Yellow Pages - I hate them!!

[Lucy-Jayne]

At least once a week, I get a missed call on my work mobile from Yellow Pages...

I already have a free listing, however they've phoned me again today and I've finally picked up the phone. Basically, I know they're trying to sell me a bigger advert, but today they were so rude trying to say that I'm missing out on business. They were quoting figures to me at how much business I was losing out on.

I actually had to be rude to them, because they just weren't listening. I was saying that I don't need advice on how to advertise my business. It's not their place to start giving me figures on how much I'll be missing out on. They don't know how many customers I already have to judge at this moment if I'm looking to expand, they don't know what other advertising I am doing etc etc.

They were so annoying! They kept mentioning that their concern was that I was missing out on business because there are so many technicians in my area and that people wouldn't know what I actually did. I went back and said, actually on yell.com there are only 4 and they all have the same listing as me thank you very much.

Now, I know it's nice to have someone's advice - but not when you're not asking for it. They were quoting figures of full sets and that people wouldn't know if I did Gel or not (which according to them were the most popular. I do Gel, but L&P is more popular with my clients!). If I listed everything I did on an ad, it would be huge and cost mega bucks!

I finally got rid of them after 5 mins. I should have just put the phone down, but I'm sure they would have kept phoning back!

Sorry for the rant but they do my head in!!!

How do you guys get rid of people like this?!

xx

 

[alpina]

Sometimes you just have to be rude I guess & tell them to get lost.

I'm usually too nice to them & end up giving them my email address so they can send me info, just so I can get off the phone from them. Or I tell them I can't afford it now, then they want to call back in a few weeks to 'remind' me.

I once had a similar call from a shopper docket company. I told them I wasn't interested at the moment, & five minutes later she called me back. She had discussed my situation with her supervisor and they were very concerned about my business. If I didn't go ahead with their advertising no one would know I existed and my business could go bankrupt.

I just ended up hanging up the phone on that one.

 

[Lucy-Jayne]

It just like they were trying to put me down saying my business would suffer - just like yours Alpina.

What makes them an expert in our field? A couple of market research reports?!

 

[Sals]

They're bugging me and my husband too. Must be nearly time for the new book to come out in our area hun.

 

[~Emmsybabes~]

I get a couple of calls every few days ...and voicemails as I always ignore it ...
:irked:
I know I should pick up and say no thankyou....but with the attitude i have had the past few weeks i think i may offend lol

 

[mobileharmonyxx]

Yellow Pages, are annoying, they say that advertising with them would bring a better chance of clients, having a bigger ad. Of course I fell for it, and £125, worse off. I never received one client, apart from being bombarded with double glazing, ideal homes, and more. The best thing is we went private with our number, because we didnt want the calls.:grr::grr:Not good!!

Not worth the money, I am just sticking to the free ad, and see what happens.

 

[loubylou]

As soon as they have finished telling me what they are ringing about i say "no thank you i am not interested"
then they usually go on about something and again i say
" no thank you i am not interested"
and they still try to convince me so i say
"again no thank you"
this usually works but if it doesnt and they still go on at me after i have said no thank you 3 times, i say to them
"you don't understand when i am polite and say no thank you, would you understand clearer if i start swearing at you when i say no"
they understand this and leave me alone for a while.
I agree they are a pain in the backside, and when they ask if i am busy i usually say i would be if you would stop phoning and let me get on with things,
do you think i have run out of patience with them all lol

 

[rouge]

As soon as they have finished telling me what they are ringing about i say "no thank you i am not interested"
then they usually go on about something and again i say
" no thank you i am not interested"
and they still try to convince me so i say
"again no thank you"
this usually works but if it doesnt and they still go on at me after i have said no thank you 3 times, i say to them
"you don't understand when i am polite and say no thank you, would you understand clearer if i start swearing at you when i say no"
they understand this and leave me alone for a while.
I agree they are a pain in the backside, and when they ask if i am busy i usually say i would be if you would stop phoning and let me get on with things,
do you think i have run out of patience with them all lol

That did make me laugh - I might try that one next time! I keep getting calls like this too. I tell them my colleague has a large advert with them and between that and my website we do just fine thanks so I really don't want to take out an ad with them etc etc. It gets them off the phone but unfortunately it doesn't stop them phoning back.

 

[pink apple]

Dito...
They came in my salon asking what my takings were last year!!! She wanted to enter this into her laptop! I let her carry on hinting for a free set of nails, let her finish her coffee & told her I didn't want to know - goodbye!
These guys are so pushy - ugh!
I did take an advert in my second year of opening, overly priced and not too much from it - best advert is word of mouth and passing trade - deff not the yellow book.
I dont keep one in my house - do you?

 

[alpina]

Yellow Pages, are annoying, they say that advertising with them would bring a better chance of clients, having a bigger ad. Of course I fell for it, and £125, worse off. I never received one client, apart from being bombarded with double glazing, ideal homes, and more. The best thing is we went private with our number, because we didnt want the calls.:grr::grr:Not good!!

