New vendor stalls deliveries for Santa Barbara News-Press subscribers
SANTA BARBARA, Calif - We've had an uptick in calls to the NewsChannel 3-12 newsroom from subscribers to the Santa Barbara News-Press complaining that they have not had their newspapers delivered. For some it's been been several days.
We tried contacting the local publisher's downtown headquarters to find out why.
After multiple failed attempts to reach someone by phone, we called the Circulation department and were connected to the following public message:
"Thank you for calling the Santa Barbara News-Press subscriber services. At this time we are experiencing a high volume of calls due to switching over to a new vendor. There are new carriers on all routes who are working diligently on delivering your newspaper. We deeply apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience throughout this time."
Recorded Message from Santa Barbara News-Press
Karen Feuer, a Santa Barbara resident and News-Press subscriber, shared her frustration with NewsChannel 3-12.
"It has been four days since we got a paper. I tried to contact them, got a busy signal and - ringing, ringing, ringing, ringing. So, I have not spoken to anybody," said Feuer.
Our NewsChannel 3-12 crew found Feuer standing outside the paper's headquarters on Anacapa Street.
"Wonder what's going on. That's why I was coming in to see if I could talk to someone. There's not even a handle on the door."
Feuer described the weight of the morning paper that she and her husband have enjoyed for years as a "feather."
"It's so light you can't even throw it in the driveway. It's more of a ritual that my husband and I have. We drink coffee and thought many times about stopping it but loved to see people we know in the sports page, the kids. But now they're not even covering that very much. It's a bummer," she said.
One viewer shared via email that when he did finally reach someone at the News-Press, he was told about "1,000 others" are missing their morning paper we well.
We put several calls in to the Santa Barbara News-Press management but have not heard back.
