But will it insure accurate service?

I started a subscription to the Wall Street Journal a couple weeks ago because it's required reading for my next class. Normally I prefer to read my news online and I strongly prefer not to have to pay for access, which is why I didn't have a subscription earlier.

In Saturday's paper my delivery man included a card asking for his annual tip. I've never known anybody who tips their delivery man, partly because I know very few people who actually get a newspaper delivered.

I don't know what the protocol is. A couple bucks? What if you've only been getting the paper a couple weeks, and only intend to for another quarter?

And what if during those couple of weeks, I haven't actually received my own newspaper? On the days when I received the WSJ, I received my neighbors'. Or rather, somebody in my neighborhood. I didn't actually go to their houses to try to swap the papers, because the odds were good that 1) they weren't home and 2) they hadn't received my paper. It's not like I can call the WSJ to complain, as they have no control over the delivery man.

Over the weekend, I received both the WSJ and the Mercury News. This is baffling because I never ordered the Mercury News. The MN doesn't have address labels so I don't know if I'm getting a neighbor's paper or a surplus. It's not like I can call the MN to complain, because they probably don't know I'm receiving their paper in the first place.

Today, I got the MN only. This is a pity, because I really only want the WSJ.

I could send in the card with a note, but then, I might as well ask the delivery man to put more dents in my garage door while he's at it.