Contact MargaretWashington Post Makes Changes to Crofton Home-Delivery
June 28th, 2009 Categories: News
Long-Time Crofton Newspaper Distributor is Out
You won’t find anything reported in The Washington Post about this, but there are some changes taking place in their own Circulation Department. This Post re-organization could impact you if you’re a home-delivery subscriber in the Greater Crofton area, including part of Bowie.
Bob Steed, one of Crofton’s long-time independent distributors for The Washington Post will be delivering his last newspapers to the area on Sunday, July 05. His departure will be a huge blow to Post customers and carriers alike. Our family has been both since Day One of his 21–year run, and I promise you Bob Steed is The Best!
As a home-delivery customer, you probably ordered your morning paper by contacting The Washington Post directly. From that point on, it magically appeared in the general vicinity of your front door or driveway 365 days a year, including holidays, weekends, blizzards, and even days when your carrier was ill or out of town. The man guaranteeing that for many residents of Crofton for more than two decades has been Bob Steed.
While you were sleeping, he got up in the middle of the night and picked up thousands of newspapers from The Washington Post and loaded them on his truck. Then he distributed them to carriers through the area who, in turn, delivered them to you before you left for work.
If you wanted your paper earlier than normal delivery hours, Bob made sure you got an “early-bird” paper. If you were ill or handicapped and couldn’t walk to your driveway to pick up your Post, he made sure it was delivered wherever you specified. He took your calls personally when your paper was missing or wet and did whatever was necessary to correct the situation to your satisfaction. I can’t imagine any newspaper distributor being more conscientious about customer satisfaction.
Unlike some other Post distributors, he always passed your tips through to his carriers. When carriers went on vacation or were ill, he delivered their routes as well as his own. He’s been a supportive and respectful supervisor who somehow retains carriers and drivers for years (and decades), in spite of the many sacrifices and hardships that are a fact of life for this job, this lifestyle.
We will certainly miss him, both as Post customers and as carriers in the “E” section since 1982.
Bob Steed will be a tough act to follow for anyone who succeeds him!
After July 05, if you have any complaints about your newspaper delivery or want to request vacation stops/starts, you should contact the Service Desk at the re-organized Circulation Department online or call them at
800–477–4679
Post customer service hours are limited – 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday and 7 a.m. to noon on weekends and holidays - unlike Bob Steed, who was accessible to customers 24/7.
P.S. Since the new distributor hasn’t yet contacted current carriers in the Crofton area, it’s possible -maybe even likely – that your carrier could change in the near future without notice. If your paper isn’t where you expect it some morning soon, that may be the reason.
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Service has been much better in Crofton than I ever experienced anywhere else. You’re right, Mr. Steed (and your husband, our carrier) will be a hard act to follow.