Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: New Favorite Yellow Pages Listing

This is topic New Favorite Yellow Pages Listing in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Martin McCaffery (Member # 37) on 09-01-2018, 06:49 PM:

Yeah, I know, no one uses them any more, but the new one just came in and...
this is the listing for our local AMC Theatre

A McTheater.

Couldn't describe it better myself

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 09-04-2018, 03:55 PM:

..is where you definitely find the McJob!

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 09-04-2018, 04:46 PM:

That's amazingly perfect. Nice job, phone company.

This has nothing to do with movie theatres, but I still think it's funny. It has been this way in the Boston yellow pages for years and probably still is:

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 09-04-2018, 07:32 PM:

I'm surprised the environmentalists haven't gotten after the Yellow Pages...probably the most thrown-out publication in the country.

Every year we get 2 different phone books. When they're mailed out, the post office wastebaskets are overflowing with them.

Posted by Frank Cox (Member # 6258) on 09-04-2018, 07:54 PM:

Believe it or not, the post office here took the garbage cans away a couple of years ago. They said that they were encouraging people to take all of their mail home with them instead of throwing it out at the post office; what they were actually doing was creating a huge pile of paper in the corner of the post office box lobby where everyone was dumping their unwanted flyers on the floor.

A couple of times I've seen a little note someone posts on the wall there saying "Bring Back the Can!". But it never happens. There's still no garbage can at the post office and it still gets into a terrible mess sometimes because of it.

Among dumb ideas, that's certainly a prize winner.

Posted by Martin Brooks (Member # 1269) on 09-14-2018, 06:42 PM:

quote: Mike Blakesley
I'm surprised the environmentalists haven't gotten after the Yellow Pages...probably the most thrown-out publication in the country.

Every year we get 2 different phone books. When they're mailed out, the post office wastebaskets are overflowing with them.

I was going to say that we don't get phone books anymore, but then I realized that I don't have a land line anymore so I wouldn't be receiving them. But even so, living in an apartment building, I would see when phone books got delivered (they were never mailed here) and I haven't seen them in many years, so in NYC, I really don't think we have phone books anymore. I do remember getting a much smaller phone book of just businesses in my neighborhood, but I haven't seen one of those in years either.

Since cell phone numbers are unlisted, a White Pages would be completely useless. And I doubt very many people use a paper Yellow Pages today. I'm amazed any still exist. Used to be a very profitable business.

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 09-14-2018, 08:50 PM:

We get the Yellow Pages by default here (it gets thinner every year, though). Verizon stopped sending the white pages to all subscribers a few years ago. I have to manually order it now. I do this mostly out of principle, since it used to be a standard service which was discontinued without a reduction in the price of telephone service. I have occasionally found it to be useful to, for example, call the electric company to tell them that my power is out of service. I have rarely found the residental aspect of the white pages to be useful, though.

Posted by Kenneth Wuepper (Member # 1174) on 09-15-2018, 03:02 PM:

The local camera store operator used to dislike the Yellow Pages. His reason was, "Why should I pay to be listed alphabetically with my competitors?"

And the people that realize this is the case and name their businesses like "AA Exterminating". "AAA Builders" Etc.

Posted by Frank Cox (Member # 6258) on 09-15-2018, 03:37 PM:

When I first set up my theatre the phone directory company (which is different from the actual phone company) automatically put me into their yellow pages and started billing me for it.

I complained very loudly, particularly because they had done it without even asking me. "But every business needs a yellow pages listing!"

Why? I have the only theatre in town and if someone wants to find me he will manage to do so.

I eventually got the billing cancelled immediately and the listing cancelled for the next year.

What an arrogant outfit.

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 10-20-2018, 07:06 AM:

Frank--that's irritating. I wouldn't have paid the bill if I didn't order the service.

For the camera store mentioned above, I can actually see the value in a Yellow Pages listing. If someone needs a camera, film, or other photo supplies, the Yellow Pages is probably the fastest and easiest way to find the local purveyors of such goods. Google (etc.) is great, but not so good with location-based searches (though this is improving).

Posted by Frank Cox (Member # 6258) on 10-20-2018, 11:48 AM:

The option of just not paying their bill wasn't as easy as you would think it would be. Had they just been sending me their own bill I could have just ignored it and when they tried to collect then say tough luck boys, I didn't order your service.

However, even though the phone company (Sask Tel) and the phone directory company (Direct West) are different, Direct West puts their charges onto the Sask Tel bill. So there's no way that I know of to not pay Direct West without putting my phone bill into arrears.

Which meant that I had to phone Direct West and jump up and down to get them to stop billing me instead.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 10-20-2018, 03:24 PM:

New name for this site! Phone-Book Tech.com.... [Eek!]

Posted by Buck Wilson (Member # 5885) on 10-21-2018, 08:08 PM:

quote: Martin Brooks
I was going to say that we don't get phone books anymore, but then I realized that I don't have a land line anymore so I wouldn't be receiving them.

Not only do I not have a land-line, I don't even have a cell phone listed at my home address. Yet, in the last two weeks, I've received one phone book in the mail, and one in my driveway. Crazy how small they've gotten. White pages is now 5 pages, in a book half the width/height of what it used to be, and with bigger typeface. Times, they continue to change.....

Posted by Jim Cassedy (Member # 4115) on 10-22-2018, 05:25 PM:

I once had a roommate named "Charles Thorpe IV"
(As in "Charles Thorp The 4th" )

- - the phone book kept listing him as "Charles Thorpiv"
[Roll Eyes]