By 
Take a look at this pile of waste. This is my foyer last week piled high with brand new yellow pages wrapped in plastic bags. It almost makes me sad, in a nostalgic sort of way to witness the demise of such a venerable icon as the phone book, but let’s be realistic here – no one in my building is going to pick one up. Well, almost no one. The fact is, these days, a phone book is only useful for propping up your chair. There are certainly some folks who insist on having one, but in the internet age, there is simply little use for these giant pieces of newsprint (to say nothing of the plastic bags).
As a shareholder in AT&T, I’m equally disappointed that the company continues to shell out god-only-knows how much money each year printing and distributing these things. The phone book should be an option for customers who specifically request it, not an unwanted tome thumped on your doorstep.
Comments
December 10, 2007 at 20:31 pm PST | David writes:
I wrote about this crap before on my site and the response was amazing – most people agree these things are dinosaurs, but some still want them delivered. It was the most commented post on my blog in almost 2 years – it’s a touchy subject!
If I owned shares in ATT I would be unhappy too..
September 21, 2009 at 9:38 am PDT | Bill writes:
Phone Books are not dinosaurs but are indeed still used by alot of people. There are people in all generations that still use the phone books. They are a great way to increase ROI in a business. They work right along with the internet which by the way most phone books are also on line and are mobile. And not everyone owns a computer nor do they get service in some places.
December 10, 2007 at 21:30 pm PST | Chet writes:
Indeed! It can’t be hard, for them to give phone books to people who want them. Just make it an option! Or at the very least, maybe we can ASK them not to send them to us.
One additional thing I just thought of – it’s possible that these things are profitable as there are many paid advertisements in the phone book.
December 11, 2007 at 4:39 am PST | BradyDale writes:
I agree that the phone books are wasteful, though, I have to say, if you think the Paper Phonebook isn’t useful, you’ve gotten out of the habit of using them. If you do still use them, there’s a different quality of info you find in them that just isn’t replicated on line, and sometimes when you’re looking for a service in your area but don’t know who to ask, the yellow pages can’t be beat. In that case, I hate looking on-line. It’s just confusing. Like when you’re looking for a plumber or a music store. On-line, it can just be frustrating.
December 11, 2007 at 6:08 am PST | Jessica Gregory writes:
I agree that they can be incredibly wasteful, but the internet is not good enough to replace a paper phone book yet. Was trying to find a store yesterday to buy a USB card reader and went to yell.com — I knew roughly where the store I wanted was located but didn’t know it’s name, and yell.com has about 20 different categories for computers, none of which were giving me the result I wanted. In the end, I found it in the phone book.
December 11, 2007 at 8:06 am PST | Taj Mahal writes:
Jessica, Brady, You’ve never used Yelp.com? (never heard of Yell.com). I haven’t looked at a phone book in years. As far as I’m concerned, if you’re not on line, you don’t exists – to your business’ peril…
December 15, 2007 at 5:45 am PST | Erika writes:
Yes, I still use a phone book. Not all of the buisnesses in our town are listed on line, therefore there is no way to reach them. I do think it should be requested though, not forced upon us.
December 18, 2007 at 10:33 am PST | Everett writes:
I stumbled across this one while back: http://www.powandjib.com/images/ivan-phonebooks.jpg . Looks like they’re not the only ones tired of this crap. It’s 2008. Who uses phone books these days anyway?
December 27, 2007 at 9:44 am PST | lydia writes:
Hello posters. It is funny that you are writing about these issues… I am the COO of a my family company that works with phone companies in order to help people who want phone books receive them and also eliminate distribution of duplicate books. We are saving Forests and land fills and money. I will be contacting the exact companies that you are targeting to offer our services to them. We not only save the environment, the costumers aggravation but the phone company’s a lot of money. It is Win Win all around. I personally like the yellow pages as I find the web searches stacked with biased information from web pages who pay to be first on web searches. For more information about My company. Contact me directly. Lydia B.
AT&T is a current client in many areas… and will be siging up in your area soon (hopefully)
January 04, 2008 at 7:26 am PST | craig writes:
looking for deals on att phones and calling plans then check out: http://www.attprepaidplans.info
April 04, 2008 at 6:47 am PDT | marc writes:
Good info. but only 10 to 15 percent of small businesses advertise on line. seems pretty limited when a pipe bursts in the middle of the night and you need 24 hour service. go to kn/sri group they are the nielson rating for yellowpages. usage is still very strong. it will die. but not in our lifetime. also if you do a local search on yahoo. all your local listing are driven by at&t. See how many times yellowpages.com is up in the natural results. yellowpages.com recieved more local searches than google for the past few months. and yes i do work for at&t publishing(the most profitable division). I was not a believer until i learned the real numbers either. thanks for the blog.
May 14, 2008 at 11:19 am PDT | Clayton James writes:
ok, I understand your concerns in terms of being a shareholder, but these books are paid for by advertising. people pay to be put in the phonebook, and A LOT. these books are mass produced and i’m sure that the phone companies would not make these if they were loosing money on them. That doesn’t make corporate or capitalist sense.
July 01, 2008 at 17:42 pm PDT | Gregory May writes:
I ATT&T phone books delivered to business addresses along University Avenue in San Diego (North Park) that were empty buildings.
This is basically litter. Att&T is littering San Diego’s City Streets with this trash.
Such waste. Their department for distributing their phone books is out of control. They need to polices this up and be more Environmentally friendly.
