Every time I call the phone book company, I've been assigned to a new sales rep. Today, there was no sales rep assigned, I'm sitting on hold waiting for someone. I've never had such poor customer service in my life as that provided by the phone book company. They don't have a clue that we are busy people and don't have time to sit on hold forever. I'm glad for speaker phones.

Every year they call me always wanting me to "upgrade" my ad. I ask them the same question. That is, if I answer the phone at all. "Upgrade to what? So all I get is MORE price shoppers than I already get?" No thanks. Been there done that. I'll take the tiny little free ad that comes with my business phone, that's good enough for me and works just as good as the larger ones anyway with a LOT LESS price shoppers with my past experience with it. I get the same STUPID response from them every single time too. "You mean, it doesn't increase your business sales?" Ummmm, nooooooooooooooooo. That comes mostly from word of mouth not from you stupid ad's. But, it increases YOUR income! Byeeeeeeeee!

Well, I've been on hold for 45 min now. I want to cancel a product. I wonder if that's why they don't want to talk to me. I'm hanging up and calling again.

My sympathy, Bob, for spending so much time on hold! I did that with the credit card company the other day - 45 minutes, all said and done.

It must be from living in our rural area, but our phone book rep makes an appointment to come out to the house at our convenience to run over the ad when needed. We don't run a big one, either. Like Jerry pointed out, the new clients are word-of-mouth.

I never did get though to the "cancellation specialist". Can I be a "cancellation specialist"? I bet they get to take long lunches - at a table............

What if the "Cancellation Specialist" got laid off? The irony would be outstanding!

I do like Jerry. One liner. Every once in a while one of their reps snags me on the phone and I explain advertising does me NO good. Word of mouth. I'm only in the book in case one of my customers loses my phone number. It hurts them to the core. Sputtering, stammering, "but you could increase your business 10 FOLD..."

I like me too Sam!

Actually, I think I get more emails from my dinky little website than I ever get from the ads. I tell them the same thing, it's for the convenience of my customers should they forget my phone number. Of course, should they also forget my name, well, that could be a problem then....

It also helps if I forget MY name. I can look in the yellow pages until I see a familiar name. Nine times out of ten the familiar name turns out to be me!

Yeah, he turns out to be a pretty good guy. We like him too.

I still run a display add. Its questionable if it helps, since I notice that in out regions where we run small one liners we still get calls. I think the info in the bigger adds helps us reach rebuilding clients for melodeons and pump organs and player pianos and uprights and grands etc...too many words to put in a one liner...

But then, I've always been a man of too many words!



RPD

I think the cancellation specialist's job got cancelled.

Like others here, I keep a presence in the book for the benefit of customers who may have lost my number, but honestly, I haven't had one good customer from the phone book ads in 10 years of self-employement. Word of mouth is the only way to succeed in this business, or any sole-proprietorship.

I have considered getting a business phone line so that I will be in the yellow pages. But the local phone company has a monopoly on high speed internet, too. They said for me to upgrade my phone line to business, I must also upgrade my DSL connection! Maybe I am cutting off my nose to spite my face, but I really do have about as much work as I care to have. Well, a little more would be nice so that tunings are scheduled farther in advance.

You don't need a business line to be in the yellow pages in my area. You get a free listing IF you have a business line, but they'll take your money either way.

Get a residential line, it's cheaper. And stay away from doing much advertising in the yellow pages. It doesn't pay any more. It used to, but not with Google.

The yellow pages are obsolete and overpriced. They already know that, but they're not telling you.

This liking Jerry is getting WAY out of hand. My screen is getting sticky...

I went to Burger King and order a whopper MY way: EBVT; extra bacon, velveta and tomatoes...
OR Excessive Bombast Vexes Temperment
OR Extra Balloons for the Very Tall
OR Egostical Bragging Violates Tone
OR Eccentric Bumbling Varies Tuning
OR Error Backlog Verituner's Tears

Eating Burgers Vindicates Tuner

Ah, but my local phone service prohibits me from using my phone number to advertise my business unless I pay the business rate!

Even Bill Venerates Tooners
Especially By Violating Truly
Equally Balanced Vector Temperaments.

(Best I can do with only one cup of coffee...)

I gave up and sent a fax to the local sales office. Still no response 3 days later. (full of emotions, here!)

Bob:

I had a billing problem with a newspaper last year. So, I just did not pay until I finally did have their attention. Then I showed them a receipt that showed paid in full.

In your case, save a copy of some kind of document (paper or email) demanding cancellation. Then kick back and wait for them to contact you. If they run the ad, it is their problem, not yours. (This is also known as putting the turd in their pocket.)

What's a phone book?

Old ones are put in the hootenanny ever since the Sears catalog went glossy.

Tell them to find you that many pianos in the area that need tuning, and you'd be in business!

Bob, probably one of the best solutions would be to send it certified snail mail. That way, someone has to sign for it and you will have proof that they indeed received it in writing. Faxing it over means nothing. They can easily say that they never received anything.

Books as we know them are often called the original laptop.....

The phone book people make me frown. They call me EVERY DAY to upgrade my free add. Blah. The first time they called, they said my add wasn't complete and I had to call them to fix it...oh the lies!

Monica,
That is absolutely incredible. -E

Ha haa. That is good! But do THEY have good customer service?

Ever taken a look at an Islandic phone book? It's funny because people are listed by their first name followed by their patronym. Thus, you need to know their family tree to phone the right person. Thankfully, there are only about 250,000 people in Iceland, most of them living in Reykjavik anyway.

Bob,

Sounds like a Moebius Loop to me. My ex got in one with Pac Bell while trying to pay a supposedly delinquent phone bill of $10.00. Threats poured in even though she spent dozens of hours on the phone just trying to pay it off!

Some companies are just too big to be efficient. One end has no idea what the other is doing.

You might try contacting them on line.