(By Kirsten Valle, kvalle@charlotteobserver.com) Charlotte-area residents will no longer automatically receive residential phone books from AT&T, part of a push to eliminate the deliveries in major cities statewide.
The N.C. Utilities Commission has approved a test program designed to end the regulardelivery of residential white pages in the Charlotte, Huntersville and Davidson markets. If customers want the white pages, they can call AT&T when they receive the yellow pages to request a phone book or CD-ROM, which will be mailed at no charge, Metcalf said. Competing phone book publishers also print yellow pages and white pages, he said. AT&T officials say the change saves paper and prevents unused phone books from stacking up in customers’ kitchens. “It’s about giving customers a choice,” spokesman Clifton Metcalf said. “Increasingly, we’re seeing consumers are using other means” of finding residential numbers, from Internet listings to church directories to the numbers already programmed in their cell phones. The Charlotte-area directories are scheduled to be distributed to all homes and businesses in the area Aug. 19 through Oct. 12. Customers usually get two phone books, the white pages and yellow pages, Metcalf said. This year, AT&T, the state’s biggest phone company, will automatically deliver the yellow pages, business white pages and government listings and will provide a Web site where customers can access residential listings. AT&T makes money on business listings, and its yellow pages directories are heavy on ads. Officials there have acknowledged that the company loses money on its white pages. In March, AT&T proposed eliminating automatic delivery in Raleigh, Charlotte, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Wilmington and Asheville. The utilities commission on Thursday approved the trial program in theCharlotte area. “I think there are some people who are going to love it, and some people who are going to be mad they have to call and request a phone book,” said John Garrison of the Public Staff, the state’s consumer protection agency, which worked with AT&T to set parameters for the test program. “There are a lot of people who are used to the traditional way of how things worked and would prefer getting the directory.” The move is part of a nationwide effort. AT&T, the largest phone directory provider in the country, ran trial programs in Texas and Georgia last year, and so far, less than 3 percent of residents there have requested printed phone books, Metcalf said. A few years ago, AT&T proposed stopping deliveries in Raleigh and Charlotte – the first attempt in the company’s service area. It later withdrew the plan in the face of mounting criticism from public officials, the (Raleigh) News & Observer reported then. AT&T officials said eliminating the automatic delivery isn’t a financial move. In addition to giving customers a choice, “obviously, there is going to be an environmental savings,” Metcalf said. The company printed 518,000 residential directories for Charlotte-area customers last year, he said. During the trial period, AT&T will track the number of requests for residential white pages directories, the breakdown between requests for phone books and CDs, the number of complaints and inquiries received and the nature of those comments. If enough people request directories to be mailed, it would not be cost-effective to eliminate home delivery, Garrison said. “The trial will give us a chance to see,” he said.Similar Posts:
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