Not worth the money, I am just sticking to the free ad, and see what happens.

The ads in my local yellow are $2000 for a tiny ad. They keep calling with facts & figures about how I could reach x amount more customers, etc.

Do they think I have that much money for advertising?

I will stick with the free ad for now.

 

[BABSann]

Yes I agree with everything everyone has said,what a damned nuisance they are.I have had all the calls about bigger adverts too.I say I have spent my budget on advertsing for this year that works a treat but they do say they will call back in 6 months.

I do get results with my free lineage and Yell.com so not knocking that but why do they hassle us soooo much?Guess its down to the few percent that do give in eh!.We get it in the salon as well,although we do have large advert they keep asking if we want to go bigger....mmmm:irked:

 

[mobileharmonyxx]

I think its wise, just to stay with the free ad, rather than parting with money, and not being any further forward, just worse off, than you already started with.

It got to be the lucky ones, that yellow pages, works for !!

 

[Vetty]

It got to be the lucky ones, that yellow pages, works for !!

YP works for me..... This is my third year of paying for a full colour ad and so far it's made 3 times the cost in profit..... It's not cheap but I use the theory that if everyone else had free line ads for titchy black and white ones my quite large full colour one will stand out and get me more business.....

I have to say though this years is slower than previous years so for next year I have scaled back the price a bit - it's still already made its money back though......

 

[pure]

I say I have spent my budget on advertsing for this year

lol this is exactly what I have started doing to everyone who calls. And it isnt just Yellow pages, but all sorts of local and national publications.

I love the idea of giving them a polite no thank you first and then asking if they want it to get rude before they get the message! :lol:

 

[hippy-chick]

its not just yellowpages that are at fault here, its all advertisers

at the end of the day they are SALESPEOPLE and that is all. they don't care about you.

its the persisitence after you have said no thanks that really irks me.

I had one person recently try to sell me advertising for a local magazine that I hadn't even heard of. Now, I keep my eye on everything that comes out to see what my competition is.

I told them why would I want to advertise in something that I hadn't heard of? If I havent its a good chance that the majoriity havent.

He went on and on and on.

Said I couldn't possibly refuse his offer it was so damned cheap.
I told him I didn't have any budget left for advertising and did he realise that he was the 3rd person who had rang me offering adveritisng this week.

Undeterred he went on, his amazing price, well I cut to the chase and said, OK whats the absolute lowest you will go otherwise I am putting the phone down now. He told me the price, and it was something like £7 a week.

After I had finished laughing down the phone in a very sarcastic manner, I told him I wouldn;'t pay £7 a month to be in his never-heard-of magazine.

He put the phone down on me!

 

[Bev Rose]

I usually just say.... Hang on...I used to do your job at YP & I know exactly what your script says....so let me just tell you....I understand ALL the FEATURES & BENEFITS but it's a big NO! Thanks bye...they say stuff like 'Oh OK then, bye' & never her from them again.
It's true though, I did used to be a YP Sales Rep out and about, and it's a blooming hard slog, but I liked it & was rep of the year. But I never liked the hard sell approach, I think I got on so well cos I used to listen to my clients....simple really.

A friend of mine had Jehovas Witness call on her one day & hassle the hell out of her, she kept telling them no, but they insisted they leave a tape for her to listen to & she said ok & they said they'd be back in a few days.
She just taped over the tape with Roy Chubby Brown!!!! When they came again, she opened the door, thrust the tape at them and said something like OMG how dare you make me listen to this filth!!!!!!!!!:lol::lol::lol:

They never bothered her again!!!

 

[amirose]

I know EXACTLY where you are coming from. Out of all the nusciance phone calls they are the worst.
Like you say if you ignore them or hang up they ring back!!!
At one point I was getting a call near enough every other day. I kept wasting my time explaining I would be intrested pnce I was doing Nail Enhancments but at the moment Im only doing manciure and pedicure. Anyway in the end I point blank toldthem the same thing but that if they kept ringing me I WOULDNT be intrested that actualy seemesd to shut them up. Guarntee it will start again in a few months though
Hey maybe you should tell them you hate them lol see what they say :lol:

Ami

 

[Sassy Hassy]

I was a rep for the Thomson Local and know what it's like to be on the other end of the phone and it ain't fun, so I can't be rude to the reps. However i did find that when I said I was moving to Spain it got rid of every sales call imaginable ... and don't worry about losing your free line entry, a rep won't bother to take the time to remove that ... in fact i think I still have mine in the Thomson!

So try the "I'm emigrating" line ... works every time!

 

[Debbies Gellies]

I just tell them 'my business folded last week' and they hang up straight away, it works every time.

or course it hasn't but it gets me off their call list.

 

[Bev Rose]

I just tell them 'my business folded last week' and they hang up straight away, it works every time.

or course it hasn't but it gets me off their call list.

If it's a Yellow Pages/Yell.com rep they will also remove your free listing too:!: