Possible "old lady" rant I suppose...411

[Nomad]

I think I'm having another one of those "old lady" rant moments again.
Good grief...I recall making fun of women who thought like this and now I'm one of them.

Anyway...ya know how we have talked about the decline in customer service?

Has anyone used 411 lately or tried to get telephone numbers from their phone or cell service lately?

For the last month or twoi....I have had the worst luck using telephone information. It is a joke. I can't read my phone book to save my life...the print is too small.

My blow dryer blew up recently. Okay, I admit it...I am a tad obsessed about my hair. I wanted to call beauty supply places to find out if they sold this brand I was looking for. Guess what? Stores that have been around in my area forever...I would call information and the operator would say "No, I'm sorry...they are not listed."

Finally, today I asked the operator "why?" She said it is a voluntary service to be listed. They pay to be listed and can chose not to be. She said sometimes they pay for a month and take it off for a month and go back and forth like this. husband says his guess is the price is high and it borders on extortion. More and more companies are pulling out. In addition, the cost for us (consumer) is getting higher as well...it's really not worth it...and I would agree.

I went on-line and got my phone number for one of the places easily. It did occur to me that if you can't find a phone number on-line that you might be forced to drive to these places to shop for items and/or prices and that makes things more stressful.

I really doubt I'm even going to bother with 411 much anymore...I'm going to try going on-line first if at all possible. I do think things were a little easier when the phone book print was larger or you could just pick up a phone, get the phone number you needed quickly pretty much 100% of the time and were not charged an arm and a leg for this service. I know that we got 411 free for my father in law when he was much older, but you have to have a visual disability for this. Besides...it doesn't really matter 'cause the service is so bad at this time.

Are most folks avoiding 411 these days? Do you use the internet instead?

Well...that was my old lady report for the day.

 

[Star*]

Advertising IS beyond expensive -

Our Yellow pages ad for the business is in the neighborhood of 2k a month for a 1/2 pg. ad.

I get totally annoyed with the telemarketer calls stating they are an at&t "AUTHORIZED" sales person (it means Karp) zip, nada, zilch - at&t authorized means you don't now and have not been associated with at&t - but are selling me do-do. I hang up or ask them to FAX over their info. the smart ones will always say "May I have that fax" and I say - If you are att authorized - then you have my phone and my fax and I hang up - because that is true.

I think the yellow pages could be a tad tinier in their print - ARGH -and have asked to have a legally blind version for our office in larger print? They told us to use the internet (it comes full circle) they will be older with poor eyesight someday

So we bought a magnification sheet - and darn if the one with alzheimers looses it all the time. Groan

Your best bet is to take the brand name - and type in the google bar that brand name and/or -sales for zipcode - xxxxx ......

As far as information and 411? Our cell phones are given to the "young", sighted salespeople. They are also given a phone book, and a computer. And what do I have to $U#@(_@ about every month? 411 calls are $1.50 EACH people - you're young LOOK IT UP!!!!! ARGH.

nope - they still have 411 calls for information - citing they were driving down the road and couldn't pull over to use the phone book - but if I would pay for blackberry internet service ????? They could look THAT up while driving. (either way the co. pays - accident or $1.50 411 service)

To be young and not be able to look up a number in a phone book - ah the days......and then to lame excuse it with - can't pull over and get away with it?

Nice.........I'm old lady rant there with yoU!

And don't EVEN get me started on HOW LONG these MEN take in the toilet EVERY FRICKING MORNING - and do I provide air freshener? Yes - does it get used? HE)) NO. Do I need to clean up their crossword bathroom puzzles and pens? Sure - I was "paid" to clean up. (yeah for 3 people a year and 1/2 ago) - so now instead of cleaning every week for 22 men - I clean once every 3 weeks for the time it took to clean for 3 people and when that time is up? I'm done. (FIgured I'd try some of that phone book/driving/blackberry logic here) and IT WORKED....OMG - pft. I keep my office immaculate....

 

[susiestar]

Around here 411 was $1.95 PER CALL the last time one of my little darlings tried it. (It was husband - the kids go online to find out everything.)

1-800-FREE-411 can be helpful if you are out and about with your cellphone. You have to listen to an ad though.

Tehre are numerous phone directories online. Yellow Pages has one, I can't remember teh site name cause it isn't www. what you would think.

I am sorry you have such a hard time though.

 

[mrscatinthehat]

With technology everything is easier. (dripping sarcasm) The world is a much better place now that we can find everything at the click of a mouse.

Customer service and helpfulness in so many cases has taken a back seat to something else. Not sure what but something else.

beth

 

[Marcie Mac]

A guy came into my office a few weeks ago with the new telephone directory, handed it to me then asked for my business card for proof he was here and gave me the directory. I can't even remember the last time I looked in the phone book for a number, I always look on line. I told him I would give him a card ONLY if he took the phone book back. He wouldn't, and I wouldn't... so had to take the darn thing home and put it in the recycling bin. We have about 8 different companies making phone directories and they update them a few times a year...how many trees is that??

