Just to say thankyou to some kind person who took a long time entering lots of Currys branch details into the database. Not quite as long as I had to while checking them.
Only had a few problems ! Some of them were the Fax numbers, as I discovered when checking on Currys website  store locator and adding the fax numbers - very useful to have as Currys are often too busy to answer  :-/

If the person concerned would please like to re-check their numbers to see if they have the correct ones, I will be glad to add them. See the list of Unverified numbers for those I have been working on so far.

Thanks

wrote on Feb 5^th, 2005 at 4:53pm:

See the list of Unverified numbers for those I have been working on so far.

Dave,

Your list of unverified numbers is, how can I put this politely, just a tad long, especially when you consider how much money the non verification of these numbers is costing us all and also given that I was unaware of the existence of this unverified list before seeing your post with a link to it.

Since most of us just want a way, almost any way, to avoid calling an 0845 number or 0870 number don't you think a link to your unverified numbers list should be put more up front on your web site.

Given that you are all volunteers surely the best free testers you have available are the other users of this website and assuming a number works then another user of the site (not the person who originally supplied it)  could simply click on a box to confirm it is fine.  But to withhold so many numbers from us and especially for places as important as Currys and Argos is just not on.  I think you are embarked on a question for pefection here that is standing in the way of usability.

Also what did you do with the main Mole Valley Council 0845 number I gave you for their refuse and recycling scheme collection line?  It doens't even show in the unverified numbers list now.  The only one that is there is the much less important composting equipment line number.

wrote on Feb 13^th, 2005 at 12:06pm:

Given that you are all volunteers surely the best free testers you have available are the other users of this website and assuming a number works then another user of the site (not the person who originally supplied it)  could simply click on a box to confirm it is fine.

I think NGM has something of a point here, especially as some people probably have the 500 minute phone deal from the ad at the top. But how to set it up ... ?

However it is not all backlogged as implied for I see the Claranet CS number I sent has been updated

If I could just add my two-pennyworth ……..

I too was unaware of the ‘Unverified’ list for quite a while – and that list certainly is growing like Topsy!

However, the ‘tick the box to verify’ suggestion is, IMHO, not a runner because it would invite spammers (there are plenty out there who would find falsely verifying an entry highly amusing) – far better to leave verifications to the site’s hierarchy.

On the other hand, there may be some merit in a hybrid approach.  What about immediately amalgamating ALL the unverified entries into the main list (standard alphabetical order, no need for separation by type/business of whatever) but doing so in red text?  That would make an unverified entry immediately obvious to a searcher (red text = treat with caution, unverified entry) and would take the pressure off Dave, DaveM and Daniel in the verifications process.  They could then simply change the text colour to the standard black when an entry has been verified by one of them.

Some means of showing the date a number was last verified would also be useful.

wrote on Feb 13^th, 2005 at 1:37pm:

On the other hand, there may be some merit in a hybrid approach.  What about immediately amalgamating ALL the unverified entries into the main list (standard alphabetical order, no need for separation by type/business of whatever) but doing so in red text.  That would make an unverified entry immediately obvious to a searcher (red text = treat with caution, unverified entry) and would take the pressure off Dave, DaveM and Daniel in the verifications process.

I totally endorse this suggestion as the best possible compromise but failing that the availability of the unverified list, for those who want to risk it, seems another possible alternative.

Also I am sure there are other regular participants in this site who would be willing to join DaveM and co as additional testers, assuming of course that Dave and co checked each of us out first to make sure that we were not malicious spammers.

I have continued the topic of the Saynoto0870 site in How can we improve Saynoto0870?

If you had to trawl thru the SPAM or ERROR entries that get put on there every day - repeat numbers, blank entries, 0870 & 0845 numbers (no other data), Names+0870/0845 & no other data. That's not even mentioning the tidying up of entries to remove unwanted comments or just abbreviate them, put numbers into their correct cell, putting in missed out digits (08700 or 08457 being most common), standardising names, adding extra info (website, Fax). It all takes time to do.

Just to check these alone takes ages to do even on an ADSL connection. I regularly delete upto 40 a day that are as above, plus checking the database, Google, Co. websites, Yell, BT, (etc.) I usually spend over 4 hours & before I realise it, it's 2 or 3am in the morning & I've actually been at it 8 hours or more. It takes over your life & I've been told off by my other half for doing it  :-/

That's why I asked for Dave to come on board to help checking them but it still seems to be out of control.

BTW Bill. All the data is in one database, with the verified bit Set or Unset, thereby restricting the Unverified from showing. Therefore there is separate access to the Unverified Numbers List at the bottom of the Search Page.

