How Reverse Phone Directories Are Used By Ordinary People

Until just a few years ago, only grizzled, street-tough detectives and international men of mystery had access to “reverse phone directories.” They seemed far more James Bond than Joe Sixpack. Of course, with the rapid expansion of internet technology and privileges accorded average citizens under the Freedom of Information Act, reverse phone directories have become easily accessible through the worldwide web. At first, most people wonder, “Why would I need a reverse phone directory?” After just a moment’s reflection, though, people begin to see lots of productive uses for this information: they research strange phone numbers that appear on their bills, they track-down prank callers and obnoxious telemarketers, they research unfamiliar numbers on their lists of missed calls, and they find exact addresses they need.

Getting the Data Together

Assembling “reverse phone directories” – databases which link business, residential, and cell phone numbers to their owners’ names and personal information – researchers collect personal data from government sources, public information, brokers of marketing data, and other reliable sources.  Many local merchants use their directories to personalize their service and grow their business.  Many ordinary people use online reverse phone directories to make sure they have correct  and up-to-date addresses for stores, services, and friends.  Just as importantly, though, with online access to reverse phone directories, people can protect their own privacy.  Not everyone wants his or her private data available to the general public.  Therefore, reverse directory services allow customers to restrict access to their own information, keeping themselves safe from intrusion, interruption, or worse.

The Pizza Solution

For example, Giuseppe, owner and still chief pizza maker in the neighborhood’s favorite pizzeria, explains why he uses a reverse phone directory: “In our neighborhood, people speak almost forty different languages, and they have all different kinds of accents.  Naturally, we don’t want to be rude when we cannot clearly understand them over the phone, so we wake sure we capture their phone numbers.  When we have their orders correct, we double check their names and addresses through the reverse directory.  We save the info in a database, too, so that when our regular customers call, we quickly can identify them by name and address, and we can assist our delivery guys by printing out maps with driving directions.”

Beauty Salon Uses Directory to Improve Business

Betty, owner and operator of all the moms’ favorite beauty salon, explains why she signed-up for online access to a reverse phone directory: “Sure, we take walk-ins; they’re about thirty per-cent of our business.  When a new customer walks in, we make sure we get a name and a phone number.  Then, after we’ve done the nails and the nice cut and color, we use the phone number to get an address, and we send the new customer a little thank you note.  We tell the little woman she’s always welcome, we hope she loves her chic new look, and she oughta call us for an appointment next time she needs a little pampering.  The walk-in becomes a regular in no time.”

Plumber Gets Great Driving Directions

Joe the Plumber explains how he and his team use their online access to a reverse phone directory: “Once we leave the shop in the morning, going out to clean drains and fix pipes, we don’t want to go back.  We’re all over the city, all over the county, sometimes all over the greater tri-state area.  But our dispatch girl keeps us right on top of what’s happening.

“A customer calls-in, see, says she has an exploding toilet and needs help asap.  Our girl gets her name and our caller id gets her number.  Then, Miss Dispatch checks the reverse directory for the exact street address, making sure we got it exactly right, ya know?  From there, our little sweetie gets us turn-by-turn driving directions from one job site to the next—no muss, no fuss, no bother.  And we got our little housewife’s  toilet all fixed-up and cleaned-up in no time flat. “Best of all, when we finish a job, we can send a little note to the customer, sayin’, ‘Hey, thanks for usin’ our service, and we usually send ‘em a coupon for the next time.”



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