Re: Foreign Listings for Residences

> Everyone should have the right to have their number properly listed
>> if they so choose to do so. > I'm sorry, but I don't have sympathy for your position. In another > post in this digest issue, we learn that the phone company is losing > money. Accordingly, I don't see any "rights" for non customers.

The fact that you are paying them for the listing *makes* them a customer so I see no merit to your argument.

Whether or not the phone company is losing money doesn't even enter into the argument.

Tell your carrier to publish a phone book. Or tell your carrier to > provide Directory Assistance operators 24/7 with good salaries and > benefits. Obviously it would be too costly for your carrier to do > so, which is how your carrier is giving you a break on price.

So, you really think that every phone company should distribute a phone book to every home in every locality they serve? Can you imagine how many phone books would be stacked up in your house? Even if they do it, it wouldn't be practical.

And the different major telephone companies share their directory assistance databases with each other.

And you are wrong about it being too costly. It's not practical since the local companies make it so difficult to get other listings in it.

> The poor customer should not be at the mercy of the telephone >> company to get their foreign listing made. > Sorry, but you are not a customer of "the telephone company" anymore. > You chose to leave to get a better deal elsewhere.

As I have already pointed out, the fact that you are paying them for the listing *makes* you a customer. The way I've always understood it, if you take money from someone or some entity for providing goods or service you become a customer.

> It is a monopoly and the telephone company should not be able to >> pick and choose who can or cannot be listed. > It is absolutely not a monopoly as shown by other posts. It is a > competitive business and should be able to do as it pleases. Why > should it help competition take business from it? Does Macy's tell > Gimbel's? If you go into a store, do they tell you if their > competition has the same goods at a cheaper price?

AT&T used to do what it pleased all the time. Do you remember the result of that?

You can say it isn't a monopoly if you want to, that doesn't make it so. But from the standpoint of when AT&T owned the Bell companies they *were* a monopoly. Only the phone book is not? And if they'd market it right (and not lose so much by losing time and effort from not knowing how to handle services that they do indeed provide), probably could do it cheaper themselves.

This reminds me of when people had trouble with MCI or Sprint in their > early days that they simply were told to use AT&T. In other words, > AT&T had to be the one with sufficient capacity for high volume and > staff (operators, customer service). MCI and Sprint had none of that, > which enabled their rates to be lower.

I don't think that this even compares. There's a big difference between providing a telephone network and providing a book.

Likewise now. Why should regular telephone customers subsidize your > special needs?

No one is asking them to. Your are paying them for the listing. That makes you a customer and you *are* paying them. I wish I could make two dollars per month per thousands of customers for simply adding a listing in a database so I could charge other telephone subscribers for giving out that number to them.

> I will write a letter to the Georgia Public Service Commission >> requesting assistance in getting this matter cleared up if they do >> not have a resolution for me in the next few days. > As I understand it, directory publishing is not a regulated service.

Really? Then how come I always get a resolution when I take this issue up with them? Let me tell you that it works.

Regards,

Fred