Dex is a Litterbug

Likely people all over the Seattle area are walking out there front doors today and finding 6.5 pounds of trash in the form of paper telephone directories from Qwest. Thanks, Dex! You’re a jerk.

I know I opted out years ago, yet I still get litter delivered to my doorstep. So I thought I’d be proactive and find out why I’m still getting this trash. I called the customer service number 1-800-422-1234 listed by the publisher of DEX, R.H. Donnelley. The woman I spoke with from this Nebraska call center said I had to opt-out through her, even though I said I had opted-out online years ago. Although it felt quite futile, I gave her my address and during our conversation she told me they were “required by law” to deliver these phonebooks. When I asked what law, she didn’t know.

I called the PR folks at R.H. Donnelley and Pete Larmey said some cities do require the delivery of a White Page directory, but not the Yellow Pages. I told him I had opted-out years ago from the Yellow Pages Do Not Deliver Registry website and I didn’t understand why I was still getting these books. Interestingly, he said, “Publishers don’t endorse this site.” Hum, so this site is a waste of time? (I’ll update this post on YPDND response once I hear back from them.)

Pete did walk me through how to opt-out. It’s not intuitive, which to me is a bit misleading, but here’s how it works. Go to Select Your Dex webpage >enter your zip code>proceed to your Dex>fill out form entering zeros from the drop down menu>Submit>.

I received an email confirmation of the quantity (0) of books I wanted. Of course this doesn’t help me now since the books have already been delivered this year. Pete thinks a zero-delivery request will be valid for two years.

The Yellow Page Do Not Deliver Registry website does have a page that list urls and phone numbers of publishers to opt-out that seems to have current information.

Still, I feel publishers of the Yellow Pages and other directories are snubbing their noses at any obvious, consumer-friendly opt-out program. According to the Associated Press last year, the paid advertising in these directories is a $17 billion-a-year industry. So what these publishers are doing is focusing there messaging on how to recycle the books and grand partnerships with recycling programs. Whatever. Don’t print, produce, and deliver directories that people don’t want. Why can’t it be an opt-IN program?

If you want to help others opt-out, please cut and paste this article url and send to friends. 8ja4m3dkfe