Light amusement

bealtine

go to www.eircom.ie.
Click on Phone book
In the business search type in eircom and click search...

cgarvey

The phone book service is provided by someone that knows simple basics of web development (and just that, by the look of it), so you can link directly .. eircom biz search.

So the amusing bit is? Killi-bleedin-arden?

bealtine

cgarvey wrote:

So the amusing bit is? Killi-bleedin-arden?

Lots of private numbers come up..nothing whatsoever to do with eircom.
If they can't even get a simple search like "eircom" to work who knows what the rest of it is like?

So maybe their web skills are ok but their database skills are damn awful.

JohnC.

bealtine wrote:

Lots of private numbers come up..nothing whatsoever to do with eircom.
If they can't even get a simple search like "eircom" to work who knows what the rest of it is like?

Are you sure you typed it correctly? I just get 6 pages of eircom numbers.

bealtine

Kahless wrote:

Are you sure you typed it correctly? I just get 6 pages of eircom numbers.

http://159.134.203.172/search_bus.asp?business=eircom&townbus=&countybus=All&SearchBus=Search&source=Eircom&ss=hp

Its still the same as it was. I just checked.
11 Empress Place Dublin Dublin 1
20 Deerpark Square Dublin Dublin 24
56 Killinarden Heights Dublin

This is (part of) the list I get.

probe

One would expect some structure to corporate entries – e.g.

No 1: Customer Service Number
No 2: Website URL
No 3: Directory Assistance
No 4: Head Office number (ie a call centre function that can put you through to any employee in the company)

Followed by other numbers of lesser importance.

Eircom isn’t alone!

Swisscom’s phone book is generally good, but if you just enter “Swisscom” as the company name and search – it throws up over 2000 entries! If you limit the search by entering the 8000 generic postcode for the Zurich area, you get a reasonable view of where the Swisscom shops are located and the main customer service numbers.

Swisscom directories:
http://www.directories.ch/whitepages/base.aspx?do=extendedSearch&searchtype=adr_extended

In typical French fashion, France Telecom has virtually everything – down to street payphone numbers in some areas! You really have to pick a small town to find anything because most enquiries throw up more than the maximum “authorized” responses, forcing you to be more precise in your request.

If you go to

France Telecom directories:
http://www.pagesjaunes.fr/pb.cgi

and put “France Telecom” as the name, and 06160 as your locality (postcode for Juan les Pins) you get a reasonable presentation for the company. However if you use 06320 (another smaller town down the road) all you get is street payphones (for the first few pages of listings)!

At least they have an up to date Teleatlas street map to see where something is located if you click "plan".

Could do better all around on the priority front!

.probe

bealtine

probe wrote:

and put “France Telecom” as the name, and 06160 as your locality (postcode for Juan les Pins) you get a reasonable presentation for the company. However if you use 06320 (another smaller town down the road) all you get is street payphones (for the first few pages of listings)!


.probe

Maybe but at least they belong to France Telecom and are not private houses.

JohnC.

bealtine wrote:

http://159.134.203.172/search_bus.asp?business=eircom&townbus=&countybus=All&SearchBus=Search&source=Eircom&ss=hp

Its still the same as it was. I just checked.
11 Empress Place Dublin Dublin 1
20 Deerpark Square Dublin Dublin 24
56 Killinarden Heights Dublin

This is (part of) the list I get.

That's what I get too, but they all claim to be eircom. Do you have some reason to believe they are not eircom offices or something? I don't know the areas myself.

bealtine

Kahless wrote:

That's what I get too, but they all claim to be eircom. Do you have some reason to believe they are not eircom offices or something? I don't know the areas myself.

They are private numbers/houses

cgarvey

eircom employees surely.

There's no way to beat sorting in the phone book is there. You can buy ads for bigger ads, but you're still listed alphabetically, aren't you?

watty

I know at least one Limerick company who starts with "M" that has an additional trading name starting with "A" simply to put an earlier entry in the Phone Book (and of course pickup a few of their own ex-customers!). They also a few years ago dropped the first two parts of their name so that the name started with C, so now instead of under M they are under A and C

There is a way to "beat" everything. It might not always be cost effective or ethical of course.

bealtine

cgarvey wrote:

eircom employees surely.

they wouldn't have "eircom" in their business name then:)

cgarvey wrote:

There's no way to beat sorting in the phone book is there. You can buy ads for bigger ads, but you're still listed alphabetically, aren't you?

All the triple AAAs have gone iirc:)

JohnC.

bealtine wrote:

They are private numbers/houses

I've seen business running from such addresses. Even post offices.

bealtine

Kahless wrote:

I've seen business running from such addresses. Even post offices.

Well I rang a few, they didnt mind and they are indeed private houses and are certainly not eircom.

Anyway the point is if you put eircom into the business search you should get eircom numbers not those of private houses.

Hopefully their other systems are better than this. Or is this symptomatic of the reason why LLU automation "systems" will cost 30 million (or whatever the exorbitant figure was)

Our man in Havana

Were they at all concerned that they were listed as eircom?