As a young carrier for the Union Leader back in the '70s, I had customers with special requests. Some wanted me to slide the newspaper through their mail slot; some wanted me to place it under a large rock on their front stoop so it wouldn't blow away; and one expected me to roll the paper in a bundle, gently open the screen door and insert it between the snarling jaws of her German shepherd. After I closed the door, the protective beast would pad back inside the house and drop the paper at her feet.

Or so I presumed. I never actually witnessed that, and beyond collection day I rarely saw my loyal customer — except for the time the dog jumped on the door before I could close it and ventured outside, growling at me while I stood stone-fixed, waiting for the elderly woman to hear the commotion and come fetch her dog, and her paper.

The Manchester Union Leader, as it was then called, expected its newspaper boys and girls to provide such customer service back in the days when it published a city edition delivered to homes in the afternoon (and a state edition published in the morning and sold at newsstands). Forget about those movies where I saw kids flinging papers on driveways from their bikes. We had to give them something extra.

And, of course, all these years later, we still do. In an era where readers have a multitude of choices for where and how they consume news — whether on old-fashioned paper or electronically via a computer, iPad, Kindle or smartphone — media companies face an even greater challenge to ensure they're always giving their customers something extra.

That's where you come in. What's that something extra to you? What features draw you to the business section in print and online? What concerns you most about your local business community and the economy? We want to know.

I recently joined the Union Leader as business editor after working for newspapers and magazines in Colorado and Florida. As we celebrate Labor Day this weekend, I'm grateful to be able to continue my career back in my hometown, working with newsroom staff and a team of correspondents scattered throughout the state.

After several weeks working with veteran reporter Denis Paiste, who is taking a year off to work as a technical writer for MIT, I have the pleasure of teaming up with another veteran journalist. Dave Solomon, whose resume includes top editing posts at the Nashua Telegraph and the Portsmouth Herald, has signed on to cover business news. Dave will be tapping his statewide connections to cover the most important trends facing New Hampshire as well as spotlighting the region's established players and upstarts. After a mere six weeks here, I get to call him “the new guy.”

Mike Cote is business editor at the Union Leader. Contact him at 668-4321, ext. 324 or mcote@unionleader.com.

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Christopher Thompson, whose “Closing the Deal” column has appeared in this space for five years, is taking a week off while he honeymoons in Corsica, France, after he and his new wife wed in Switzerland. He'll be back next Sunday.