I too, go through Ebsco to get service from Blackwell. For one thing, as
you noted in the phone numbers, their 800 number is only for orders. We
have to pay to phone about service. And for another, they always require
proof of payment, anyway.

As for claim responses, in my experience, when I let a claim go through
the regular process for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd claim, it usually gets filled,
but after the 3rd claim, more follow-up claims don't help at all. But
instead of calling the publishers, I e-mail my service rep at Ebsco, and
she calls the publishers and e-mails or calls me back with the answers.

Judith Stokes, Serials Librarian
James P. Adams Library
Rhode Island College
Providence, RI 02908-1991
(401)456-8165
JStokes@RIC.edu

-----Original Message-----
From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum
[mailto:SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU] On Behalf Of Jason Ford
Sent: Wednesday, August 23, 2006 8:00 PM
To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: Re: [SERIALST] Blackwell

In most respects, I agree with Zinthia, however, there have been several
occasions when EBSCO never got back to me with an official answer
regarding
my claims, resulting in my having to send follow-up after follow-up
claim.
It was only after calling the publishers myself that I was able to
determine
the answer to my questions. Normally, I would say that, yes, we pay
EBSCO
enough for them to be expected to handle these kinds of problems. But
realistically, we can't always find all the answers to all our
questions,
and the record can't wait too long to be updated (perhaps it's just me,
but
I can't stand that lone title hanging out on the record, unresolved, for
months).

Have you tried any of this information in your search?

Malden office:
Blackwell Publishing Inc.
Commerce Place, 350 Main Street, Malden, MA02148, USA
Tel: +1 781 388 8200
Fax: +1 781 388 8210

Ames office:
Blackwell Publishing Professional
2121 State Ave., Ames, IA 50014-8300, USA
Tel: +1 515 292 0140
Fax: +1 515 292 3348
Order: 1 800 862 6657

-----Original Message-----
From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum
[mailto:SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU]On Behalf Of Cynthia Swope
Sent: Wednesday, August 23, 2006 11:03 AM
To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: [SERIALST] Blackwell

Recently Blackwell notified me that there was " unusual spider activity"
on one of our IPs.  Sure enough, there were firewall problems which were
fixed in two days.

Blackwell requested an e-mail response.  I replied that the situation
was corrected on our end and asked them to confirm the IP was no longer
blocked.  I also asked a few questions  for which my director wanted
answers.  I got an automated response that they had received my e-mail.
Then nothing. E-mailed again, same thing, And again. No human response.
  Finally, I contacted my Ebsco rep, who had a "source" at Blackwell,
and I finally got confirmation, thru Ebsco,  that the IP was no longer
blocked.

The e-mail from Blackwell's had no phone number or contact info.  I
couldn't find any U.S. phone number for technical issues, just sales,
which was my next step if Ebsco couldn't help me.  And as far as I know,
I have no sales rep - in my two years here, Blackwells is the only major
publisher I have who has never contacted me.

What do you have to do to talk to a human about technical problems at
Blackwell?

Cindy Swope
Himmelfarb Library
George Washington University
Washingto, DC
202-994-9756