Thought that might help to explain that I'm doing what I can & these other suggestions can only help (I hope!)

wrote on Feb 15^th, 2005 at 12:12am:

Thought that might help to explain that I'm doing what I can & these other suggestions can only help (I hope!)

The problem is that as your site gets more well known and gets more publicity people will give you more and more numbers and of course the growth of the use of 0870 numbers has been marching on inexorably.

Can you not get people like Tiscali, TalkTalk, Onetel, Call18866 etc to fund advertising on your site as all of them have a vested interest in the preservation of geographic numbers as they cannot offer a better price than BT on non-geographics.

If that could happen then eventually you might have enough dosh to employ one or two professional staff.  The only danger being that Ofcom eventually abolishes revenue sharing on 084 and 087 and so the site then dies.

It is your very success as a site that is now proving to be a major dilemma for you.

I'm verifying the Currys numbers now. I've just spoken to a gentleman at the Colchester branch, I didn't ask him who he was, but he said he raised the point about 0870 numbers in a business meeting and was told that they were local rate. I have pointed him in the direction of this site.

Having spoken to various branches, it appears that even they call each other using the 0870 numbers. When I explain that they are throwing money down the drain, they say it is an issue for head office! The only head office number they can provide me with is an 0870 one!  ::)

wrote on Feb 16^th, 2005 at 2:33pm:

The only head office number they can provide me with is an 0870 one!  ::)

The crazy thing is that now that I have the 0800 number for PC World I use it to contact them to see if they have stuff in stock at my local branch and they seem to give the right answers, even though it is a central call centre.

As a result of using this free service I ended up buying a Samsung ML1510 Laser printer from them at £49.99 rather than the £99.99 charged by the "Never Knowingly" (but seemingly they have a very big Deaf Ear) John Lewis group.  You can't even beat this price on the web.  And I know the Toner catridge is not full but I will buy a toner refill pack on the web or from Office World or Staples.

When I could only call them 0870 number I never did call them so they were only damaging their own business through this policy.  Having customer services on 0870 is one thing but to have a sales line for the shops on one is absolute madness.

wrote on Feb 16^th, 2005 at 2:33pm:

Having spoken to various branches, it appears that even they call each other using the 0870 numbers. When I explain that they are throwing money down the drain, they say it is an issue for head office! The only head office number they can provide me with is an 0870 one!  ::)

My last employer in the UK, a large technology organization with 10,000+ employees, would routinely provide employee information on an 0870 number and encourage employees to call the number from the office phone. It would rather use the 0870 number than simply provide internal voicebox numbers on its PABX systems. What a bunch of cretins. There really is no hope that these numbers will disappear when clueless people just accept the lies from the shysters that sell and promote these numbers.

wrote on Feb 16^th, 2005 at 3:00pm:

There really is no hope that these numbers will disappear when clueless people just accept the lies from the shysters that sell and promote these numbers.

Because the majority of the population are cretinous on anything involving numbers or information retention the only hope is if Ofcom act on BT's proposal and ban revenue sharing on 0845 and 0870 numbers as soon as possible.  Also I hope that Ofcom will go a stage further and ban it on 0844 and 0871 as well.

If these numbers don't then cost any more than other geographic numbers to call the problem will go away and I have zero sympathy for any businesses selling these numbers to companies who may go under as a result of this.  He who lives by the sword should die by the sword is what I say!

It is of course a great shame that due to the historic success of the 0845 and 0870 scam that you will not so easily be able to know the geographic location of the company you are calling but I suppose when VOIP takes over we are bound to lose that linkage anyway.

I've phoned a few Carphone Warehouse branches and they also dial each other using 0870!  ::)

I've spoken to customer services, and the kid on the phone wasn't much help. Just said that it was upper management that put 0870 in to place. I've sent Charles Dunstone an email, so see what that brings.

wrote on Feb 16^th, 2005 at 3:33pm:

Are you trying to suggest that he doesn't?  ::)

As one who regularly sends emails to chief executives and senior board members I can report that Mr Dunstone does not appear to read any of his.

Many do though.  Although they may often not react in the way I would hope or necessarily respond I can confirm that most of the board members of BT and Vodafone appear to read their emails (I usually ask for Read Receipts) and also at impressively odd hours of the night or at the weekend, which certainly suggests it is most definitely them and not their secretaries.

I am sure Charles Dunstone read his emails once upon a time but it is now a very big operation and has rather a lot of unhappy customers......................