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BACK IN THE EARLY 1990S, I took a temporary sabbatical from writing to venture into the world of circulation. (Translation: I needed to pay the bills, so I got a job.)

I was half of the circ department at a small publishing company that produced two magazines and a stable of related books. It was, to say the least, an interesting place to work.

This was back in the dark ages, when magazines didn't routinely have Web sites or access to e-mail. My office didn't even have a fax machine, because the elderly matriarch of the company couldn't see why such a thing was necessary when the U.S. Postal Service was still in operation.

But we managed to get things done, and handled orders and customer service complaints and inquiries as efficiently as we could, given our limited resources. That's why to this day I'm sympathetic to publishers when I have problems with my own magazine subscriptions. Goodness only knows what kind of conditions my circulation sisters and brothers are toiling in.

Still, readers want their magazines in a timely fashion. And since we're in the enlightened time of the Internet — faster access means faster customer service, right?

Issues of two magazines I subscribe to went AWOL recently. The first was from Wizard Entertainment, a publisher I've written about in these pages. I should also note, in the interest of full disclosure, that I also freelanced for the company years ago.

My issues usually arrive around the same time as they go on sale at the newsstand, and this month I allowed a few extra days because of a Monday holiday in the mix. But when the magazine was a week late, I headed to their Web site to find customer service. I couldn't find a subscription service link, but did find one in my e-mail archives, from when this had happened one other time about a year ago.

A day went by with no reply, so I looked again and tried the generic customer service e-mail address provided for e-commerce orders. Soon after, I received an automated reply that I would hear back from someone in two days.

Two days? But this is Friday. Do Saturday and Sunday count? I need something to read now!

Monday morning I received a very nice personal reply from — at least what seemed to be — a real live person, saying she would replace the missing issue immediately. A telephone number also was included should I have any further concerns. Well done.

The next missing issue was from Entertainment Weekly, a magazine owned by a company just a teensy-weensy bit larger, Time Warner. Surely, a publisher this big must have a circulation department teeming with reps ready to help 24/7.

The same Monday afternoon of the day noted above, I logged on to the very well-organized customer service section of their Web site and requested a replacement issue. An automated reply soon arrived saying my concern would be addressed within…two days???

Time Warner can't do better than this? OK, maybe people are on vacation. Maybe they're going to dispatch a research team to find out what happened to the AWOL issue so it doesn't happen again. I'll be patient.

Early the next morning, I opened my e-mailbox to find a reply. Less than 24 hours — not bad. Except…it's not a reply addressing my problem. It's another automated e-mail asking me to take a survey rating how well the EW customer service department handled my problem.

But, but, but, I sputtered to my computer monitor like Daffy Duck, my problem hasn't been solved yet!

I relaxed when another e-mail arrived three hours later, apologizing for the missing issue and explaining it would be sent the next business day.

Of course, the following day, my regular sub copies of both magazines arrived. I didn't bother to contact either magazine, because (a) I figured the replacements were already in the mail, and (b) I wanted to play out this exercise in customer service to the end.

Two days later, the replacement from Wizard arrived. A week later, I'm still waiting for the replacement from Entertainment Weekly. However, they did kindly send me an e-mail reminder this morning, asking me to fill out that customer service survey for them. I gladly logged on and told them I was still waiting.

Two days later, the replacement issue arrived, and I've had no late issues from EW since. But the current issue from Wizard is now a week late again.

Sigh. Anyone have a copy of “Zen and the Art of Magazine Subscriptions” handy?