the environmentally unsound plastic wrapper on these things. Actually got a response. And yes, they kept coming.
I called the number on the environmentally unsound plastic wrapper on these things. Discerning a slight accent, I asked the woman where she was sitting. The Philippines. As in, islands. So not only is the Globe trashing my street in Central Square, they've outsourced the related work to the latest global sweatshop destination.
And they just won't stop coming.
That paper can't die soon enough.
Not John Henry's fault -- YET
Judge">http://boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2013/10/22/judge-order-tempor...'s order temporarily halts sale of Globe
Odd - that's the opposite result
Every time we've moved, the moment I receive a Globe Direct, I've emailed and asked them to remove our mailing address from their list. I've never received a reply, but also have never received another Globe Direct. Last time (2011) I emailed two different email addresses: [email protected], and [email protected].
agreed
At my old apt. I successfully got them to stop delivery. At my current house of 2 years, no luck. I too emailed again a month ago and was told I would be removed from mailings but have yet to see that happen. The worst part is it used to be in the mailbox but now as you said it comes in a baggy on the doorstep and my single family household gets TWO copies now.
Two copies?
You must have the same delivery guy I have! I called asking to stop delivery for months, now I get two. Every week like clockwork. Also a single family residence.
I had an idea the delivery guy is somehow offended that people want to get off the list, so he retaliates by delivering two. (?)
A couple weeks, they just tossed two separately, but now they come bundled together, in a band or in one plastic bag. Very deliberate, to a one family house. I'm now even more upset about it than I was before, knowing it's happening to someone else. I was on the verge of thinking someone (an ex, long story) was playing a prank on me, because I had bitched about this problem to a neighbor. Like, what employee would do that purposely, and who am I to think that the Globe guy had it in for me personally? But wow... Just wow.
Can we start a UH-wide
Can we start a UH-wide boycott of all the advertisers in that thing?
Only problem is ...
That would require opening the things up and actually reading them, and I refuse to do that.
Here's the boycott list:
Here's the boycott list:
Ace Hardware • Lowe's Home Improvement Pella Windows & Doors • NewPro Windows Renewal by Andersen • Green Energy Barrier Owens Corning • Bertucci's • Ruby Tuesday • Bradford Tavern • Sylvan Street Grill • Little Caesars • Pizza Days • Yummy Asia House • Captain Pizza • Chef Orient • Mandee's Pizza • Quan's Kitchen Celtic Tavern • Seasonal Specialty • Creative Playthings • New England Nurseries • Patio Place • WalMart • Sears • AC Moore • Kmart • RiteAid Christmas Tree Shops • Hunt Drug & Photo Rugged Bear • Penn Camera • Ski Haus & NOTB Snowboards • Cooper Jewelers
Ann & Hope • JC Penny • Herb Chambers • Jiffy Lube • Tom Lyons Tire • Durand Chevrolet • Pride Motor Group • Hanover Theatre • 1199 SEIU • AFT Massachusetts • Industrial Workers • Stop & Shop Supermarket • Market Basket Johnnie's Foodmaster • Shaw's Supermarket McKinnon's Market • Hannaford Supermarket Roche Bros Supermarket • Dental Dreams • Perla Dental • Gentle Dental • Lincoln - Sudbury Adult Ed. • Porter & Chester Catherine Hinds • Harvard University Northeast Metro Tech. • Nashoba Valley Tech North Shore Regional Voc.Tech • Work Out World • Superfitness • Precision Fitness
Harvard University?
What are they advertising? I've never seen a leaflet of theirs mixed in with the supermarket circulars.
(The ones I get with my Thursday paper must be much smaller than yours. Usually it's just Market Basket, Stop & Shop, Shaw's, Rite Aid, and maybe Home Depot or Lowe's.)
Market Basket
Hey now... don't bag the Basket. Globe Direct is about the only way you can get Market Basket's flyer other than going into a store and getting one. Remember, MB doesn't have a official company website, just fan sites that post flyers, so if the flyers aren't posted on these fan sites, you have to go to the store. (but i wanna do my list BEFORE I go..)
Ann & Hope? Really?
That takes me way back.
I don't think there's a store on that list that I shop at other than Hunt's. Does it count as a boycott if I wasn't going to spend money at a given store anyway?
I thought Ann & Hope went out
I thought Ann & Hope went out of business in the wave of discount store closures about 10-15 years ago.
I think someone bought the
I think someone bought the name in the last couple of years.
Globe Direct
I got them on the phone and gave them a good yelling at. I told them if they came on to my property again I would have them arrested for trespassing on a private way. They haven't been back since.
These things suck...
