Confused about Yellow Pages

[David Paleg]

Just today, I received the new Verizon phone book for Charleston and vicinity. While checking the yellow pages listings for restaurants, I noticed the following listings:

Steak Escape in the Kanawha Mall
Shoneys of South Charleston
Quarrier Diner
Chef Dan's
Chesterfield House

The first four have closed up years ago. In fact, about three other restaurants have come and gone in Chef Dan's location. And Chesterfield House stopped serving meals about two years ago and changed the name to Max's. Who is paying to list businesses that are closed? That reminds me when they listed Cagney's restaurant for about five years after they closed up. I wonder if they still list WTIP/WTIO in the radio station section. Morris Harvey College instead of U.C.

[Hoosier Daddy]

Prior to the switch to "Verizon", our local GTE book came out with a six year old database, including listings for people who moved out of town or died, businesses that closed, and, of course, new businesses that opened in the last few years just weren't in there. GTE pointed the finger at a corrupt computer program. They fixed it and then reprinted the whole phone book.

[Dr. Whiplash]

Regurgitating an old database is not an uncommon problem for Verizon. The blindingly stupid aspect is that the phenomenon continues year to year, market to market. It is of great credit to the old telephone guys who built the existing C&P and GTE networks that the thing actually still works, mostly.

[Hoosier Daddy]

Busting up the old AT&T network qualifies as the #1 Stupid Business Decision of the 20th Century.

#2 has to be the consolidation of radio.

[Big Media]

What are yellow pages?

Dudes... www.superpages.com

I have never not found the number I needed.

[David Paleg]

Dudes... http://www.superpages.com

They are a little better than the Verizon book. They only listed four of the five restaurants mentioned above that have been closed for some time.

[Hoosier Daddy]

What are yellow pages?

Dudes... http://www.superpages.com

I have never not found the number I needed.

The 'phone book on the internet' thing has been slow to catch on, but now its use is becoming widespread. With a 120 day lead time for printing (book closes in January for a March printing and an April distribution), a phone book is outdated on the first day it arrives on your front porch, and things go downhill from there. The 'net is the perfect way to satisfy our need for instant and always changing information.

[Big Media]

They are a little better than the Verizon book. They only listed four of the five restaurants mentioned above that have been closed for some time.

I get what you are saying, but what possible reason could you have for looking for a telephone number for a business, which you know to be closed?

[Dr. Whiplash]

What are yellow pages?

Dudes... http://www.superpages.com

I have never not found the number I needed.

Superpages et al buy their information from the incumbent phone companies - where else would they get it? So while, as HD said, the websites are fresher, the information is maintained by Verizon, thus David's 4 out of 5 results. Since there are no wireless directories, the Old Yeller (and white) pages are on their way to irrelevance.

[Big Media]

I will say this for the big book, when I stay in a hotel and need a yummy pie or a juicy steak, I usually grab the yellow pages to see what's near by. The only problem, if you are unfamiliar with the city you are in, you're still f-cked.

[David Paleg]

I will say this for the big book, when I stay in a hotel and need a yummy pie or a juicy steak, I usually grab the yellow pages to see what's near by. The only problem, if you are unfamiliar with the city you are in, you're still f-cked.

That was why I was looking through the restaurant listings. I work at the front desk of a hotel in the Charleston vicinity and have for over 25 years. Guests not familiar with the area will sometimes ask the clerks about places to eat. I like to keep up with openings and closings of restaurants in the area, the menu items and price ranges. Sometimes I even try out the new eateries.