Author Topic: Delivering The Record  (Read 8956 times)

Offline Chief Oratam

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Delivering The Record
« on: December 24, 2016, 09:17:04 AM »
Does anyone have information as to why the Record hasn't been delivered for 2 days now......I called, and they are running a generic message. ...saying  " sorry we are working on the problem "....
« Last Edit: December 29, 2016, 07:09:26 PM by BLeafe »



Offline BLeafe

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Re: Delivering The Record
« Reply #1 on: December 24, 2016, 10:47:21 AM »
I didn't get my paper delivered yesterday, but I got it (and today's) this morning.

The Record doesn't deliver their papers - some company does. What I do is call the individual who manages my delivery person.

I did that yesterday and she said something about a problem that meant that my paper would either be delivered sometime yesterday or today.

What you need to do is call The Record and ask for a phone number for the company that delivers papers for them. When you call that company, ask for the number of the person who manages delivery carriers on your street. Since it sounds like you're a subscriber, you could have read the entire paper online yesterday for free. If you haven't signed up for that, do so.

It comes in handy for days like yesterday.
« Last Edit: December 29, 2016, 07:10:13 PM by BLeafe »
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Offline Chief Oratam

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Re: Delivering The Record
« Reply #2 on: December 24, 2016, 12:43:48 PM »
Yes I am a subscriber. ...

And I understand that there is a route "owner" that farm's out the work to individuals that deliver the papers. ...

I always get a Christmas card from the route owner , although  I prefer to tip the actual person that has boots on the ground. ..

But yesterday's and this mornings situation appears either to have been a job action,  or a plant breakdown. ...

That's what  I was eluding to with my  original  question....
« Last Edit: December 29, 2016, 07:10:34 PM by BLeafe »

Offline johnny g

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Re: Delivering The Record
« Reply #3 on: December 28, 2016, 03:29:13 PM »
I delivered the Record back in 1978....does that help any?  :Afro: ;)
« Last Edit: December 29, 2016, 07:10:56 PM by BLeafe »

Offline BLeafe

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Re: Delivering The Record
« Reply #4 on: December 28, 2016, 08:35:54 PM »
Got one of these?




« Last Edit: December 29, 2016, 07:11:06 PM by BLeafe »
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Offline johnny g

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Re: Delivering The Record
« Reply #5 on: December 29, 2016, 08:18:35 AM »
Wow, never knew that was attainable...my route had a lot of streets beginning at English St, going north and west, ending on Lodi St. I always envied my friends who had the easy Hudson St route (right where I lived)...picked up my papers on Broadway and headed out. Monday and Tuesdays were easy cause the papers were thin, I did them out of my route bag...Wednesday thru Sunday was the shopping cart. Great times
« Last Edit: December 29, 2016, 07:11:42 PM by BLeafe »

Offline Editor

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Re: Delivering The Record
« Reply #6 on: December 29, 2016, 10:16:55 AM »
My brother and I shared a route on Lookout.  My parents would pick up the papers with us at a garage on Poplar and drop us off with our filled bags at Summit/Lookout.  My brother took the south side, I took the north which had one apartment building between Prospect and Clarendon. The bags got lighter as we walked downhill. We collected one night a week.  A weekly subscription was $1.75. You could always count on the quarter tip per customer, a little more around Christmas.  Those were your wages. A good average week may have been $10.

When The Bergen Evening Record increased the subscription to $2.00, the tips basically stopped and many paperboys quit including my brother and me. Over the next year or so, part-time carriers delivered papers via vans. Not sure what happed in the apartments where we would deliver to each unit.

I remember loving to save and count my money which I used to buy bicycle parts and eventually, with some help from Dad, a lawnmower for my next business venture. That's another story. 


« Last Edit: December 29, 2016, 07:11:57 PM by BLeafe »

Offline johnny g

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Re: Delivering The Record
« Reply #7 on: December 29, 2016, 11:36:15 AM »
I think it was 2.50 when I did it....we had the different color tags for weekday, sunday only , etc
Went collecting once a week, on Thursday nights
« Last Edit: December 29, 2016, 07:12:21 PM by BLeafe »

Offline BLeafe

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Re: Delivering The Record
« Reply #8 on: December 29, 2016, 12:00:00 PM »
When I was your age, I had to walk 10 miles in deep snowdrifts to get to sch.....................oh wait - wrong story.


