abraham1122
Burbank,#2Consumer Comment
Sun, November 04, 2012
I was betrayed by a subsidiary of AT&T called Pacific Bell Directory. After 25 years of paid advertising in their yellow page print directory, At&t changed their policy or procedure of screening false advertisements in their publications. multiple false and deceptive advertisements were placed in the yellow page directory under the heading of garage doors side by side with my paid advertisement. This caused unfair competition between my company and many illegal advertisers.
Not only did AT&T betray my trust, but they betray public trust. By AT&T not screening advertisers, the public is deceived. Some consumers receive substandard work, some elderly are taken advantage of and consumers are put at a risk of injury.
Although AT&T claims to have high values and ethics in their company policies. AT&Ts yellow page directory advertising from 2007 to current has not met up to industry standards and guidelines for screening advertisements. To me, it is a crime to publish unlicensed contractors and fake company names with fake addresses. Yes, fake addresses so a service man can appear to be a local company.
I am the only garage door company in burbank with a true physical location, but by 2009 I had to compete with 80+ false advertisements that AT&T allowed in the Burbank book with local addresses. Currently my company must compete with 380 garage door companies listed by AT&T within 10 miles of my location. About 85% of these ads are false and 10 % are miss listed. That is 95% inaccurate and misleading. These are horrible advertising ethics and AT&Ts products cannot be trusted.
Robert
Staunton,#3Consumer Comment
Sat, December 20, 2003
Dear Steven, Being responsible for marketing a small business myself, It seems we are constantly saying "NO" to a host of advertising opportunities that are thrust our way. A red flag to me is anyone who says he can guarantee results with a 'bigger' ad. Any reputable advertising counselor (and your yellow pages rep. does NOT qualify) will tell you that half of your advertising spending is wasted. By this it is meant that people don't look in the directory, they toss your mailer and a hundred other reasons why your ad is never viewed by the intended customer. But advertising and promotion is important. It is a necessary investment. I would advise anyone starting a new business to begin with direct marketing to those who would be potential customers. In the case of your cleaning business I would probably do a mailing or call on businesses who would need this service. The money you spend on advertising would be better spent on a 'gift' of say a bottle of spot remover with your name on it. The idea is to be remembered when they need a full service cleaning company. Usually the complimentary listing is all the directory advertising a start-up company needs, but don't count on the directory rep to tell you this.
Linda
San Diego,#4Consumer Comment
Tue, October 14, 2003
As a consumer in southern California, the first thing we do when we get our huge editions of the telephone book, Pac Bell and Verizon, is throw them in the recycle bin. We have found out that the numbers are often out-of-date, companies are no longer in business, etc., so it's more efficient to look it up on the Internet. I think the salesman was not completely truthful about recovering your money with the larger ad. You probably can't get your money back, but keep in mind what we do with our yellow pages, and I know several other families on this same block that do the same thing, before you place another large ad.