Note: The following post was written by Amanda Bishop, one of WhitePages’ Product Managers.
Something crazy happened to me this morning. It began as usual – I was walking to work along Western Ave. in Belltown (Seattle) while ducking under my umbrella on a rainy winter morning. As I approached the Battery Street Tunnel, I saw a little black purse sitting on the sidewalk. This particular spot of my commute is commonly littered with different items, so I almost ignored it. But then I remembered losing my purse last fall and all the trouble that came with it. So I picked it up, expecting to find nothing inside – but after a quick look, I found a Prada bag, some $20 bills, and a checkbook among other things! Working at WhitePages, my first thought was to pull up our iPhone application and see if I could find a cell phone number or email address for this poor girl. Surely she had just dropped it and maybe I could return it to her now and save her hours of worry!
The Lost Prada Purse
Unfortunately not everyone realizes the power of creating a member listing on WhitePages. All she needed to do was enter her name, zip, and email or cell – and we would have created a listing that lets people get in contact with her without revealing any contact information (see ‘Amanda Bishop’ as an example). Not finding a result for her, I put the bag somewhere safe and continued on to work. I had a busy day full of meetings and deliverables, but about an hour ago I was able to try one more time to find this girl. Since she didn’t have a landline (many of us don’t these days) or member listing, my next best option was to find the phone number for the building she lived in. So I did a reverse address lookup on WhitePages.com and found the phone number for McGuire Apartments. Moments later the concierge answered, and before I could complete a sentence, she blurted out – “For Michelle?”. Then…
“Yes.”
“Oh my – she will be SO happy! She has been crying and devastated – especially because her flash drive is in there with important files for her final exams [at the Art Institute]. Where did you find it?”
After explaining the day’s events, we arranged for Michelle to (finally) be reunited with her Prada. The question is, will she decide to become a WhitePages member now?
Amanda
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Way to go, Cousin! I’m sold.
Amanda!
You have no idea how grateful I am that you found and returned my Prada purse! I was certain it was lost forever, given the nature of Belltown’s rough streets. Incredibly, this would have been the 2nd time I’d lost it within 6 months! Terrible…I know!
Anyway… practically my whole life was jam-packed in this purse. Mostly importantly, that little USB drive which I couldn’t afford to lose.
The power of WhitePages… I am now a believer.