Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.csd.uwm.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!newstop!texsun!texbell!vector!telecom-gateway From: miket@brspyr1.brs.com (Mike Trout) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Phonebook Distribution Message-ID: Date: 1 Sep 89 19:35:39 GMT Sender: news@vector.Dallas.TX.US Organization: BRS Info Technologies, Latham NY Lines: 58 Approved: telecom-request@vector.dallas.tx.us X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@vector.dallas.tx.us X-TELECOM-Digest: volume 9, issue 341, message 3 of 8 In article , WMartin@wsmr-simtel20. army.mil (William G. Martin) writes: > [Pertinent questions about distribution of phone books deleted] This probably depends upon your local telco, but I suspect that in most cases, the number of phone books and how they are distributed is a rather anarchic process about which the telco cares little. In 1986, NYNEX dumped multiple pallets of phone books in the hallways at a company I worked for. As these were special phone books celebrating Albany's tricentennial and including a frameable color print of old-time Albany, they were in considerable demand. Not to mention that we had about 500 full-service phones in the building. Everyone grabbed one book for their desk phone and a couple extra for home and the car. There were still zillions left. I eventually ended up taking six, including a couple I used as oil mops in the garage. By the time the 1987 books came out, there were still at least a hundred 1986 books left on the pallets, which all ended up in the dumpster. In addition to the 3-inch-thick Albany book, there were a couple pallets of the 3/4-inch-thick Colonie book, which were appropriated in the same way (Colonie, where the company was located, is a major suburb of Albany). Here at BRS (also technically in Colonie) we always had a severe shortage of books until this year. This was supposedly due to the fact that we have a central switchboard and office phones can dial out but can't directly receive. But this year, I was in the lobby when a couple of NYNEX guys came in. They asked our receptionist how many 1989 Albany and Colonie books BRS would like. She (undoubtedly thinking about our phone system) replied that the couple they had with them would be enough. I wasn't about to let that pass, so I blurted out "We need more than that!" One of the NYNEX guys asked "So how many?" I replied, "How many can we have?" He said, "As many as you want." I said, "Literally?" He said yes; "You can have hundreds, even thousands if you want them. No extra charge." They had a truckload of pallets, and would drop off as many as we wanted on our loading dock and go on their merry way. We arrived at a figure of 75 books of each type; at the time we had perhaps double that number of phones in the building. But they were perfectly willing to leave 10 books per phone if we'd asked for them; it was merely a factor of how obnoxious I wanted to be. I've since wondered if this willingness to drop off unlimited phone books may have been prompted by the fact that there is now a competitor phone book (Western Information Systems or something like that). So far the competing book seems to have been dropped off at residences but not businesses. I once wanted a phone book for Saratoga Springs (long distance from Albany, with a phone book a little over an inch thick). I called NYNEX to ask if I could get one; it was on my front porch the next day--no charge. I also asked about getting phone books for areas outside NYNEX, like Tulsa (where I grew up). They said no problem, although there would be a charge (about 8 bucks). I passed, and the next time I was in Tulsa I tried walking into a Southwestern Bell office and asking for one. I didn't identify who I was, that I lived in New York, or that I wanted one just for the heck of it. Without a word they handed me both white and yellow pages (both about two inches thick). No charge, no questions asked. -- NSA food: Iran sells Nicaraguan drugs to White House through CIA, SOD & NRO. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Michael Trout (miket@brspyr1)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BRS Information Technologies, 1200 Rt. 7, Latham, N.Y. 12110 (518) 783-1161 "God forbid we should ever be 20 years without...a rebellion." Thomas Jefferson