San Francisco may ban the Yellow Pages
Comments
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bobman1235 wrote: »But if I'm looking for, as mentioned above, a transmission repair shop, I want more than their number or ad, I want reviews, maybe a map to where they are.
Bobman, as posted, I own a transmission repair shop. It's one of 3 major competitors in our county. Here, you can type the county name or some of the city names (in the county) into a search engine along with "transmission repair" and get dozens of hits for every Tom Dick and Harry that professes to be able to perform such repairs. Plus wade through all the alternate addresses and phone numbers I (and my competition) have out there in the hopes you'll hit me.
Or, crack the YP and immediately recognize the 3 major, reputable, players in my county that do trans repair. Our ad gives you a map and many of the services we offer.
Takes some bucks to have a major ad in the YP. I pay about $12k per year for mine. It's considerably more for more metropolitan areas. It depends on the industry, but the big, established companies place nice ads. The wanna-be's often cannot. So you have a weeding out process built in. Anybody can get a phone number or ad online, often for free.
Lastly, on-line reviews are often a waste. I've written so many glowing reports about my business you wouldn't believe it and I suspect, from my conversations with other business owners, that it's fairly common practice.
I'm a huge fan of the internet. I always tell people "everything's out there." Sometimes however, in my opinion, "everything" can be too much if you just want to find, say, a plumber in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Chris -
~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
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That's cheap - I hear YP ad's in major metro areas can be, like, $60k or something.
Chris -
What's the big deal. They are not outright banning the YP's. They are merely saying that companies cannot give them out to every customer in the phone book. So residents have to request a free copy. So what. If people don't use it then they don't request one and the city saves money on recycling. For people without other YP's means (Internet, 411) then they can still easily get a copy.
Most cities and States are running into deficit problems. Finding ways to save money like what is proposed is a good thing. -
Thinking out loud here but why doesn't the YP offer an online version that duplicates exactly what the paper version does? Word for word, sizing and all.
That way folks with computers can have the exact same thing at minimal cost to many parties and those that still want the paper version can still have what they want.
It's a win-win situation.
Then the YP could afford to offer phone service like Google411 used to do, getting more and more traffic/publicity/wisely used advertising dollars. Instead of slowly dying.~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~ -
I wonder what uses the greatest amount of resources, cutting a tree to making me seventeen pounds of books plus the landfill space for me to file the damn things, or the amount of electricity it takes to keep this lap top on all the time. I think it's got to be close. Of course, there is no **** in the Yellow pages so the computer wins again.The world is full of answers, some are right and some are wrong. - Neil Young
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Bobman, as posted, I own a transmission repair shop. It's one of 3 major competitors in our county. Here, you can type the county name or some of the city names (in the county) into a search engine along with "transmission repair" and get dozens of hits for every Tom Dick and Harry that professes to be able to perform such repairs. Plus wade through all the alternate addresses and phone numbers I (and my competition) have out there in the hopes you'll hit me.
Just searching the entire Internet for "transmission repair near wz2p7j" is about as useful as searching every book on your bookshelf for your phone number. There are sites out there that act as an online yellow pages, and return similar results. There are also other places you can place your ad.
Obviously dropping 12 grand on the Yellow Pages ad pays dividends for you, and I'm not suggesting you stop or something - that would be stupid, it works. But some day (I pray) it's going away so you'd better find a new way of getting out there.If you will it, dude, it is no dream. -
I still use the Yellow Pages. I agree that the form is almost useless in modern society. But it is easier than getting in front of the computer and typing in a search and the retyping in the search so it finds what you are really looking for. I can quickly thumb through the pages to what I want and be on my way.
I still use maps as well. I have a Tom Tom but if I want to know the area someplace is I prefer a map. -
Thinking out loud here but why doesn't the YP offer an online version that duplicates exactly what the paper version does? Word for word, sizing and all.
That way folks with computers can have the exact same thing at minimal cost to many parties and those that still want the paper version can still have what they want.
It's a win-win situation.
Then the YP could afford to offer phone service like Google411 used to do, getting more and more traffic/publicity/wisely used advertising dollars. Instead of slowly dying.
You'd think it, huh?
But, no, I can do all the search stuff, and still get results from 20 states,
20 other search sites, and never see the listing that sits in the first entry of
the yellow pages."The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." --Thomas Jefferson -
I just opted out of everything and I feel great.CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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