Star Tribune

After calling the subscription department to inform them that despite me not having a subscription I am getting a paper left on top of my mailbox every morning. The representative told me he could not stop the service unless I knew what paper it was and gave him MY phone number. Since I don’t have a subscription I did not want to give my number. So at this point I will continue to throw the paper on the ground (as I’ve done for two months) and continue to watch the strib throw $ away.

I have subscribed to the Strib for over 20 years and grew up with it as well. I cancelled my subscription (home delivery) today because the service has become absolutely horrible. We got a new carrier a few months ago and everything changed. The new carrier never got our paper to us before 11 on the weekend and not before 8 during the week. He also chooses to drive down our street in reverse. Bizarre. I made numerous calls to customer service that resulted in no improvement. I was told a manager would call me and that never happened. I don’t understand how they can get complaint after complaint within 3 months from a 20+ year customer who has never complained before and not figure out how to fix it. They also make it nearly impossible to reach them via phone. I had to use the outstate number to get anyone to answer my calls. What a shame to have to give up something I used to enjoy every day.

Signed up for a year of service and planned to discontinue at that time because I just don’t read it enough. They continued sending me papers as a «courtesy» until I called to cancel the service (they don’t allow you to do this online). After that I began getting calls from the Star Tribune asking me to reconsider the cancellation. I told them no, and they have stopped calling, but since then I’ve gotten numerous telemarketing calls from numbers around the country, which makes me wonder if they sold my information when I was no longer a customer or sicced debt collectors on me for the $ 5 worth of newspapers they continued delivering after the subscription had ended.

What a terribly run company. I support the Trib because I want to stay informed and support a local company, but I think I have had it. I got a phone call from a telemarketer 2 weeks ago asking if I wanted to increase my subscription. I said no to her 3 times. Finally I just hung up on her because she kept thinking she was going to seal the deal if she just kept talking. Nope.
Then I look at my bills the other day and noticed that I was charged extra on my Star Tribune account and not only that but signed me up for a higher rate than what I was previously getting. That lady had signed me up for the same subscription I told her no to 3 freaking times!
What’s worse is that I called their customer service and then had to argue with a lady that 52 weeks was not half a year but a full year (are you kidding me???). How do they continue to exist with such crappy service. Hey management, get off your asses and fix this terrible company, ITS YOUR JOB!
So if you subscribe to Star Tribune, watch your bill like a hawk because this company practices distasteful business practices, aka STEALING AND LYING.

The Star Tribune has horrible customer service. I can not believe that this paper is still in business. They make offers to get into people’s wallet then they don’t follow through with deliveries.

I receive TONS of telemarketing calls from them offering me service — Today two calls asking me if I would like to receive the SUNDAY paper. I ALREADY DO!!!
I use Google Voice for my telephone number because they filter telemarketers and also give you the option to block numbers. Not working for Star Tribune since they always call from different numbers and also spoof their number to make it look like someone from the city I live in instead of a downtown MPLS number.
I called AGAIN today to be put on their DO NOT CALL list — Maybe this 3^rd call is the magical one???

Absolutely horrible customer service. My wife had delivery at our home in Edina for many years but then a new carrier took over in November and apparently is unable to find our house on a busy street just blocks from the high school. She eventually cancelled the subscription after numerous calls to customer service without any success.
About 5 weeks ago I signed up for the digital package with Sunday delivery. Again no delivery and every Sunday when I call customer service they promise someone will contact me but of course no one has. Looks like I’ll have to cancel my subscription as well. It makes me wonder how this bunch stays in business?

Horrible! Wanted to cancel my subscription since I got a notice saying they were going to send me to collections over $ 7.80 over due payment. Well I tried calling the phone number suggested 5 times! First time the line was busy, got hung up on twice without even speaking to anyone and twice a message stated that the lines were to busy and to call back later. How am I supposed to resolve the balance due when I can’t even talk to anyone?! What a joke.

What a shame that if you live in the west metro, you have no other publication options. We get the paper (sometimes, more on that in a sec) but the sales calls do not stop, sometimes twice a day! Twice! Yes, I am totally sitting at home thinking after that first sales call «Gee, maybe I should pay for extra days of service to also not get my paper on those days as well. If only they’ll call me again today…» Billing has been a problem with them for years. We’ve had years of semi-​service but made full payments. As such, I can’t really recommend this paper. Endless billing errors — over billing, not starting automated payments, saying they’ve been declined payment by the bank when the bank shows no payment submissions and on and on. Billing us for 7 days of paper delivery when we’d asked for five day service. Or getting billed for just the weekend when you’re actually getting the paper Mon-​Fri. Today, after my second weekend of no Sunday paper, I call and give them my phone number. Kimberly reads me the right address but gives me a completely different name– Katherine Bartowski. Seriously, not even close. The paper is in my husband’s name so we need a man’s first name and our last name doesn’t start with a B and it ‘s Spanish so Bartowski ain’t gonna do it. So yup, the bank declined payment. Kudos to a bank for catching something like that. In fact, I don’t even see that the bank declined it which of course, I wouldn’t because it wasn’t denied for lack of funds but lack of right person’s account. Really, Star Trib? Hmm, let’s see, the account is Sergio Garcia so let’s submit payment under Michelle Wie. They both play golf, I’m sure it will go through.

I signed up for a year at the State Fair– sundays only, got the free umbrella and $ 10 gift card, I paid cash and they said the do not give a receit, recieved the first sunday as expected. Until i got a bill from the Trip a for a year, apparently the poeple the work the fair do not work for the Star and Tribune. They stold my money and have the nerve to bill me for a year.

