Consumer
But will it be easier to use?
By Linda B. BolidoPhilippine Daily Inquirer
The Directories Philippines Corp. (DPC), publisher of the Yellow Pages, has announced it has “revolutionized” the phone directory for the new generation of consumers.
One of these “revolutionary features” is the so-called DPC Yellow Guarantee. Described by the company as a “potentially market-changing feature,” the Yellow Guarantee is DPC’s promise that “if an advertiser’s product is defective on the day of purchase or if the delivery of a service is late or incomplete, (the company) will gladly facilitate the replacement of that product or help get the refund of its cost.”
DPC says this is to show consumers it fully trusts its advertisers. The company says the latest Yellow Pages only have “reliable advertisers that sell quality products and services.”
Ricardo Bautista, DPC president, says the company confidently offers the DPC Yellow Guarantee because it believes its advertisers provide quality products and services. This is the company’s way to make sure customers are getting value for their money, he adds.
Some advertisements, DPC says, even display the YP Seal to indicate that their specific benefit claim has been verified to be factual and correct by the publisher.
Bautista says the Yellow Guarantee can also help those who are looking to try out new services or products. “Instead of going through the usual trial and error in determining which products are reliable, customers can first refer to the items with DPC’s Yellow Guarantee,” he says.
Visit www.dpc.ph to find out the terms and conditions of the DPC Yellow Guarantee.
DPC, however, does not say if it will be easier to navigate this new directory. The most common complaint from users—and that includes me—is the difficulty of finding the agency, the product, or the service they want.
I do not know the system DPC uses, but I hardly look at my directory because I rarely find what I am looking for. Occasionally, when I have the time, I try to divine the mysterious way the directory is organized. I often find that what I am looking for is not where I thought it should be. Perhaps DPC can give us pointers on how to decode their listing to make the directory truly useful.
Political will
The World Health Organization (WHO) has lauded Australia for being the first country to require all tobacco products to be sold in plain packaging.
The Australian Parliament passed a law requiring all tobacco products sold in the country, beginning Dec. 1, 2012, to have the same standard dark-brown packaging with matte finish. Press reports say the legislation also provides that the health warning should be more prominent than the product’s name.
As expected, a major tobacco company is threatening to sue the Australian government for this new law.
Australia’s action is political will at its best. Here, even though a person, who filed a case against the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority for its more stringent anti-smoking regulation, reportedly admitted he was getting support from a cigarette manufacturer, his case was still entertained.
Dr. Shin Young-soo, WHO regional director for the Western Pacific, said the Australian legislation set a new global standard for the control of a product that kills nearly six million people each year. He added that the law also reinforced Australia’s compliance with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The guidelines encouraged countries to restrict or ban the use of logos, colors and brand images.
In the Western Pacific, which included the Philippines, WHO estimated that two people died every minute from a tobacco-related disease. Of the world’s cigarettes, one in three was smoked in the region, it added.
Send letters to The Consumer, Lifestyle Section, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 1098 Chino Roces Ave. cor. Mascardo and Yague Sts., 1204 Makati City; fax 8974793/94; or e-mail lbolido@inquirer.com.ph.
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Tags: Consumer Issues , DPC , yellow pages
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