Hot Rods The State of The Rodder's Journal - a note from Steve Coonan

^^^ It seems Bob holds a grudge well..........................

 

When the hell did the hamb start sucking? It's sad that what you'd think are grown men, act like 12 year old girls.... no dog in this fight, but shit happens.

 

For Bob, probably the day he got banned. No activity since March, 2014.

 

Thank you Steve...look forward to more updates with TRJ.... I wish all the best on getting things back on track...

 

The really disappointing thing is that the only communication from TRJ to anybody is on here, Yep you might have a problem with e-mail but why have you not posted any of this on your Facebook page? Have you looked at it recently, there are a lot off subscribers asking questions which you could respond to just by posting something.
I am an international subscriber and the last issue I received was no 82 in spring 2019, yes 2019! thats 2 years ago!
Yes I get the fact that if you subscribe then you are paying for something in advance that may or may not get published but my point is that issues 83 and 84 actually exist and have not been delivered! We may never get the truth behind the catastrophe of issue 83 and any understanding of why so many issues destined for international subscribers where shredded. I find it hard to believe that it just happened with apparently no recompense from the guilty party, I think there are other factors in play here.
I really hope that TRJ can get their house in order and get out of this mess because I love the product but I fear that if they do survive the damage created by the lack of communication to their subscribers will not stand them in good stead in the future.

 

Thats funny.

 

Yes they do. Above is a post I made last November. Do y’all think Steve conspired to sabotage the international delivery of these issues? Sure smells of distribution issues beyond his control. Maybe covid had something to do with it?

 

Steve, your communication was welcome to those of us that can understand your predicament, however I fear your detractors will never be satisfied until you personally deliver their magazines, merchandise, or a refund for all of the above, and then apologize for offending them. Kudos to you for the update, keep them coming when you can, and my sincere hope that TRJ survives and flourishes under your stewardship.

 

Well I do hope TRJ continues but I buy at the newsstand. Saying that I think the latest update should keep this thread going for a few more months. I'm going out to buy a really comfy

 

Hey BlueOne...you were right!

 

@TRJ I consider myself lucky to have gotten one of your lifetime subscriptions when you offered it, so I’m just thankful anytime one of your magazines shows up in my mailbox. I commend what you are trying to do and appreciate your candidness. If there is anything I can do to help you guys out let me know. I’m in Milwaukee area so I may not be much use to you guys but thought I’d offer.

 

This thread started weird and got weirder... I really don't read TRJ regularly anymore, and haven't bought one in a while... I only vaguely knew there was a problem and had no idea how bad it was.
But given the state of Automotive Magazines... Hell, print media in general, it'd truly be a shame if it died...
Hope it pulls through, gets right, and people get their shit or money back... And we don't lose an Icon many of us watched grow before our eyes.

 

Buy my Back Issues,
If you have not seen it ,,,,,,,,ITS NEW and Great to you...

 

@TRJ these are all empty words, as we say in the UK you're all mouth and no trousers - there is more ways than ever to communicate with your audience and customers - its lame to blame it on an email server which has gone bad. I would think nearly everyone on your mailing list uses Instagram, Facebook or the Hamb. Instead of bleating about a server which is down start communicating in these three places.

As for postal service - if you are having trouble in the USA send out the international copies to your overseas distributor's. FedEx, UPS, DHL etc. etc. are all getting parcels through within 3 or 4 days.

As for all these guys saying it doesn't matter about the money - if you send over your email address i can send an invoice for the near $600 im out of pocket... It would be amazing if you put your money where your mouth is...

 

This is simply a general comment regarding all the above comments/opinions etc. and is not directed at any individual.
Many years ago, when Street Rodder magazine was the best “Rod” magazine, I sent them money for their magazine numerous times when they offered these “extended” subscriptions. I expected it would be a good deal for me since it was the only street rod magazine I really liked.
Unfortunately, Street Rodder ultimately pulled the plug, ended printing the magazine, and left me and many others holding an “empty” subscription bag !
I have not subscribed to any magazine since and probably will never subscribe to another again.

By the way, Pat Ganahl was and still is one of the best!!
Read his work, it is all very good.


Sent from my iPad using H.A.M.B.

 

I too was a subscriber when they folded. I emailed them and they sent me a full refund for the balance of my subscription.

 

Like @saltracer219 I asked for a refund when Hot Rod Deluxe folded, that was when a total of 19 titles went away at the same time.
After a very short wait a check came in the mail, but even if you didn’t ask for a refund they offered you another magazine to fulfill the balance of your subscription didn’t they? You could have taken Hot Rod.