I love the newspaper, but the service is horrible!
I just called Star Tribune a few minutes ago due to not receiving my newspaper this morning and I am absolutely disgusted by their customer service department. I had recently resubscribed for another year after having issues in the past and I only received my paper for 2 Sundays before Star Tribune decided to stop my service on March 6^th. I asked the customer service person if I could have my paper redelivered today and she originally said «yes» and then she later retracted her statement and told me I would have to wait until next Sunday. When I asked the customer service person (I think her name is Annette) she said in a rude tone, «returned mail.» I asked her why the mail was returned and she could not give me an explanation. When I asked her if I could just cancel my subscription because I have had too many problems, she didn’t even try to help fix them she actually kind of chuckled and said «uh yep» in a super rude tone as if she was glad to get rid of another customer. Who knew that getting a paper once a week would be such a hassle.

Really hard to distinguish from other urban papers– they just repackage syndicated material, and the local coverage of «style» and the like focuses on the parochial interests of a few sad urbanite wannabes from the coffee houses and local former-​industrial loft redevelopment projects. So there is the forced hep-​ness and the predictable stale received wisdom that washes up from both coasts. But how is that different from any of a dozen other papers?
The feature columnists are pretty decent — James Lileks has broken out into national awareness from this paper.
I do luv luv luv the comments by one of the reviewers below about «third-​tier suburbanites» bitching in the letters to the editors. There is a special flavor of arrogance, tempered with a comical lack of self-​awareness, that one can only find among the Misunderstood Genius Youths of midwest urban areas. Is it the water? A lot of people like that comment in the on-​line version of this paper — it can get pretty amusing at times.

Bad home delivery service. Many days without any paper. Worst customer service. They say they credit for non delivery but don’t.

A horrible liberal biased rag. The reporting is obviously skewed by what they chose to print, and the adjatives /​adverbs they use.
No investagative reporting, basically prints press releases, mouthpiece for the DFL, and the über liberal Minneapolis govenment.

Quality of the paper is okay, but then I tend to read more of the AP stuff than the regular columns. If you are a new customer, you can get a good deal for 6 months of delivery service. After that, they start charging you MORE than what you would pay for the paper at the grocery store. Carrier service seems hit or miss. I had horrible service (as in, I had to look for my newspaper in the bushes sometimse) at my old place, but the new place had great paper carrier. I cancelled my subscription due to the horrible carrier at the old place and decided to give the Strib another try recently.
My major concern has to do with sales calls. I had an unlisted number. I got the occassional sales call (maybe 2 – 3 times per year), but about two months after subscribing to the Star Trib, I started getting tons of sales calls — as in 1 – 2 per night. I don’t know for sure that they sell customer info to other companies and it COULD be a coincidence, but it’s a heck of a coincidence.
I’m not going to renew my subscription with them.

Worst customer service ever. Carrier retaliated to complaints of bad delivery service by destroying woodland garden of Moccasin flowers (State Flower), Trillium and deck furniture. Star Tribune refused compensation shifting responsibility to 3^rd party delivery service, then cancelled subscription and now refuses to deliver paper.

Without going into the deliberate liberal slant of this publication, it is still a poorly run daily that must be on it’s last legs. Now, the Star Tribune is limiting readership of its’ article to 20/​month without paying a 99 cent /​week subscription fee. The fact that I am a registered user that was getting multiple emails/​day from their advertisers and have to deal with pop-​up ads when trying to view articles should be enough to allow online content free of charge. Comments posted to articles are also reviewed to push the far left liberal slant.

I grew up in NW Iowa and considered the separately published Star (Morning) and Tribune (Afternoon) to be my Big City newspapers. And with apologies to the Des Moines Register, which I cherish for other reasons. When I’m in town like I was recently, I still make it a point to pick up a copy or if I’m at the Minnesota State Fair, I stop by their booth.
Other Unilocal reviews for the Star Tribune pretty much portray a newspaper and its associated industry in decline. This publication is not alone, and so much so that the NY Times or WS Journal are really the only ones left that do significantly better than limited local stories and wire service feeds. And since Gayle used to be a reporter and a newspaper editor, I see all that from a unique and sad perspective, especially regarding the journalism profession.
However, for my seasonal need for local news and a general sense for what is going on in the Twin Cites, the Star Tribune fully meets my limited expectations.

Getting rid of Nick Coleman was a really poor choice. His columns were one of the last quality things left in the Star Tribune. The two columnists who replaced him are quite sadly bland.
Also, C.J. always makes me realize what a hilariously small city Minneapolis is, because her gossip is just pathetic. Oh my god, our weatherman was with a mistress? A news anchor wasn’t wearing a ring? Britney Spears got her nails done? I couldn’t live without this information.
On the upside, the comic section provides a low-​cost green alternative to wrapping paper. Gooood bye journalism! We will miss you (when we realize that Google news doesn’t just appear out of thin air.)

How can this paper take itself seriously with Katherine Kersten’s crazy conservative rants on promiscuity, anarchists, and homosexuality? I want to punch this woman, and whoever continues to keep her bigoted, close-​minded views in the paper.
People think the Midwest is backwards and small-​time enough. Do we really need the Minneapolis newspaper perpetuating this stereotype through Katherine? Arghghgh this woman is such a moron. Won’t spend the 25 cents or whatever it is to buy this paper.