July 01, 2008 at 17:42 pm PDT | Gregory May writes:
I AT&T phone books delivered to business addresses along University Avenue in San Diego (North Park) that were empty buildings.
This is basically litter. Att&T is littering San Diego’s City Streets with this trash.
Such waste. Their department for distributing their phone books is out of control. They need to polices this up and be more Environmentally friendly.
July 10, 2008 at 16:51 pm PDT | Rosita Williams writes:
Please stop this waste. I don’t want these phone books.
September 10, 2008 at 7:43 am PDT | Alex Ireland writes:
Consumers can “opt out” of receiving telephone books at http://www.YellowPagesGoesGreen.org. They will contact the publishers and inform them to stop delivering books. This is a free service for consumers. http://www.YellowPagesGoesGreen.org is working with state and local governments on ordinances concerning the delivery of unsolicited telephone books. http://www.YellowPagesGoesGreen.org is not against the telephone books but against the delivery of 4 to 5 pounds of paper on people’s door step 5 to 6 times per year and being told it is our responsibility to recycle something we did not ask for. If we need a book we will call. Otherwise I “opt out” from receiving it.
September 10, 2008 at 10:57 am PDT | Mark writes:
Unfortunately, most folks don’t realize that it is a state/federal requirement for local phone companies to provide printed directories. Call your state and federal representatives, and tell them this is an archaic requirement.
October 02, 2008 at 14:56 pm PDT | PC writes:
Mark – the issue is not the state/federal government requirement for local telephone companies to provide printed directories. The issue is state/federal governments does not require the industry to throw books on your front door. If people want a book they can call and get one. And please follow the money. Do you think some politician woke up one day and said “let’s make telephone companies print books”? How about the lobbyist help push this through to creat additional revenue stream and help stop competition by adding another level of hoops to jump throw. The telephone companies did not get to where they are today by their customer service. Follow the money and stop dropping a book off when I do not want one.
October 02, 2008 at 14:57 pm PDT | Anonymous writes:
Mark – the issue is not the state/federal government requirement for local telephone phone companies to provide printed directories. The issue is state/federal governments does not require the industry to throw books on your front door. If people want a book they can call and get one. And please follow the money. Do you think some politician woke up one day and said “let’s make telephone companies print books”? How about the lobbyist help push this through to creat additional revenue and help stop competition by adding another level of hoops to jump throw. The telephone companies did not get to where they are today by their customer service. Follow the money and stop dropping a book off when I do not want one.
December 08, 2008 at 8:41 am PST | Debbie writes:
I agree phone books are just not needed, Its 2008 if you are still looking in a phone book you are most likley over the age of 80. My grandmother who is 70 goes on line for everything .
December 08, 2008 at 8:41 am PST | Debbie writes:
I agree phone books are just not needed, Its 2008 if you are still looking in a phone book you are most likley over the age of 80. My grandmother who is 70 goes on line for everything .
January 14, 2009 at 13:25 pm PST | Eli writes:
I spent an hour on the phone with AT&T trying to GET a freaking phone book. All the customer service people I talked to had NO IDEA how to get me a phone book. They suggested I google it. HA. This is what came up. I need one in my office. I wish I had access to those piles of unused books I see in your photo. Plus there is a killer 20% off coupon for the local food co-op in there that is like GOLD. I agree it should be optional. I also think that mega corporations should be held more accountable for their CRAPTASTIC customer service. The agents are sweet, but have no training or access to info.
March 16, 2009 at 10:02 am PDT | Anonymous writes:
My husband’s company requires him to list his phone number in the local phone book. However, this keeps us tied to the phone company at a high rate. Does anyone know how to get around that?
April 09, 2009 at 20:12 pm PDT | jack writes:
I DONT THINK IT IS ATT FAULT AT ALL THE WASTE WHERE PHONE BOOKS ARE DELIVERED TO VACANT BUSINESS IT IS THE PERSON IN CHARGE OF THE DELIVERY BECAUSE A ROUTE SHEET CONTAINS 300 HUNDERED AND THEY DELIVERE 750 BOOKS ,I WOULD BE CHECKING ON WHERE THOSE EXTRA BOOKS WENT TO
April 09, 2009 at 20:12 pm PDT | jack writes:
I DONT THINK IT IS ATT FAULT AT ALL THE WASTE WHERE PHONE BOOKS ARE DELIVERED TO VACANT BUSINESS IT IS THE PERSON IN CHARGE OF THE DELIVERY BECAUSE A ROUTE SHEET CONTAINS 300 HUNDERED AND THEY DELIVERE 750 BOOKS ,I WOULD BE CHECKING ON WHERE THOSE EXTRA BOOKS WENT TO
April 09, 2009 at 20:12 pm PDT | jack writes:
I DONT THINK IT IS ATT FAULT AT ALL THE WASTE WHERE PHONE BOOKS ARE DELIVERED TO VACANT BUSINESS IT IS THE PERSON IN CHARGE OF THE DELIVERY BECAUSE A ROUTE SHEET CONTAINS 300 HUNDERED AND THEY DELIVERE 750 BOOKS ,I WOULD BE CHECKING ON WHERE THOSE EXTRA BOOKS WENT TO
April 09, 2009 at 20:17 pm PDT | jack writes:
THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE DO USE PHONE BOOKS AND WE ARE IN EARLY FORTIES AND SOME OF US DONT HAVE COMPUTERS OR THE INTERNET