When I go on vacation I stop delivery of my newspaper (yes, I am one the few who still have home delivery). I don't need my newspapers piling up outside my door and telling prospective burglars to come on in. But there's apparently no way to do that with these things. It was bad enough when they were junk mail but this home delivery thing is a mess. Make it stop!
Globe Direct?
Does this have something to do with Boston Globe? Apparently I've been missing out. No love for us Revere residents.
Globe Directs have nothing to
Globe Directs have nothing to do with Boston Globe. We up here in Fitchburg get them every Thursday, Friday, and Saturdays... and apparently by default. It's confirmed by multiple Fitchburg mail carriers that Globe Directs are the hell of weekly mail deliveries, as they don't even want to deliver them, so it's not just the people that find them in their mailbox or tossed in the streets/porches.
What do you mean nothing? The
What do you mean nothing? The Globe logos are plastered all over its website: http://globedirectmail.com/
Fitchburg is in the service area of the T&G, a Globe property.
Ha.. the more you know about
Ha.. the more you know about stuff that automatically goes from your mailbox to trashcan without bothering to care about the importance of it. Was talking about the subscription connection of the Globe, but thanks for the clarification! ;)
Globe Direct is owned by the Boston Globe
I wouldn't say they have
I wouldn't say they have nothing to do with the Boston Globe. The ads are exactly the same ads as in the Thursday Boston Globe. Globe Direct is simply a system for delivering these ads to more people. Previously they came in the mail, but now they are dropped off by a carrier.
If you check their web site, they are "partnered" with all the papers in the region that are part of the Globe investment -- Worcester, Metro, Globe. The "about us" page is headed by "Boston Globe Media." In essence, Globe Direct is part of the Boston Globe.
You can have mine.
Come on down the road, we get 5-6 for a 4 unit building.
Drive by Morrissey Blvd
Save them up for a few weeks and toss them on the lawn in front of the Globe building.
A delivery question
Adam, do you get daily delivery of the Globe?
I do, and even with that probably every other week the red bag shows up on the property. It's weird because the ads are included in the Thursday paper, and yes, we do look at the grocery ads when planning meals. That means that every other week we get the ads twice.
A while back they sent them in the mail. This leads to the question- should we be happy they are creating their own delivery jobs or sad that they are taking business from the USPS?
We get the Sunday paper
We started getting Globe Direct when we cut back from daily delivery.
And yeah, the current problems started when they switched from the post office to some other delivery mechanism.
Don't blame the Post Office.
Don't blame the Post Office. When we had them at least they were in with the mail. Apparently they found cheaper labor at the cost of littering and the environment.
I bet stopping delivery is against their business model
I'd guess that they use circulation rates to pitch the sales price to potential advertisers. So when you call and ask to stop delivery their incentive is to ignore you as long as possible so they can continue to include you among the "Your ad will reach over 25,000 homes each week!" claim that gets Joe Schmoe's Pizza Parlor to pay them to deliver a coupon. Meanwhile, Joe Schmoe is paying his hard earned pizza cash to Globe Direct thinking that business is going to shoot through the roof.
On the other hand, if Joe Schmoe and his business owning buddies get wind of how irritating people find Globe Direct and start actually losing business because of it then they'll quit paying to be included. I'd bet that they do see an increase in sales when they advertise there because even if only 5,000 of the 25,000 homes (or whatever # it is) "reached" they'll benefit, while the remaining 20,000 are angry with Globe Direct instead of Joe Schmoe.
Disclaimer: I have absolutely no inside knowledge of this. I'm just guessing how their business works.
It's also really difficult to
It's also really difficult to stop manual, near-universal delivery. Considering the couriers probably have high turnover, a list of "do not delivers" is pretty easy to ignore when you are throwing to 99% of the houses on your route and it probably slows you down when you have to cross check a list. Therefore, throw to all of them and worry about the complaints later.
Asking to be taken off the list is pretty much a waste of time. Sorta like the phone book problem.
Complaining directly to the Boston Globe and to the advertisers is probably a better approach.
My fault
I actually like getting the supermarket circulars, and usual coupon packets. When they used to come by mail, they'd show up on Thursday or Friday. A few years ago, after decades of buying the Globe myself by getting out the house on Sunday and walking to CVS, I decided to subscribe to the Sunday Globe (primarily for the online access). I realized after a few weeks, that I didn't get the circulars anymore, not even with the Sunday paper. So, I actually called to request delivery. Now, things have swung in the other direction. Last week, I got three sleeves of the ads -- one of which is still in the rose bush (maybe I'll get it today).
Supermarket circulars come in the Thursday paper
and I actually find them useful. But the Globe shouldn't force them on people who don't want them.
