Sunday, October 23, 2011

I'm A Helper

This is one of my least favorite packages to find on my doorstep.
Who the heck still uses a phone book? And how could these possibly be a money-making venture? Are The Yellow Pages hoping for a large retro movement where hipsters will abandon their smart phones and wi-fi and use a book to find phone numbers?

Look, I admit that even I have trouble remembering my own number. But here's the thing: my home phone (yes, I have one of those) and my cell phone remember numbers. All I have to do is press a button and it will even dial it for me. And if I don't know a number, I use Google or I phone a friend (not as exciting as Who Wants To Be A Millionaire). Because it's easy.

Also, I can't help but wonder if the army deployed to lob these at front door (in a non-recyclable plastic bag) make minimum wage. Because they should make a LOT more than that. Those books are heavy, y'all! And I know this because every time I pick up this unwelcome delivery, I have to haul it to the recycle bin - all 30 steps or so. I really hope they're recyclable - or I guess the people who do the cursing will curse me even though they should blame the jerks cranking out these books as if we were in 1994 (or whatever time people relied on phone books).

This mini-rant made me wonder if there's some way to opt out of these along the lines of the No Call Registry. A quick search turned up this site.

It kind of seems legit. Don't you think this language is promising?

Because we understand that delivering unwanted directories doesn’t benefit anyone. All participating companies must follow the guidelines in our Commitment to Consumer Choice.

And I'm hoping they mean it, because I entered my zip code and found about eight (EIGHT!!!) different phone books scheduled for delivery. I chose to stop delivery on all of them. Now, I wait with my fingers crossed to see if this site really works. They can talk about "reducing carbon footprint" all they want. The best way to get that footprint to shrink is to stop printing unnecessary books. Maybe we all need to rise up and sign up to stop these deliveries for good.

(I think) I've done my part. Now, it's your turn.

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