ithildin: (Taste - Tea)
ithildin ([personal profile] ithildin) wrote2009-07-17 01:16 pm
Entry tags:

Disappointing

The saga of my dealings with Cook's Country Magazine!

I get Cook's Country, and really like the magazine. In the past, I've gotten gift subscriptions to their other magazine Cooks Illustrated, and I have some of their cookbooks. For my birthday, I wanted a particular cake that was in an issue. It was their back cover recipe, and it told you how to construct it, etc.. But the actual layer cake recipe you had to go to their website for. Okay, no big deal. Except I get to the website, and come to find that you have to have a paid subscription to their website to access the recipe! Now, I'm all kinds of unhappy. I paid for a magazine subscription and they want me to pay again to get the recipe! But I think, maybe I'm on the wrong part of the website, so I give them the benefit of the doubt and email them. I got a reply back this morning, and it turns out I was absolutely correct. So I just replied, basically saying that I had no issue with having a paid website, but that to require a paid magazine subscriber to pay again for recipes in the magazine was dishonest and a bait and switch. And that I would not be renewing my subscription or sending subscriptions as gifts anymore. To bad too, since they have a nice product, but I refuse to reward shady business practices.

There's lots of other food magazines for to give my business to!

[identity profile] mischief5.livejournal.com 2009-07-17 08:43 pm (UTC)(link)
Bon Appetit is a good magazine. Sorry you had such trouble.
ext_9031: (AS Misc - Not Amused MIOBI)

[identity profile] ithildyn.livejournal.com 2009-07-17 08:44 pm (UTC)(link)
It just peeved me muchly [g]

[identity profile] quicksilverjen.livejournal.com 2009-07-17 09:09 pm (UTC)(link)
I don't blame you. Definitely annoying and dishonest.
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[identity profile] ithildyn.livejournal.com 2009-07-18 07:54 pm (UTC)(link)
It got my dander up :)
arenee1999: (Chocolate)

[personal profile] arenee1999 2009-07-17 09:43 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, that would irritate me to no end.

One of my favorite cooking magazines is Cooking Pleasures. I have a lifetime membership to the Cooking Club of America and I get the magazine free. Come to think of it, I have a (very large) stack of of duplicate copies of Cooking Pleasures if maybe you're interested in them. I'd be happy to send them to you.
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[identity profile] ithildyn.livejournal.com 2009-07-18 07:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Thanks :) Actually, I'm drowning in cooking magazines and need to get rid of a bunch, so I better not get any more!
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[identity profile] bookaddict43.livejournal.com 2009-07-17 10:20 pm (UTC)(link)
That's so slack and really bad customer service. I think you're smart to change magazines!
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[identity profile] ithildyn.livejournal.com 2009-07-18 07:53 pm (UTC)(link)
It was really stupid.

[identity profile] jerel.livejournal.com 2009-07-17 10:43 pm (UTC)(link)
How irritating!! In fact, I can't think of any other magazines that do this. I've seen that websites have exclusive content for subscribers--you access it with a number on your mailing label--but never where a subscriber has to also pay to use the website.
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[identity profile] ithildyn.livejournal.com 2009-07-18 07:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Exactly! If you sub to the dead tree version, you have access to the online stuff.

[identity profile] tpena19.livejournal.com 2009-07-22 10:00 am (UTC)(link)
Dude, that is wacked. Man that annoys muchly. Go you.