Important Information Regarding a Change to Your 411 Service

Recently I received this email from my otherwise fabulous home phone service, Vonage:

Dear BRIAN MEGILLIGAN,

We'd like to share with you some important information regarding our 411 Directory Assistance service. We're expanding our 411 service to include 411 Direct Connect. With 411 Direct Connect, when you dial 411 from your Vonage phone you'll be directly connected to the residential or business listing you've requested at the new rate of $1.49, effective August 17, 2009.

Not sure of the name or business you're trying to reach? Vonage 411 Direct Connect will allow you to search by category or keyword to find listings even when you don't have a name and address.

Remember, Vonage 411 is not just about phone numbers. You can also continue dialing 411 from your Vonage phone to access movie listings, airline flight times, ATM locations and more...all for $1.49 per 411 call!

We strive to provide an excellent customer experience and want to be sure you're getting the best value from your Vonage phone service. If you have any questions, please call us at 1-VONAGE-HELP (1-866-243-4357). We operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. One of our Customer Care representatives will be happy to assist you.

Best regards,

Vonage

Did you catch that? They would be happy to charge me just $1.49 a call to connect me when I dial their information service. Seriously?

I couldn't resist. Here was my reply:

Hello,

Have you ever heard of Google?

Google is this great online search engine. You can type things you're looking for into it and it will bring back results.

Google has this service kind of like yours. What you do is you call 800 GOOG 411 and tell them the city/state and what you're looking for and it returns the results pretty well.

And just like you, it connects you right to that business you're looking for. Pretty cool eh?

Oh, but unlike you, they connect you for FREE.

So as I consider which directory I'll call out of convenience knowing that I can be hooked directly to it when found, I'll weigh carefully weather I will call through the service that is gonna charge me or the service that is going to let me connect at no cost. It will be a hard decision.

Brian

So surprised I haven't heard back from them.