I remember the first time I went to my computer to look up a phone number instead of looking in the phone book. I was surprised that I did it because I had stacked next to my desk 7 phone books, city, county, business and residential from 2 different phone service suppliers. The phone books are delivered to my door by literally running day laborers hauling plastic bagged phone books out from the back of a pick-up truck.I know how expensive an ad in the yellow pages costs a business. Over the years I have enjoyed looking through the yellow pages for restaurants, dry cleaners, and so much more. But now the only function 2 phone books do is raise the height of my printer. Do people still use a set of phone books on the chair for a small child to be able to sit and reach at the grown-up table?
Is there something in the phone book that my computer can’t tell me? How can I stop the delivery? Are the yellow page ads still a viable marketing expense? I have noticed on the cover page some business have a magnet to peel off or a coupon. These businesses are usually auto repair or furnace repair, movers, or insurance agents. Good to know, but I don’t need those numbers or coupon handy.
Pay phones are obsolete too. Even if you do find one, to find one with an attached phonebook is very rare. A friend of mine who does geocaching says that pay phones because of their obscurity are prime locations for leaving clues. When asked about phonebooks also as a clue catcher she said no because they can be moved too easily even if they are chained to the phone booth.
I recycle my phone books so they really are not a total waste of paper. I hope that they will be composted into something more timely. So what daily things or obsolete practices have you changed in your life over the last few years? Who has a good use for a phone book before I throw them into the recycling bin?
6 comments:
We could take the discussion even further.....my kids do not even know what a pay phone or phone book is! They are ancient relics to them!!!
I also recycle the phone books as they come.....but, I have fond memories of looking up taxi cab companies and pizza delivery places in the yellow book during my college years!
Thanks for the memories - Rachel
Maybe Rachel you came up with the purpose of the phone book, to evoke memories!
I bet your kids would go wild over a real phone booth, if you could ever find one.
I was just thinking about this the other day! I remember backpacking through Europe as a college student with a girlfriend and trying to come up with the right change to work the various payphones.
While personally the internet is my first source, I have discovered it depend on your community. Many local businesses here, especially small restaurants and coffee shops, are not online. Yes in 2011 many are STILL not online.
So I keep on book around just in case. The rest get recycled.
Oh I have not been abroad in 4 years, but I do remember the challenges of foreign payphones!
I think you make a good point about small communities and small businesses.
Great post! I always wonder why they even still print the yellow pages. More importantly, I also question whether it's a cost-effective way to advertise in today's market.
Like Rachel, I don't think my kids have ever used the yellow pages. I always recycle them.
Another thing I think will soon become a relic is a check. My husband and I were talking the other day about how long our box of checks lasts us now because we rarely use them! Between online bill pay and our debit cards, we rarely use checks.
Traci, you are so right about checks.
I have one utility that I write a check to and I am starting to feel resentful. I looked them up on line, not the phone book, to see where they are so I can set up some sort of direct withdrawal account!
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