I live in a very small town. We’re talking 400 residents small. It’s knowing-everyone-else-in-the-grocery-store-at-10-on-a-weekday-morning small. I love living in a place like this, but sometimes it strikes me how someone from a big metropolis would find some of our ways very funny.

For instance, business isn’t conducted in a small town the same way it is in a big city. Where I live, many businesses are basically invisible. They don’t have websites; their proprietors will likely argue until they retire that they don’t need to be on the Internet.

I’m not poking fun here: my story has a point. (I’m getting to it.)

Last month, we were having issues with our heating system. There was heat in some parts of the house, but not in others. My husband farted around with it himself for a couple of weeks before he finally broke down and decided to call in a heating expert—a suggestion I’d been making for some time, might I add(But I digress).

There’s a van that drives by our house all the time with the name of the business and a phone number written on its side. I will not share the name to protect the innocent, but I will say that I had a hunch the guy could help us because the word “heating” was in the business name.

So, we made up our minds to call that person as we’re new to the area and my father told me he’d called him before to clean his furnace and he was a good honest guy.

My husband started looking through the phone book and there was no listing for the business. He checked the Yellow Pages under Heating and Furnaces. Nothing. We figured he was probably listed under his own name and not his business name —something that doesn’t help at all when you don’t know the person’s first name.

So I conducted a Google search for the business name. Nothing. I even went so far as to check the provincial government’s business directory (which is an unsearchable beast itself but that’s a story for another day) to no avail.

The business we needed to call did not appear to exist. It was invisible.

Of course, then I did what anyone else would do. I called my father to see if he knew this guy’s name.

The conversation went something like this:

Me: Hi Dad, do you know how I could get in touch with the “business name” guy?

Dad: Well, you could check the phone book.

Me: Thanks Dad. I tried that already. There’s nothing under the business name and I don’t know the name of the guy.

Dad: What’s wrong with your furnace?

Me: I don’t know, that’s why we need this guy. Do you know his name?

Dad: I think it’s Joe but I’m not sure. (Sounds of Dad flipping through phone book.)

Me: So you think it’s Joe?

Dad: It’s not in the book.

Me: I know.

Dad: Well, just call Henry.

Me: Who’s Henry?

Dad: Joe’s brother. You know, his wife is so-and-so who works at the such-and-such.

Me: Um. Okay. So, do you know Henry and so-and-so’s number?

Dad: Here, I’ll call Henry myself. I’ll call you back.

And that’s how we got the number for the heating guy. We had our doubts about what kind of operation it might be, but literally, within ten minutes of my husband calling, they were here in the basement fixing us up.

The service was great and they knew what they were doing. At least with furnaces.

Now as far as marketing goes . . . the biggest sin a good business could commit has been committed. It is impossible to locate this business the moment you need the services it provides, unless you already knew the man you needed to call.

If you need the services of a plumber or a locksmith or a furnace repairman, you’re going to search the Yellow Pages or you’re going to head to Google. You’re not searching for a business name in most cases (however in this case I knew the business I wanted and I still couldn’t find it): you’re searching for the service you need.

This business owner needs a website. It’s fine and good to have your phone number on your van, but unless my heating system goes tits up the same exact minute your van is driving by my window and I have time to notice and jot down the number, it’s not helpful at all. I don’t impulsively think, “oh hey, I should write down that number in case I ever need that guy’s help.”

Anyway, thankfully my father knew the guy’s brother and we got ourselves straightened out. And that’s probably the way a lot of these business owners think. They’ve been around long enough that people will know how to get in touch with them when they need them. And in all fairness, now that I think about it, in my case it actually worked.

This story reminds me of back when my husband and I were in our first apartment together. We asked our elderly landlady what our mailing address would be. She said, “Oh just put York on it and it will get to you.”

That’s the way it works in small towns and you might laugh but she was probably right.

Disclaimer: If you’re local and know the business I’m talking about, please know that we were very happy with the service we got. I’m not trying to be mean. I just happen to think in blog posts.

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