New Yellow and White Pages phone book confuses Northlanders

Business listings are now at the front of Northland's phone book. Photo/Craig Cooper

The company which publishes the Yellow and White Pages has attempted to address confusion over their new phone book.

Several people have complained on the Northern Advocate's Facebook page about not being included in the directory, despite having a landline and of its small type.

Darren Linton, interim CEO of Yellow said people being left out was probably due to a change of provider.

"Yellow is committed to ensuring accurate and up-to-date information is provided in its print and digital services.

"For any locals who have not been included in this year's White Pages book, this most commonly happens when people change provider.

"As Yellow sources data for its White Pages listings from all telco providers, it is recommended that those who have been missed contact their telco provider and request to be included."

Gloria King and her husband Leon were surprised to be missed out this year, having had a listing in the White Pages for many years.

"We never ever said we didn't want to be in it," Mrs King said.

The couple switched to Vodafone after receiving a much better deal than Spark, but it was more than six months ago, well before the book's printing.

"We were in the last phone book. It's just this one."

Eagle-eyed readers also noticed an error in the front cover's caption, with a description suggesting the Ruakaka Race Course was pictured.

The photo appeared instead to be of Roberton Island, also known as Motuarohia, in the Bay of Islands.

"Unfortunately, this was an oversight which occurred when the final image was changed and the caption not updated," Mr Linton said.

A number of people believed the size of the print was shrinking along with the size of the book.

"The writing gets worse every year," one person said.

"...such a pain - try make it bigger writing that's for sure!!!" another wrote.

"You just about have to use a magnifying glass to read it, these are getting worse by the year."

This was not the case, according to Yellow.

"Print size is exactly the same as it was in the previous edition," Mr Linton said.

In 2013 the company announced it would increase the size of the font for the book delivered in June of that year, after a flurry of complaints about the small size in the previous book.

One major change this year was the placing of the Yellow Pages at the front of the book and residential listings at the back.

This was simply a "move away" from the previous design, according to Yellow.

"Both useful sections still appear within the new look book in a 'stack' format."

The book was also much thinner than last year, with just 380 pages for both Yellow and White Pages, compared with last year's 422.

Several readers said they would be putting their phone book on the fire, and more than one expressed surprise that the directory was still being printed.

"I didn't realise they still existed till I received one last week," one reader said.

Yellow introduced an opt-out policy for the directories several years ago, but a number of commenters were unaware of it.

To opt out of receiving a printed phone book, go to https://ypgbooks.co.nz/opt-out/