And you called US for this why?

[MoonCat]

We've gotten calls like that for years. People figure a newspaper knows everything, and if we don't, we should know who to call. If I'm in a good mood and not busy, I might google something for a caller, but beyond that I will not go. Let them use the brain cells the gods gave them.

[XCashier]

Let them use the brain cells the gods gave them.

Problem is, they weren't given a very generous portion..."meted out with an eyedropper" is more like it.

[ComputerNecromancer]

It still exists, though it often comes with a fee. There are free services like ChaCha that can do something similar... assuming you get a handler who gives a damn (you get a lot of crap answers). And of course, you can always ask the Google. All smartphones come with GPS navigation nowadays, and you can get a used smartphone or tablet for under $50 (I checked) without a contract.

*Using* the GPS costs extra though. On my phone, it'd be $20/month extra. Which given that my monthly bill is under $50 would be a *substantial* increase.

Oh yeah, I can also access the GPS "one time" for a lower fee (not sure if that's for an hour or the day, but that's still a significant charge)

[MadMike]

*Using* the GPS costs extra though. On my phone, it'd be $20/month extra.

Can you access Google Maps on your phone? I have it on mine, and it's free to use. The only thing you have to worry about is data usage.

My phone also came with something called "VZW Navigator", but from what I understand, that does cost a monthly fee to use.

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

I used to have people call the store I worked at for directions.

I would always give them the same set of directions to the same place.

In the center of town there is a park and at the entrance to the park is a nice map of the town. It's large, emcompasses the entire town, and it shows the local restaurants, hotels, and shopping centers.

So while I would never send them to where they wanted to go, I sent them to a place where they could find it out for themselves and gain some self-reliance.

Or sit there and die of exposure if they're too stupid to read a map.

Either way I've done humanity a service.

[Dentarthurdent]

In the center of town there is a park and at the entrance to the park is a nice map of the town. It's large, emcompasses the entire town, and it shows the local restaurants, hotels, and shopping centers.

I have had someone call me three times from the same location in [national park] - a a large visitor center with a gigantic map out front. I kept telling them how to get to the main road and saying to turn left at a certain point, and they would always go straight instead and end up where they started. Once I told them, in exasperation, to go look at the map, they were standing in front of me within 15 minutes.

As a side note, this was not entirely their fault - the road looks different on the map than it is in reality, and I can see where going straight instead of turning left could be viewed as a left turn.

[HotelMinion]

Oh don't you know?
Hotels are always information centers to the public. We know everything....because we're wizards! ^.^

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

"Will it be raining on September 8th, 2014?"

"Yeah, somewhere, probably."

[Deevil]

Yesterday, I had somebody call that had tracked their order online and seen a message that the post office tried to deliver but nobody was home and to contact their local post office to pick or or schedule a redelivery. The person stated they had just moved and did not know where their local post office was and wanted me to help them with the phone number. Since I don't have the phone number of every post office in the US memorized, and my computer at work has limited access to the internet, all I could tell her was to go to usps.com and plug her zip into the "find post office" search and the closest one would probably be the once she needed.

[MoonCat]

Problem is, they weren't given a very generous portion..."meted out with an eyedropper" is more like it.

If you exercise them now and then, they get frisky and start to multiply.

[TheCheerfulTreeRat]

I might google something for a caller, but beyond that I will not go. Let them use the brain cells the gods gave them.

Let Me Google That For You is your friend here...

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Can you access Google Maps on your phone? I have it on mine, and it's free to use. The only thing you have to worry about is data usage.

My phone also came with something called "VZW Navigator", but from what I understand, that does cost a monthly fee to use.

BlueBall wireless has similar for a monthly fee. Why would I use that when I have Google Maps and it gives me voice directions?

As for the directory assistance question: phone companies still offer it, but it's a per use fee they charge (I think BlueBall was around $2.00 each time last I used it.)

But there again, I can google or use the Yellow Pages app (or White Pages) for what I need for FREE plus I don't have to interact with someone on the phone.