I don't buy the Thursday
I don't buy the Thursday paper. I only subscribe to Sunday's. I received the circulars without having a subscription. When I began subscribing, they stopped. That's why I requested them. Oh, and I get circulars for supermarkets in the Sunday paper, too.
THANK YOU FOR SAYING THIS!!
Been thinking about this myself.
About three weeks ago we stopped getting the ones delivered by US Mail, and now they just leave'em on door steps.
Well.. in Chelsea we already have a big street trash issue. And most people just leave them on their door steps and never toss them. (The neighbors across the street have a huge pile of them in front of their house). So now they are EVERYWHERE in town. All wet and sticking to the sidewalk.
I understand they have a right to do direct marketing, but seriously, I'm about to call City Hall and complain. It's just too much.
of course I should add that.. unlike most of my neighbors who wouldn't read them.. I DO (it's where I get my Market Basket flyer), and low and behold... we no longer get these flyers. Every house on my street does, except us. *annoyed*
Ditto in Malden. Plenty of
Ditto in Malden. Plenty of street trash blowing around without adding these soggy red bundles to the mix. Not to mention the fact that they're kind of slippery if you step on them - almost broke my neck on one the other day.
We're still getting them
We're still getting them delivered by mail to our 4-unit building in JP - I hope that doesn't change anytime soon because they're easy enough to drop in the recycling bin. (The mail carrier just leaves the pile on the table by our building's mailboxes, doesn't usually bother stuffing them in the boxes.)
The benefits of suburban living
We still get the damn thing in our mailbox. Still gets tossed in the recycling bin post-haste.
Globe Direct annoys Davis Square folks too
Link">http://davis-square.livejournal.com/3282952.html]Link to last month's Davis Square LJ discussion of Globe Direct
People">http://davis-square.livejournal.com/3282952.html?thread=35683080#t356830... complained about this in 2008, too
Update: Just got e-mail from Globe Direct
In response to the link to this post that I tweeted. Says my carrier has been told to stop delivering the things to us effective immediately. So we'll see what happens next week.
Don't let them fool you
Here's my timeline...you're just a little behind me which means you'll be asking them to raise the alarm with Globe Direct management next...
Good luck, Adam.
Why this is offensive
When they made it a direct mailing, I said "well, I can't do anything about stopping that so I will just throw it away when it arrives".
But now that it's dropped on my porch (or in my trees...or wherever it's tossed...in whatever inclement weather...), this is now a problem. I don't want your crap on my steps, street, front walk, flower beds, etc. They shouldn't have the right to just toss stuff anywhere they please in my yard. If I started throwing crap in other people's yards, I'd be ticketed for littering and/or trespassing. Handbills and notices were accepted as some sort of free speech protection from the days when that was the only way to get notice out to people that a town meeting was happening. The latest distance learning course offering or super sale is not equivalent in today's era.
When people don't clean these things up, they become mini-compost heaps of disgustingness all over the cement. And why should they be forced to clean up someone else's dropped off crap?
So, if they think this is better than using the post office to force me to take their sales crap then they better damn well be more responsive to taking me off their list. Because this junk is unacceptable whereas the previous mode of delivery was at least protected because it was actual mail.
Contrarian here - I use it. I like it. It doesn't track me.
I use the GD circulars to plan my shopping. I typically save about 25-40% on our family grocery bills and a lot of that is down to strategic shopping facilitated by circulars. (btw, that's about $2-3000K/yr)
And none of the companies using it are tracking my habits - the way all the cross-site scripts on various web sites like this one do (or rather, would if I let them - yay for No Script and Little Snitch!)
GD bags are far less obnoxious than all the lawncare/window replacement/chimney cleaning fliers left on my porch/hung on my front door. Or the metric f*load of political fliers that have been steadily streaming into my letter slot for (what seems like) the last 3 years.
I am a 7 day/week Globe
I am a 7 day/week Globe subscriber so I don't get this stuff, I get it all on Thursdays so I can't complain but I do agree that it is a bother to others.
I know because every day I came home from work, Katherine Clark election crap was shoved in my mailbox, my front doors and hanging off my door knobs. I find her junk mail crap under my bushes when they got blown off the porch.. I don't want her crap, can we remove ourselves from political fliers as well?
I don't like finding any stuff crammed in my doorway when I get home at night, but she takes the cake - it was every freaking day! She'll never get my vote.
so much political trash
I forget who it was, but one of the candidates in the preliminary had door hangers with a hole cut out. The whole walk to our polling place was littered with not just the flyers, but all the punched out holes as well. I decided then and there not to vote for that person.
door-hangers
That's a pretty standard practice to remind people that tomorrow is election day. I've done it numerous times for various candidates around my part of Somerville. The punched-out hole littering is unforgivable, though.
