CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. (WKBW) — Many long-time Buffalo News subscribers are frustrated with the paper's owner, Lee Enterprises. They said the company doesn't help them cancel a subscription or give them answers to questions they have.
The Iowa-based company purchased the Buffalo News five years ago and later moved its printing operations from downtown Buffalo to Cleveland.
"Subscribed to paper close to 50 years," said Marcia Wojciechowski of Cheektowgaga. "Things have gone downhill ever since they moved out of Buffalo."
Wojciechowski said her bill recently went up by $26 to $169.
"Called the company, and tried to talk to somebody, and they said 'Sorry I can't look up information, you'll have to call back,'" said Wojciechowski, who is still being charged $169.
Lee Enterprises recently reported a company cyberattack. The front page of the paper tells customers, "A serious technical outage is creating production issues for Lee Newspaper, and we have temporarily consolidated the Buffalo News into two sections until operations are fully restored."
"I said 'Yeah, you've been having difficulties for a long time,'" said Wojciechowski.
"You can't get through to customer service," said Jerry Kasprzak of Cheektowaga.
Both Wojciechowski and Kasprzak enjoy the local journalists at the Buffalo News, but they feel ignored by Lee Enterprises.
"Obviously they really don't care about the people in Buffalo," said Wojciechowski. "You feel you're a second hand person when calling."
"But they can get into my account to take money out every week," said Slyvia Walczak, of Lackawanna.
The 88-year-old said she is on oxygen and is trying to get her paper delivered closer to her door. She said there were days that the paper never arrived.
Walczak wrote to 7 Problem Solvers: "The paper has been a disappointment to me, and I feel sorry for the owners that these adults that deliver are not as good as the children that delivered years ago. They are too lazy to get out of their cars so they just throw them anywhere."
I wrote to Lee Enterprises to try to get answers for these customers, but I have not heard back.
