Those Pesky Phonebooks!
Those Pesky Phonebooks! What to Do?
I know we can opt-out of credit card offers and other junk mail, but don’t you think it might be time to be able to opt out of those water soaked phone books that land in our driveways each year? I am intensely curious to know just what percentage of the United States population actually even uses a phone book these days.
Personally, the only time I touch one is to pick it up off of the driveway and toss it in the trash can. This is such a waste and it does bother me to see all that paper, ink and human effort go into a landfill somewhere, but I have absolutely no use at all for a traditional telephone book. Being a highly technically savvy Virtual Assistant and Web Developer, I Google EVERYTHING!
I do understand that some people still have a need for this, but what about those of us who don’t want them. Can we opt out?
How to Stop Receiving Phone Books
This is not as easy as using the Do Not Call Registry (which I highly recommend!) but with a little time and patience it can be done.
The Yellow Pages Association has a zip code search you can use to search for phone book providers in your area. Once you find your list of providers you have to call them individually to get taken off of their lists.
There is also a website called Yellow Pages Goes Green that calls itself the “Movement Against Unsolicited Phone Book Delivery” where you can signup to remove your home of office from receiving telephone directories.
Consider signing a petition to move to a strictly on-demand system of printing directories. In other words, if we want a printed copy of the Yellow Pages, we will request one.
If you have any other solutions for this issue I would love to hear them and share them with my readers.
Thanks!
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One Response to “Those Pesky Phonebooks!”
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I’m also a savvy Virtual assistant – however, I still use the phone book. Many local small businesses haven’t converted to advertising online yet!
You mentioned “human effort”. In this economy, I’ll bet that those “humans” are happy they still have a job! Let’s not put them out of work just because some don’t want to use the phone book.
I agree that having an “on demand” system or an “opt-in/out” procedure might be of interest to some.
I have a gut feeling that more people use the phone book than you realize. People in our field seem to have a different outlook in the world of marketing and advertising – but we do have to remember that not everyone runs to their computers for information – at least not just yet!
Eydie