Same here
I got so sick of the political ad snowdrifts, I put a recycle bin by the front door. it seems every time we open the door, there's another one.
We get the circulars (by request) and the Sunday paper (mostly for the coupons). But the first week I asked for circulars, we got one set/bag. Next week it was two. Third week was four sets and we got nervous about exponential increases but it has since settled back to one or two each week.
I almost helped you out
When I was door-knocking for the Elizabeth Warren campaign, if nobody was home to speak to, we were told to leave the "election this week!" reminder in the door. I got to a house that had the recycle bin near the door and had about a half-dozen or more different political door hangers in it.
I *almost* just put mine in it next to the others. Almost...but I still ended up putting it on the door instead.
Globe Direct: Report 'em!
Here's their BBB page. Only takes a minute to fill out a complaint:
http://www.bbb.org/central-western-massachusetts/business-reviews/advert...
In Montreal, I saw "no
In Montreal, I saw "no circulars" signs (in French) on a whole lot of building doors. Except one building which said "just 2 circulars please".
"No menus" signs are common in NYC.
In Newton...
In Newton we get it thursday bundled and rubber banded with our regular mail through the door mail slot. It would seem then that the USPS folks are doing it out here, or it is done in the main sort facility since if we have a letter or other mail addressed to us it is always together.
Interesting...(it still goes in the recycling, I don't shop at any store with a circular, although the ads are amusing sometimes!)
Globe Direct doesn't listen
I have been calling the number on the packaging on the globe direct for 7 weeks after I woke up to find these papers all over my yard. Every week I get the same answer. The person will make a note to stop delivery. I tell them that's what they said last week. Then they say they will elevate the issue. I say that's what they told me the week before. Every week I waste more of MY time trying to stop something I never asked for to begin with!!! So annoyed
Consumer Complaint Form
I urge anyone who sees this to file a complaint with consumer affairs. The complaint form is here:
http://www.cityofboston.gov/images_documents/Consumer%20Complaint%20Form...
Globe Direct
Personally I'd be more than happy to take all these "unwanted coupon circulars" off your hands. I live on a very tight budget and have to use coupons to save money on groceries . I do not mind getting these delivered but could do w/o all the unwanted advertising for home improvement etc. I am just interested in the coupons and the grocery circulars.
Half the time I do not even get one delivered to my apt anymore. People are complaining b/c they are getting these .................. Personally I'd love to actually receive one!
Globe Direct
I have sent e-mail after e-mail to these moon bats. I thought Liberals were greenies. How many trees are getting cut to make this garbage. I have told them that if they don't stop I will bundle them up and drop them off on the desk at reception.
Same Ole Story
I noticed the comments from 2013 and I've been battling them for the same amount of time. Complained on the phone umpteen times for 2 years now and because of the Juno blizzard I didn't shovel my front walkway... now it comes to my side door....still after being on THEIR list. What have we come to....Its literally littering on my property...I didn't request it....Are there any lawyers out there????
Globe Direct litter
Has anyone researched a class action suit on these unwanted but unstoppable ads? This is litter and trash being strewn on private property weekly and the Globe is totally unresponsive to requests to cease. I've tried numerous phone calls plus email... nada. Moreover if you're traveling, the red plastic debris piling up in your driveway is a glowing neon sign letting burglars know exactly how long the house has been empty.
The only reason the Globe is doing this is that it clearly pays. They've discovered a revenue stream by getting merchants to buy into it and paying someone a paper route salary to drive around tossing them. Seems to me we have an equal right to put an end to this process, which is certainly not a choice now.
no luck stopping Globe Direct
I've been writing to Globe Direct and Boston Globe Customer service for 4 months asking them to stop delivering. We have been traveling this summer and the Globe Direct litter on our lawn advertises that our house is empty. I can cancel actual things that I subscribe to, but apparently there is no way to stop this trash on the lawn. Will follow link Adam provides to BBB, but my time is valuable to me and the amount of time I've spent trying to keep this litter off our lawn is ridiculous.
Globe Ads
We never get these ads on Grew Hill Road in Roslindale. Whats up?
Non Delivery
Lately, we have not gotten the "Globe Direct" advertising circulars. Usually on a Wednesday. But, they have not been delivered at all to anyone in the neighborhood. VERY POOR MANAGEMENT. VERY POOR DELIVERY PERSONNEL.
globe Direct
I second that evaluation Globe Direct, YOU SUCK!!! Same thing, no one picks up the phone, e-mail difficult to get, telephone response to angy e-mail promising to remove from mailing list, STILL GETTING THEIR TRASH!!! where's the attorney general?