 

While the latest post was nice to see it still falls short of what people today expect in customer service. Yep, I said customer service which means you follow where your customers are and communicate with them. the HAMB while being an invaluable resource is not the only place. TRJ not using their social media accounts to make the same announcement shows how out of touch what remaining staff there is and the understanding of customer service. The fact you publicly get into a shouting match about who owes what to who shows you are not concentrated on taking care of the customer base but at this point trying to save what is left of the reputation. That entire paragraph should have never been in there.

I was one of the people who PM'd volunteering my skills in customer relations and not even a response on the PM is the exact example of the lack of taking care of the customer base. Blaming the USPS is over for an excuse now that most industry is back to normal. The move across the country can't really be used anymore either as information was posted about how it worked so well in helping the bottom line.

In the defense of TRJ people keep comparing them to Street Rodder and the other 19 magazines that went away in 2019. I call it the great magazine crash of 2019. The reason that all happened is the big corporations that owned them used it as a way to write off massive dept and thicken the bottom line. TRJ is not owned by a big corporation and does not have shareholders to answer to. What TRJ does have is a super loyal customer base that is going away quickly and without massive repair in short order, there won't be a customer base to go back to.

In closing, I highly recommend you take a quick read of a great book called The Art of the Start 2.0 by Guy Kawasaki. Maybe you can use this book as a road map to get back to where you were. No news is bad all the time. Bad news all the time is still good news in that your customers fully get what is going on and will always be there for you because you communicated openly and honestly.

 

People rave what a great magazine it is,
I was critical of it from the first time I saw most of the page empty, except for car featured, and very small writings down at the bottom. and great, wonderful pictures destroyed with the binding right thru middle of vehicle.

Or small lettering with leaves of a tree behind, or black background and white lettering thru out issue, Had to read it with glasses And magnifying glass. at the last, just looked at pictures, finally gave up..
YET, I stayed for the dance, for a long time..

 

I think i just came up with a name for my roadster- Bastard Child- Thanks Ryan!!

 

I'm rooting for Steve and TRJ, but was a little disappointed that there was not much of an apology...no heartfelt "sorry for letting you guys down".
It was mostly some excuses, and was more like a "damage control" press release written by some PR guy.

 

x 2. I hope you can make it all work out, Steve.

 

TRJ Report Card

Saying sorry - F

Photography - A

Quarterly Production - F

Semi-Annual Production - F

Five Year Planning - F

International Distribution - F

Staff Retention - F

Fail to Communicate - A

Bafflegab - A

Money Grabbing - A

Ball Dropping - A

Special Ed - Incomplete

Floundering on Other's Issues - A

 

While I'm unhappy, at least now I know what is going on. TRJ is really the only Mag left worth reading.
Suggestion: Try a Kickstarter campaign. I would donate if it would ease the situation and get the mag out again.
The COVID19 situation has been very hard on people and businesses, I have not worked since March 2020. So we have to expect delay's etc.
but PLEASE communicate, it's the least we deserve.

 

So what’s happening? You said the first weeks in April you would start international shipping so what happened this time ? I don’t want to get into a bun fight on here but TRJ doesn’t reply to emails or messages.


Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.

 

Geeez! The guy puts out the BEST, and I mean 'fargin' BEST', magazine about rods and customs, for over 20 YEARS, and now, due to the fact that the whole world has been in a turmoil, and it's difficult to get anything done, with all those people getting paid NOT to work, and people are crying like a bunch of babies without their bottles. Sheeesh! If this mag goes down, it's truly "The End".

 

When things start to "circle the drain" we can always see the turds...

 

Yup, whiners are gona whine!

 

The problems at TRJ started long before the pandemic, but I do agree that shipping issues did compound the situation. As far as people getting paid not to work aren’t the people that lost their jobs primarily in service industries like restaurants, bars, retail staffing, etc.? I don’t see that impacting production or logistics.
I guess it was cool to have the business in California but with that came high costs, especially in rent. A look at rents on Google for commercial space in So. San Francisco shows an average of $41/sq.ft. with Ashland, VA only $14.
Think about paying for what, maybe 1000 square feet? That’s a tough nut to crack even at $14,000 a month. Could you do desk space, magazine layouts and retail sales out of only 1000 sq. ft.?
Maybe I’m looking at this all wrong, and if I am no doubt someone will tell me.