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Real Businesses Listed at Phantom City AddressThursday, November 18, 2010
Why? Because the address they share exists only on Google and in the telephone book, an apparent error that no one was aware of, neither the businesses that are supposed to be there nor the phone company that listed them. If you type “404 S. Henry Street Williamsburg” into Google’s search engine, you can find Terminix, the Williamsburg Choral Guild, the James City County Republican Committee, Jackson Hewitt, Pop-A-Lock, and Penske Truck Rental at that location, as well as attorney and York County supervisor Walter Zaremba, to name a few. Many of these businesses are listed in the local Verizon phone book at this Henry Street address, too.These businesses are all actually located elsewhere – some not even in the Historic Triangle – and Williamsburg’s Commissioner of Revenue says not only do no businesses pay taxes on that address, but that address doesn’t even exist in city records. WYDaily called SuperMedia (formerly Idearc Media), the company that publishes the local Verizon telephone directory, to see if there was an explanation. A representative, once she searched a few of the businesses in her own directory and saw the mistake, was flabbergasted. Once the wrong information gets on the internet, she said, it’s almost impossible to correct. She’d never heard of such a mistake occurring. She wasn’t sure where the problem originated, but she did note that a “mass rescoping” had occurred on May of 2009, which is a notation she found on all the 404 S. Henry St. business listings she looked up. She wasn’t sure what it meant. The SuperMedia representative suggested WYDaily call Verizon. A Verizon representative, once she looked up the same information for a few of the businesses listed, was also stunned. She said the issue would be directed to the right department and would be addressed. She wasn’t sure what had caused the problem. She wouldn't venture a guess as to how it happened. Some of the larger businesses WYDaily called, like Pop-A-Lock and Terminix, don’t even have Williamsburg office locations, they said. Laurel Zaremba, Walt Zaremba’s wife and business partner, was surprised to hear her firm’s name come up attached to the address. “It’s a wonderfully relevant point,” she said. “That’s just how someone would look for a business, either Google or the phone book. This is food for thought.” James City County's new Economic Development Director Russell Seymour, who started Nov. 1, said he had never heard of such a thing happening. He said he would follow up with the county to find out more about the situation. Linda Stanier, spokesperson for the Greater Williamsburg Chamber and Tourism Alliance, said incorrect listings could make things difficult for businesses. “If you can’t find a business, then I’m sure it can have an effect. Businesses need to be found… and it’s always important to have correct contact information so people can find you easily.” The Alliance always keeps its databases up to date and correct for its members, none of which Stanier recognized off her first quick look at the 404 South Henry Street list. To contact Verizon to report an issue with a phone book listing, call (877) 483-1396. The company is now aware of the South Henry Street problem. |
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Dozens, or possibly hundreds, of businesses in the heart of Williamsburg share a common address but pay no taxes to the city.
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Comments
So, next time you call for a service order, specify they correct the physical address on the 1396 request.
I recommend the Denton Tx telco dept of VZ.....unless they were also outsourced to India?
Visit YellowCrooks.co m
"Flabbergasted", eh?
This local, for some time, has tried to locate handsful of Williamsburg businesses' addresses, only to become irritated with the gobbledlygook runaround...but never pursued why, BUT YOU DID!
SOMEONE/s is responsible for misleading the public, either through ignorance or, yes, on purpose. I feel that our local Chamber, though, is responsible for taking the problem by the "horns" and getting to the bottom of it AND cleaning it up! Will this VocalLocal immediately be slammed with a "minus" to my right? I trust not!