YP.COM Directory Advertising Smart Directory Distribution AKA targeted directory distribution Racine & Kenosha Wisconsin

Our company has been doing business for over 35yrs with the "yellow pages " now known as YP.COM  Last year we noticed a marked decrease in the amount of calls that we were getting from the telephone directory. We had placed the ads with a remote call forwarded phone number to be able to track what calls were coming from the YP Directory. We noticed such a decrease in calls that were logged that we decided just to scrap advertising with YP for the 2014 directory. In the last few days of the ad campaign, the service rep contacted us and offered us a reduced price on the ads because they stated they did not want to loose our business after such a long time. We decided to give them one more chance to see if it could be worked out and start producing calls.

We are now 3 months into the directory and we are seeing no difference in the amount of calls coming in compared to last year. After repeated calls to our service representative as to the amount of directories that were actually delivered to the homes in our advertising area, we finally got the "TRUTH".

Unknown to us when we signed the contract for advertising and "NEVER" revealed, was a practice known as "Smart Directory Distribution". Which in laymen terms, means YP.COM determines through a computer algorythm who gets the directory delivered to their homes and who does not. I have contacted YP customer service and they confirmed that indeed they did start using "Smart Distribution" starting in 2013.  Which would explain my decline in calls in 2013.

It is my contention that this is just outright fraud on the part of YP.COM. They knowingly took our advertising dollars and purposely sought to defraud us, due to fact they charged the same rate as in previous years and without telling us, and decided to reduce the amount of directories actually being put into customers hands. Their response to this acusation was to tell us the the homes where the directory was not delivered, were given a door knocker or post card explaining that the homeowner could call a 800 number and get a directory mailed to them. We have never seen any door knockers or post cards to prove their claims. 

I stated to them that if I had known of this "new" distribution method, I would have never proceeded to do business with them.  I have talked to numerous other business owners and asked them if they were aware of this practice by YP.COM, and not even one knew about it.

I have tried to contact the upper management of YP.COM in Tucker GA to discuss this inequity, and have been met with only silence.

I did talk with customer service at YP.COM and they scoffed at the idea of a complete redistributon of the directory to every home and instead offered me a 10% discount on the contract.

This action was meant for only one purpose and that was to take "Smart Distribution" dollars from our pockets and put them into YP's pockets.  

I have tried to seach for this practice on the internet and it seems to be quite a secret. I understand why YP wanted to keep this quiet. If all their advertisers were to find out, I think that be no YP Directory.

I have tried to talk sense to YP.COM and have been met with only disdain that I should even question them about this insane way of doing business. They made it clear to me that they know my customer base better than I do, and they have no intention on changing their direction.

My advice to any business that plans on doing advertising in the YP Directory is to ask about this distribution method and read over your contract very carefully for wording covering this.

I am sure that YP.COM will continue this and try to hide it in the contract language so you don't catch it until it is too late. 

This is tantamount to a printer that was hired to do wedding invitations and altered the number in invitations sent out for the bride based on some idea of who might show up to the wedding and who might not show up. Now the wedding is over and the bride is left scatching her head as to why so few showed up to the wedding. But now it is too late. The wedding is over and no amount of discount for the invitations is going to change the fact that some did not get the invites and never showed up.

That is the same way business works. Once you loose that customer, they are gone.

I have tried to be as accurate as possible in my description of my dealings with YP.COM and if they have a rebuttal as to the accuracy of my facts or my depiction of the events, I will be more than happy to listen to their side.