Changes

Well, I started a new job on Monday. I will be taking inbound customer service calls for the New York Times at a business in Fargo called Upstream. Training for this position lasts three weeks. One must know how to start new subscriptions, how to edit existing ones, contact information for the editorial staff and writers, among many other tidbits of knowledge customers of the Times may inquire about.

For instance, did you know the Times asks all of its customers residing in the greater NY area to donate the newspapers they miss while on vacation to a Newspapers in Education fund? They do! I had never heard of this (obviously I've never lived in the greater NY area or subscribed to the Times...), but WOW - what a concept! The New York Times has special sections in its paper with everything from book reviews to science and technology. Issues of this paper arrive daily in NY schools, but have you ever looked at the subscription cost of this newspaper? UffDah! That's all I'm gonna say! However, the content in this publication is edgier, more diverse, and the most informative I've ever seen. (Ok, now I'm sounding like a saleswoman...)

Anyway, for an hour or so per day, we trainees listen to live calls, buddying up with a Times customer service rep to hear what real calls are like. People are SO passionate about their newspaper! One 90-year-old man called in because of a political headline this week. He was irate over this headline: "As Obama Heads to Florida, Many of Its Jews Have Doubts." Ok, this little man was Jewish, he supports the Democratic party, and he resides in Florida six months out of the year. His stance was basically: "The Times is awfully gutsy to be printing something like that in its headlines. To say all Jewish people residing in Florida question him or his methods is preposterous!" There was more, surely, but at this point in time I can't quote him word for word.

So, there is my exciting news for the week. Definitely not notable enough to make it on the front page of the New York Times, but obviously momentous enough to qualify for my own little online publication!