Beginning in 1961, my bundle of newspapers was dropped off - out in the open - by the railroad tracks in Teaneck, about two blocks north of Cedar Lane. My route was sort of a straight line down to River Rd that involved 5 or 6 streets. It was almost a half-mile uphill walk to get back home.

The subscription rate was 33 CENTS A WEEK (no Sunday paper) and you could (almost) count on getting a quarter and a dime (whoopee!) when collecting every Thursday. I remember one nice old lady who gave me two quarters every week and one not-so-nice one who just stood there waiting for her 2 cents change.

One aspect that I haven't heard mentioned here because the system probably changed was that we were pushed very hard to sign up new subscribers along our routes. On a couple of occasions, carriers had to go to The Record building in the evening and sit at desks and cold-call people from lists we were given to get them to subscribe. I don't know if I sold a single subscription that way.

But I WAS very good at getting people who lived along my route to sign up. The Record had a prize program based on the number of subscriptions you sold and I got some great trips out of that. The best one was a May 1962 bus trip with other carriers to Washington, DC. We met in The Record parking lot and the bus had a big banner from The Record on its side. Of course, my mother took pictures. The banner said, "Another Recreational Educational Trip - The Record Newspaperboys" (no gurls alowed!).

We stayed at a motel just across the Potomac River in Virginia. I remember walking down all the steps in the Washington Monument, visiting the Treasury, the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials and Arlington National Cemetery for the Changing of the Guard. I have a picture of me wearing my Honor Carrier sweater in front of the White House. We got in the gate and got close to the building, but I don't think we went inside (JFK supposedly wasn't home that day).

But the thing I remember most was that I had a big transistor radio with me in the motel and could actually pick up powerful WABC-AM in NYC (Cousin Brucie!)................but only when the motel room's bathroom door was open. If one of my roommates needed to use the bathroom, the songs ended. Weird.

I also got to go an Army-Navy football game at the Philadelphia Municipal Stadium (later the JFK Stadium) and a NY Rangers game at the old Madison Square Garden on 8th Ave between 49th and 50th streets. I'm sure there were other prizes besides trips, but I don't recall them.

The Record carriers also had official rankings, based on subscription-selling ability. I don't remember what the lower tiers were, but the top two were Ace and Honor carrier. When you reached Ace, you got that trophy. When you hit Honor, you slid the Ace plate out out of the trophy and replaced it with an Honor one, as seen in my previous post. You also got the Honor Carrier sweater, which - for some reason - doesn't fit me so well anymore.

Of course, I still have my Bergen Record carrier bag (thanks, Mom).

« Last Edit: December 29, 2016, 07:13:14 PM by BLeafe »
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Offline johnny g

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Re: Delivering The Record
« Reply #9 on: December 29, 2016, 12:29:12 PM »
Something tells me I'm the youngest one in this thread  8)
« Last Edit: December 29, 2016, 07:12:50 PM by BLeafe »

Offline johnny g

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Re: Delivering The Record
« Reply #10 on: December 30, 2016, 10:34:06 AM »
I bought records with my earnings (funny right? Delivering The Record and then buying records) at Hackensack Record King.
Yes collection night was tough....12 year old kid bicycling up and down English St, Lexington Ave, Hobart, McKinley etc
Dark outside, cold....never got mugged though  :angel:

Offline Chief Oratam

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Re: Delivering The Record
« Reply #11 on: December 30, 2016, 11:30:02 AM »
I too was a carrier. ....something like 45 years ago...
I inherited the route from an older brother. ... I had like a hundred subscribers in a route that spanned 10 blocks...mostly  apartment buildings 9 apartments .... delivery of papers right to the doors. ..
collection day was hard ..some tenents were hard to catch at home..
Needless to say I got stiffed. ...by a few....

The Record eventually  came along and hacked up the route sighting  too much for a kid...

Made good money and got good quality prizes..

The customers got better service from kids then they get now....for sure....
« Last Edit: December 30, 2016, 03:53:58 PM by Chief Oratam »

Offline irons35

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Re: Delivering The Record
« Reply #12 on: January 01, 2017, 12:15:05 PM »
it was fun, thats for sure.   I had Euclid east of Clarendon, and the whole length of Ross.    The places people wanted the paper never happens today.   between the doors, in the milk can.  One house had me put it in the glassed in porch, and every thursday the money was there for collections.  I dont think I ever saw them!  We even had to give the mean old super in 140 Euclid a paper for free every day so he would let you in the building!

 

anything