I get so irritated by people comming in trying to sell me something, and then wanting a business card as proof they were here..mmmm.....no. Had I asked you to come in and give me your spiel, I would have given you a card, but I don't hand them out to off the street solicitors. One girl stood there with two others I think she was training, and started to argue with me about my stupid business card. I told her, you know what, give me yours and I will give you mine. And I am also going to call your boss and relay the fact there is a big "NO SOLICITORS" sign in my window. They all left in a huff..

Its a 1.50 charge here to use 411 on your cell as well - the only good thing about it is that they will upload the number you are looking for to your cell, but still, its not worth that much money.

Marcie

 

[flutterbee]

www.yellowbook.com
www.whitepages.com

I get phone books delivered to my house (along with everyone else) a couple times a year. They go straight in the trash.

 

[Star*]

our recycling stations actually NOW have a "recycling WEEK" in February - the month after the yellow pages come out.

We get 3
Yellow pages
talking yellow pages - which is moronic to me - you open the book they do not talk
The yellow pages mini-book - and we get ONE for every phone in our office x3

Then they came out with a jerk-book of 1-800 numbers - and tried to charge us for that. I keep meticulous phone records and we ALWAYS say fax us the info. - because they couldn't produce a signed proposal - they had to eat their $1800. bill - um that's to list AND to get a copy in your office -

But if you CALL the yellow pages and ask for a FREE phone book to be sent to you for an out of area book that you may use ? OMG Send a pint of blood.

 

[Hound dog]

If our phone book gets any smaller it will disappear completely.

I almost always go online to look up numbers.

 

[trinityroyal]

I HATE our 411 service. They charge $0.75 per call, for which you get to shout into their demonic voice-activated response service, wait around while they completely misinterpret the information, and then speak to a live human operator who can (sometimes) figure out what you're looking for.

Even though the operators are fairly polite, by the time I get to them I'm so riled up from having rammed my head up against the voice activation brick wall.




I can't think of the last time that I used the phone book. They still deliver them free in my city, and I find them very useful for:
- sitting or standing on when I can't quite reach
- pulling out the pages to use as packing material for glasses, mugs, etc.
- kindling

I use the canada411.ca website for just about everything.

 

[Fran]

I haven't used 411 in ages. I hate the small print of the phone book and I throw them into recycle as soon as I can. The only time I use the yellow pages is if I am looking up something new(like pharmacies in a new city) I get a better feel of the stores, areas and what I can chose from. Other than that, I never use the yellow pages.

Almost everything is done on line, including grocery shop.

 

[mom_in_training]

I never call 411 anymore. I look up whatever #s I need on the computer. msn.com homepage, Upper right yellow pages and get good results. Don't know if this # works anymore but its supposed to be free 411. 1-800-373-3411 Its called information 411.

 

[donna723]

Ha! I doubt if very many trees were sacrificed to print our little phone book! It's about 1/4" thick and has several other small towns in it besides ours. I have never used 411. If I need a number I get it online or some other way. People use it at work all the time even though they're not supposed to. And then if you fall for the bit about how they can connect you to that number for a small fee, they really charge you out the ying yang! It add a lot to our phone bill every month.

Even with my new glasses, I can barely read the tiny little print in the phone book! With my old ones, it was impossible So many things are printed now in type so little you need a magnifying glass to read it! This is one of my pet peeves! If I can't read it, even with brand new glasses, what about old people or someone with a vision problem? Seems very uncaring and inconsiderate to me. I once bought a package of those scalloped potatoes that you mix with milk, water and butter and bake. The instructions were printed on the box in very tiny light brown type on a beige background! There was about one color shade difference between the type and the background. Almost impossible to read! And I've gotten medications like ointments (both for myself and from the vet for the dogs) that come in little tubes. The instructions and dosing directions are printed so tiny that they're extremely difficult to read. Why do they do that?!?!

 

[Suz]

I'm another one who goes online to find phone numbers, addresses and as much of everything else as is possible.

Suz

 

[KTMom91]

We have two versions of the local phone book, a Yellow Pages only one, and a book just for our little town. I have tried to teach Miss KT how to use the phone book, but apparently my instructions were issued in Chinese or some other incomprehensible language. Hubby tears the coupons out and recycles the books. We keep one just because, and I do use it sometimes, mainly when I don't want to get up and go over to the computer.

 

[busywend]

I use my phone book all the time! I look up pizza numbers, addresses and I for sure use the coupons in the yellow pages. Huh? I guess I did not know it was becoming a dinosaur!

I better get with the times! LOL!