Still smiling

I’ve been in the newspaper business for more than 30 years and in three different states at papers both big and small. One thing I’ve learned is that no matter how many subscribers there are, you generally don’t hear from them unless they disagree with something you wrote in an opinion column or you made a mistake.

The former is only to be expected. As the saying goes, everyone has an opinion and they all stink.

The latter is something we do our best to make sure never happens, but we’re human and sometimes things sneak through. When that happens, we own up and do our best to make it right and to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Those tend to stick with you, as do certain other interactions, most of which happen on the phone.

“Why don’t you ever cover the Bloomfield girls volleyball team?”

I got that phone call more than 25 years ago when I was working as the sports editor at a small newspaper in Missouri. It’s stuck with me for all these years, mainly because of the next part of the conversation.

“Ma’am, I assure you we do. In fact, there’s a large center package about them on the front of today’s sports section.”

“Oh. I don’t take the paper.” And that’s when I hung up. In hindsight, I probably should have stayed on the line and discussed the issue more. I might have gotten a new subscription out of it. But I was young, the lady was more than a little rude and I just didn’t want to deal with it.

Another phone call — this time while I was at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette years ago, back when they still delivered a print edition every day — was more enjoyable, even if it didn’t start off that way.

The caller was easily identifiable as an older woman, possibly somebody’s grandmother, and she was upset.

“I didn’t get my paper!”

“I’m so sorry,” I said, more than a bit confused about how the call came my way. “You’ll have to call the circulation department during regular business hours and they’ll be able to take care of you.”

“Can’t you help me?”

“Ma’am, this is the sports department. We don’t know anything about subscriptions. You’ll have to call the circulation department.”

“I tried!” she said, obviously frustrated. “They won’t answer the phone!”

“Ma’am, it’s after 10 p.m. They aren’t there.”

“It’s what?!”

“It’s after 10 p.m. You’ll need to call them in the morning.”

I could hear the wheels turning over the phone.

“Oh, my goodness! I’m so sorry! I fell asleep in my chair and when I woke up, I thought it was morning!”

That one still makes me smile.

On rare occasions, we get to hear from someone who genuinely enjoys and appreciates what we do. Those occasions are rare, and even then, they usually have something they want. Those tend to stick with me as well.

On Friday afternoon, I got to add to my list of favorite phone calls when one of our subscribers called to ask about her subscription. I was the only one in the office, so I answered the phone.

After explaining that she’d need to call back Monday morning because I worked in the newsroom and didn’t know how to access the subscriber database, she asked, “Well, who am I speaking to?”

I told her and I could hear her eyes light up.

“Oh, I read your column all the time — and Mr. Loftis’! I really like it when you tell stories about old days!”

As expected, she also had a small complaint about her newspaper, wondering if we could print in larger type and if she could get it sooner. We publish on Tuesdays and she said she sometimes doesn’t get her copy in the mail until Thursday.

As we talked, she explained that she reads the paper under a magnifier and it takes her some time to finish it.

“I saw the headline about all the awards you got,” she said. I thanked her, and said we were pretty proud that our hard work had been recognized.

“It’s no surprise,” she said. “You guys are good!”

Her praise made me smile more than any award and that good feeling lasted all through the weekend. In fact, I’m smiling now as I write this.

We don’t do what we do for awards or accolades. We work hard to keep the community informed about issues that might be important, to shine a light on local government, and to share stories about our neighbors. We’re part of the community. We try to give it a voice, tell its stories and be its watchdog.

And every once in a while, we get a pat on the back — whether it be a plaque or a phone call from a happy reader. That helps make it all worthwhile, but there’s one I prefer over the other.

“Thanks for reading!” I said. “We’ll keep trying to do a good job!”

Robert Cox is associate editor for Carroll County Newspapers. His email address is RCox@cherryroad.com.