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Why are email spammers thrown in jail while phone book spammers are allowed to continue to carpet bomb neighborhoods of Minneapolis with unsolicited advertising? It makes no sense.
Sadly, I thought I had solved this problem only to find yet another phone book on my front steps today . . . soaking in the rain. Here’s what I did with it:
I hope they don’t remind having my phone book left on their property unsolicited.
PS: It turns out that throwing a phone book is more difficult that I expected.
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You have no idea how much I have wanted to do this. Phone book return flash mob, anyone?
I have a TWO fucking Verizon phone books in my recycle bin right now: one delivered to me, and one delivered to the foreclosed house across the street. I could not find anywhere in the book as to how to contact them properly to get removed from them treating my front steps like a landfill.
Well done! I think you have just created the offical drop-off site for these useless books — that putt-putt space. I’ll drop mine there this week.
Your google ads at the end of the vid are hilarious.
That’s awesome! I just found one on my steps. I got pissed off and said to my girlfriend, “I shouldn’t have this. I took the Deet’s advice and opted out of receiving phone books.” So seeing that you had the same thing happen oddly brings a smile to my face. Nice work!
Ya’ll have NO idea how many of these phone books just end up at recycling facilities, or worse, the incinerator. Thank you, Ed, for bringing some creative light to this issue.
[...] » Returning an Unrequested Verizon Phone BookThe Deets – Ed Kohler's Blog God you just have to love The Deets (tags: thedeets phonebooks mnblogs) [...]
[...] Here’s what I’ll be doing with them next time. Why are email spammers thrown in jail while phone book spammers are allowed to continue to carpet bomb neighborhoods of Minneapolis with unsolicited advertising? It makes no sense. [...]
Woo-hoo! To quote John Hoff (aka “Johnny Northside”), a strong admirer of yours:
“We will not stop until we have total and crushing victory over phone book evil.”
Woo-hoo, I say!
Ed–as always, you’re my hero. A couple days ago, I also noticed the Verizon phone book offensive had swamped my neighborhood in North Minneapolis. Could you post the particulars about the address in EAGAN so everybody…and I mean EVERYBODY…knows where to go?
I was hoping for action from city officials weeks ago. I haven’t heard anything about this issue coming out of City Hall, yet.
Thanks John. Verizon spun off a company called Idearc Media in 2006 and that company runs the phone book business. Their local office is at:
Idearc
880 Blue Gentian Road, Suite 260
Eagan, MN 55121
The address link should show you the putting green.
I don’t even understand why the phone book system is still in place. Figuring the cost in compiling, printing, and delivering all those massive books, of which a sliver are actually opened, one wonders how cost effective it is.
Clearly, advertisers are continuing to pay for space in the book, but are they getting their money’s worth anymore?
Dang, had I known you were on the way there, I’d have given you mine. It came on a flipping Sunday morning and made it as far as the recycle bin (once I carefully separated it from its plastic bag–more pollution).
How many yellowpages are there? One for each telecom?
wow.
Ed, I love your shirt in this video. Do you perhaps know where I can obtain one?
Oh, and my grandma called. She thinks she can out-throw you.
[...] would love to do what Ed Kohler of The Deets did, but I would be mightily tempted to chuck the phone book through Verizon’s window instead of [...]
I think discus technique would serve well in future phone book hefting attempts. Once more around to get a little momentum then “ooomph!” all over their putting green.
[...] wileyone on Returning an Unrequested Verizon Phone Book [...]
[...] me onto their radio show to discuss the Yellow Pages Industry’s phone book spam policy that led to my trip to Idearc’s Eagan Campus to return an unsolicited phone book to their plastic putting [...]
[...] and neighborhood activist Ed Kohler passed along this gem to [...]
[...] Let’s work together to keep America beautiful. Of course, I don’t have a problem with throwing unwanted phone books at the companies who delivered the print spam in the first place. That’s totally justified. [...]
GET A LIFE!!!!!!!!!!
jackn7, I’ll give your anonymous feedback the respect it deserves. Have a good day.
[...] are changing. Ed “Deets” will be glad to hear that many of the Yellow Pages publishers are “teetering on the [...]
So once again you have proven how little of a life you have. And yes I do work in the business of delivering phone books. I dont deliver I am one of the field managers who runs the delivery. I can not tell you how many morons like you call and complain about the delivery non stop. Forceing us to fire people for no reason other then bringing you the new phone book. So I hope you are happy about putting people out of work in these difficult economic times.
Oh my gosh, I can’t believe how small of a life some people have to make all of this fuss over receiving phone books they don’t want! Unbelievable and sad. If you have THIS much spare time, try volunteering at some local soup kitchen, or church, something else that really could make a positive difference in the lives of others.
I was googling to find out when mine was going to be delivered because, as a small business, I wanted to see my new ad for this year. And I ended up finding this. ALL of my customers find me either in the Verizon yellow pages or by word-of-mouth. Even though I work on the computer for a living, the yellow pages is the only thing I use to find local businesses and physicians.
Man, I’m still shaking my head in disbelief.
PamJ, thanks for expressing your concern about my interest in not receiving print spam in the form of Verizon Yellow Pages.
If I could ask one thing of you, it’s this: Take a few deep breaths while considering the irony of your behavior. To look up business information about the the Verizon Yellow Pages, you didn’t turn to the Verizon Yellow Pages. You turned to Google.
When you say, “ALL of my customers find me either in the Verizon yellow pages or by word-of-mouth.” I believe you. If that’s where you do all of your advertising, that’s where all of your business would come from, for better or worse.
Here are a few quick questions for you:
How much business do you receive from people who throw away their phone books?
Do you think that you, as a business owner, should be paying for the production and distribution of those books?
Wouldn’t you be able to put more money toward running your business if you weren’t paying for those books?
Do you enjoy having a portion of your taxes go toward the disposal of phone books that were never used?
PS: Your comment sounds like astroturfing to me. I’ve never met anyone who’s as excited about phone books as you are without being on the payroll.
[...] fun humbleness. I set it up, entered some content, photos and a couple videos including Ed Kohler returning an unrequested Verizon phone book. 19 whopping people became members of the public profile. I then put out a poll for favorite local [...]
Hey Mr. Friend of the environment,
How much gas did you waste driving to and from the Verizon office. I also think your strategy of throwing your trash around someone else’s neighborhood is very sound. More people should do that.
You know, maybe we should take Jim’s lashing to heart and do a greener way of taking out the yellow book trash…I have an idea (and maybe the Deets can sponsor a contest for better ideas).
Here’s my idea–
1) We encourage the boy/girl scouts to do fundraiser-type collections of all unwanted YPs around the nation, having collection points at all the baseball fields around the country, and the team’s playing on those fields can have special ticket give-aways to the scout troop that collects the most YP garbage…film at 10…around the nation.
I’m in, I’ll volunteer to market the idea for free…around the nation.
How about you Jim Cook, you got a better, greener way to raise awareness to this wasteful YP approach?
i have a question …i plan to open a business in a state that has both verizon and yellow book phone books now which one is used more? anybody?
[...] phone books, this would prevent 14,000 metric tons of “carbon dioxide equivalent.” A Twin Cities blogger is so tired of receiving phone books he doesn’t need that he posted a video of his comical [...]
[...] Returning a Verizon Phone Book [...]
[...] a funny video showing one creative way to return your unrequested phone [...]