In January 2002, Dateline NBC exposed overcharging tactics at Stephens’ operation in Dallas. Yellow Pages Exec à Deceptive Door Dealer Stephens, a multi-state garage door dealer whose giant Yellow Pages ads have become notorious throughout the country.
One of Sutton’s big revenue-generating customers has been Peter J. For 10 years, Bobby Sutton has been a Yellow Pages sales rep for Dex Media, a publisher of 269 directories in 14 western states. (The extortion charges are unrelated to Sutton’s door businesses.)īut that’s not the most interesting part. On April 30 of this year, Sutton resigned from office amid federal extortion charges against him. He was Bobby Sutton, Jr., who had been mayor of the fast-growing Tucson suburb of Marana since 1999. But the identity of this door dealer made this story compelling. 28, 2005, the Explorer newspaper of Tucson, Ariz., broke a major story that revealed a long list of allegations against a new garage door dealer in that area. The Mayor, the Yellow Pages Exec, and the Door Dealer 54) that benefit the consumer and protect the good name of our industry. Our goal is not to carelessly point fingers, but to identify a problem and offer solutions (see p.
No one benefits if we all turn a blind eye. 52-53) demonstrates how the number of deceptive door dealers may be growing, not shrinking. Second, this story (and our Atlanta Dealer story on pp. Why? First, it gives a rare glimpse of the inner workings of a Yellow Pages publisher and how its sales system can be abused to favor some door dealers and disfavor others. If you have ever been frustrated with your Yellow Pages rep or had problems with a disreputable dealer in your area, you will find this story enlightening and compelling.