Years ago, my best friend Donna called me on the phone to get my feedback on an ad she’d written for the local classifieds. It read something like this: “Stay-at-home mom provides preschool education and loving care in nurturing environment.” My response: “Perfect!”

At the end of the week, she appeared at my door with a crumpled newspaper. “You’re not going to believe this!” she cried, ripping open the paper and spearing the classifieds section with her finger.

It was posted under “Daycare Services.” So far so good.

“Stay-at-home mom provides preschool education and loving care in neutering environment.”

“Neutering? Say what?” I couldn’t tell if Donna was crying or laughing. This was funny—a sick funny. The bottom line, though, is the phone wouldn’t be ringing and bringing her business. Not exactly the outcome she’d anticipated.

In her case, though, the mistake was rectified rather quickly and to her benefit. The newspaper classifieds representative apologized up and down, corrected the ad for the next day’s edition and, furthermore, gave her a week’s worth of free ads—which was more than Donna could have afforded back then.

A week or so ago, I received a press release from A-American Self Storage depicting a similar saga, of which the outcome/retribution had yet to be determined. Somehow, for reasons unknown, teh Gardnerville, Nev., facility location is listed in the local Yellow Pages directories under “Adult Entertainment.” When the shocked manager informed the directory of the mistake, A-American Self Storage was told it would be entitled to a small ad (valued at $504) gratis, in the next directory. No apology or retraction was made, to the chagrin of the family-run company. To add insult to injury, a second Yellow Pages directory duplicated the listing.

Curious, I googled the company and did, in fact, find it listed along with businesses of questionable nature, namely Babes Gone Wild, Wild Orchid, a Touch of Class and Behind the Pink Door, posted in a Reno Gazette Journal online directory. According to the small print below each listing, A-American Self-Storage qualifies under several categories: Entertainment, Adult Entertainment Products & Services, Household Goods Storage.

So this would be funny, like my girlfriend neutering youngsters, except it's not ... especially since A-American just wants an apology from Idearc Media, publishers of the Verizon Yellow Pages and SuperPages.com, in which the mis-listing appears. The company wants to clear its name, obviously.

“We want it in writing that A-American is not engaged in, nor connected with these types of businesses, and that Verizon Yellow Pages, etc., will apologize for any confusion arising out of such a mistake,” stated company President Craig Olson. “We just want our name and excellent reputation cleared.”

A-American Self Storage is a privately held, family run business with facilities in five states: California, Hawaii, Illinois, Missouri and Nevada. “The company prides itself on its integrity within its industry, and is considered a highly respected leader amongst its peers,” reads the press released.

The company continues to await response from the publisher. “Right now, the ball is in their court to do what is right.”

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