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Councilors to vent ire at Globe Direct trash at hearing next week; public invited to join in
By adamg on Thu, 07/10/2014 - 11:44am
A City Council committee next week attempts to bring Globe Direct to task for its unceasing efforts to plaster Boston's porches, sidewalks and shrubs with its advertising circulars.
The hearing, by the council's Committee on City, Neighborhood Services and Veterans Affairs, starts at 4 p.m. on Thursday in the council's fifth-floor chambers in City Hall.
City Councilor Tim McCarthy (Hyde Park, Roslindale, Mattapan) called for the hearing. In a statement, he says:
These unsolicited, plastic bag wrapped circulars, are everywhere; lawns, pathways, gutters, porches, hedges and steps. They are thrown from vehicles and land in places where they are difficult to retrieve. They are delivered to senior citizens who cannot retrieve them from bushes and sidewalks, abandoned properties where they pile up for weeks, and to vacationing families where they clearly send a message that no one is at home.
The committee is chaired by Councilor Sal LaMattina (East Boston, Charlestown, North End), who has expressed similar disgust with the way the circulars end up everywhere and keep coming no matter how many times residents ask that they stop.
Both Paul Pelland, president of the Globe subsidiary, and Tom Carney, an executive with PCF, which distributes the ads, have been invited to explain themselves.
Residents are invited to attend and give testimony.
Ed. note: Far be it from me to suggest people collect all their unwanted Globe Directs and attempt to give them to the Globies.
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Comments
The city should require a
The city should require a permit to deliver unsolicited mailings and charge $100,000,000,000,000 to apply for one.
That's excessive.
$99,000,000,000,000 is reasonable.
Nobody had a of problem when
Nobody had a of problem when the mailman delivered them.
I'm sure some people had a
I'm sure some people had a problem, but if they were delivered the mailman, then presumably:
a) They went into a mailbox, not into bushes, on the sidewalk, etc.
b) They would be held if you went on vacation and asked the PO to hold your mail, and
c) They would not get delivered to abandoned buildings.
So, yeah, if they were delivered by USPS then they probably wouldn't be significantly more annoying than the other circulars you get every week.
Problem
I have a problem when they are delivered by mail. The ads are not stapled together or put in any sort of envelope, so when it all goes through the mail slot in the door there is a big mess of ad flyers mixed with actual real mail all over the floor. I hate Globe Direct. I have emailed and called to stop delivery. I haven't had any in my mail for about a month, so maybe they got the message.
mine arrives by mail too
I have a mailbox, so I don't quite have the issue of them separating inside the front door, but they do tend to separate and fall apart when extracting them from the mailbox. Also, important mail tends to get lost inside them sometimes, so I have to pull them apart to make sure nothing important gets lost. The loose format also makes them somewhat difficult to stuff neatly in the recycle bin.
Globe Direct can suck it.
Also, when they were
Also, when they were delivered by mail, there was one per mailbox. Delivered by pitching machine/t-shirt cannon/whatever they use now, my three-unit building has been known to get five or six.
They were still a pain back
They were still a pain back then, they would be exploded all over your foyer floor and sometimes other mail would get caught inside. At least they were easy to recycle with the other junk mail. Now you have to go outside and fetch the bag, pull it out of the bag, then recycle the paper and bag separately. A couple weeks ago I had one thrown onto my freshly painted porch, despite a very prominent "wet paint" sign and barrier I had set up.
Everyone had a problem! I
Everyone had a problem! I used to ask my mailman to keep them and he said he wasn't allowed to!
They are still delivered by
They are still delivered by the USPS. And if you don't think the USPS doesn't toss them on the ground to get blown away then you haven't been paying attention.
And if you don't think the
Pretty sure that would be a federal crime.
damages
I'd like to be reimbursed at least 15.00 by the globe for the trash can I just bought to put in the foyer so that whichever tenant is home first can dump the goddamned things so they don't get blown completely around the neighborhood.
What timing
I was hoping for a way to gripe about Globe Direct.
My beef with them is different than other people. I don't mind that they deliver the supermarket ads to people who don't get the Globe delivered already. I do think that they should be neat about it.
Here's my gripe. This morning, there was both the Thursday Globe in its bag and the Globe Direct in its bag, meaning we received 2 sets of ads. Sorry, but I don't read in stereo.
That's right, someone who looks forward to the supermarket ads (okay, Mrs. Waquiot does) has a gripe about Globe Direct.
I'm got my growing pile on my porch. They might be sent to Dorchester in the next few weeks.
It is a blight to the
It is a blight to the neighborhood, Globe direct are desperate for revenue, and this is one way of increasing revenue, company's pay globe direct to promote and advertise business on a piece of paper, furniture shops, burger king, dominos pizza etc.Companies that advertise with globe direct are seeing growth in business so they tell globe direct its working and continue the ads , globe direct is making a killing just on ads alone probably more than online boston.com subscriptions, so they have to target consumers by throwing red plastic bags containing adverisements on paper, no one is buying the Boston sunday globe anymore, the sunday paper is filled with 25% of advertisements on paper, thats the boston globes bread and butter, so since sales are down , they do it the old fashion way throw it in front of peoples door steps and lawns.
except one thing
The ads in Globe Direct are in the Thursday Globe.
I think it would be tough to totally stop them, but it's like any business. Do a crappy job and alienate people and the muckity mucks in government will try to make things hard for you. Were they to go back to their old distribution model, the griping by those who get the ads and don't want them would be tougher to justify.
The hearing is a good opportunity
The hearing is a rare chance to show the extent of the Globe Direct problem, because up to now nobody would listen, including Globe, inspectional services (trash/litter control), neighborhood, and mayor's office. Globe Direct is playing nice now since they know they are on the block next week (amazing, after 10 months of requests they figured out how to stop delivery to my curbs sidewalk and driveway), but wait until the scrutiny is off and my bet is that they will be back to their old ways.
Mattress ads w/ useful info about how to get the right mattress!
Globe Direct and Savings Central advertising are useful but lack in quality content and lack in coupons. There are deceptive ads for mattresses. If the quality of the content were better would it improve the reputation and reception of the materials?... mattress ads that actually have useful information about how to get the right mattress! More coupons! Better coupons!
No
Even I'll say it. Improving the quality of mattress ads in the Globe Direct would not make it any less trash when it is thrown either on my property or lazily on my sidewalk.
Ad tactics that bug Americans the most
Ad tactics that bug Americans the most
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/04/advertising-tactics-that...
Ad tactics that bug Bostonians the most
Read all UHub posts involving Globe Direct.
Wish I had been there
I have been calling and asking to stop delivery of these papers for months. I wish I had seen that this hearing was going to happen before now, I would DEFINITELY have been there.
I travel for business, and these show up on my lawn (steps, bushes, whatever) while I'm gone. Meanwhile, I have a restraining order against an ex, trouble with him getting into the house several times over, and guess what? He has an accomplice: The Boston Globe Direct! He can tell when I'm not home, because I can't always get them picked up.
I've TOLD them it's a security issue, a legal issue. They don't care. Instead, they now deliver two at a time, banded or bagged together, even though I live in a single family residence. (HAHA, they're SO hilarious). Haven't seen a red bag in some time, only rubber bands (yes, even in rain) or clear bags.
As a matter of fact, I received two today, bundled in one bag, in the bushes, when I got home from work. Not even kidding.
Did anyone attend the hearing or know what the results were? Obviously, my delivery person wasn't affected in the slightest. I'm at my wits' end. Any suggestions?
p.s. The USPS definitely doesn't deliver these anymore, at least not in my neck of the woods. Can't imagine it would be different anywhere else.