Does anyone even use the yellow pages anymore? With Google and Superpages.com I can not imagine why anyone would use them to be honest with you. I know I never even open my phone books when they arrive – they go straight into the recycle bin.
My husband thought it would be a good idea to be listed in the phone book. There were 3 that he thought were necessary. I didn’t agree but since it’s his business I went along. Then the phone books arrived and we opened the books to be sure we were listed under the proper heading. Of course you have to figure with service being the way it is today that 1 of the books had to be incorrect....and it was.
Since I am the person who answers incoming calls into the business I deal with the issue that being in the wrong category can bring.
First off the average person using the phone book/yellow pages is older. They don’t use computers and generally are hard of hearing. (ok that can be a stereotype but it appears that those are the customers who call us) They find us under the heading of bathroom remodeling instead of bathtub reglazing. They call wanting us to remodel and redesign their bathrooms. We don’t do that and when I do tell them what it is we do they get angry. They ask why are you listed under bathroom remodeling then? So I must explain that this was an error that the phone book company made. I generally will get Gramps yelling at me for a few more minutes before he hangs up on me.
There is a fine line between educating someone to your services and pissing them off in this situation. I can sell my little heart out as to why they may need us and sometimes it really can work don’t get me wrong. But more often than not they know what they want and if they wanted my services they would have gone to that heading to begin with. If I push too far they are pissed off and that doesn’t bode well for our company either. So you must walk that tight rope since the phone book made this blunder.
I contacted the phone company to tell them of this error and they said they would have to “investigate this so called error” They would get back to me within 14 business days.
Investigate? I imagine them with their trench coat and magnifying glass combing through phone books. What the hell is there to investigate?
I got a call back today after 22 days (14 days in their world) and they tell me that the heading is “close enough” so there will be no reimbursement for their error. Close enough? She told me that if someone calls and they want their bathroom remodeled then I should just sell them on our services instead. When I told her that this has happened on several occasions and that Gramps gets a bit hostile when I tell him we don’t do what he is looking for. She began to tell me that this was an opportunity therefore I should be thankful and not expect a reimbursement.
Thinking like her for a moment then wouldn’t calling on Pizza Hut to have my General Tso Chicken delivered be the same logic? Pizza Hut could tell me they don’t sell General Tso Chicken but instead tell me about their menu and try to convince me I really needed a pizza and besides, it’s cheaper. But I want General Tso’s Chicken and that is all I’ve been thinking about all day so deliver me some Chicken damn it. It’s all a restaurant that delivers. Close enough right?
Who needs the damn phone book anyway.
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