Local Jones Frequently Answered Questions
What is Local Jones?
Local Jones is a new way for people to give/receive ratings and reviews for local businesses over the phone that can then be easily shared with a circle of friends that they create online. Think MySpace meets CitySearch for the mobile phone. With Local Jones, whenever one of your friends reviews an awesome new place in town, you can choose to receive their review by text message or e-mail. Cooler still, you can earn points towards cash and prizes for every review you leave, as well as download exclusive coupons over the phone for selected Local Jones merchants.
What types of things should I say about a business when I review it?
There is no right answer grasshopper… but there are many boring reviews (and reviewers). Tell us about your love/hate relationship with a certain restaurant. Confess to us your real reason for going to the same bar every night last 3 months. Try to make us understand the "essence" of your infatuation with a particular the business. Just remember your reviews will be posted for the general public to listen to (unless you’ve marked them private), so keep them short (60 sec.), entertaining and information-filled.
How do I rate and review a business?
All rating initially takes place over the phone. When you call Local Jones (we’ll give you the number in your sign-up e-mail) you will be prompted to enter the merchant ID for the business you want to review, or if you don’t know the merchant ID you will be asked to say the name of the business. After that, follow the instructions on the phone to submit a review, which should all take less than two minutes. Afterwards, if you want, you can go online and add pictures and written text to the audio you left over the phone. We’ll be your BFF if you do, but it’s not necessary.
What types of businesses can I rate and review?
Local Jones is specifically interested in independent businesses. Don’t bother telling us about large national chains like Wal-Mart or Applebees. Local and regional chains like Paciugo or Sonny Bryan’s are OK. You can tell us about restaurants, retail stores, nightclubs, and anything in between. Also rating service-oriented businesses like spas and salons is OK. Rating professionals like doctors, lawyers, plumbers, is NOT OK (at least not right now).
How do I rate a business that’s not listed in Local Jones?
As a registered user, when you call the Local Jones phone system you are given the option of rating a business that does not have a Local Jones. ID. If you select this option you will be asked to say the name of the business and then you will rate the business over the phone as you normally would. The next time you log into your account online, you will notice that a "New Merchant" listing appears on your My Places page. Clicking on the listing will open a create new business page that will allow you to type in the name of the business that you rated and any other relevant information. Once you give us a little 411, we’ll add the business to our permanent database and assign it a Local Jones number.
What happens if I mark my message private?
Only the people in your Inner circle will be able to hear the message over the phone. The message will also be available online for only you and them to see… or err…snicker.
How can I fix my profile picture?
Hmm…what do you mean by fix? Perhaps you are referring to those pesky little white bars that show up after you upload your photo. Those bother us too and we’re currently trying to fix them. For now though, if you can edit your picture in iPhoto or Photoshop so that it’s a perfect square rather than the rectangle shape it currently is, you’ll get rid of those annoying lines. If for some reason your photo won’t upload at all, check the file size. Some people have reported having problems uploading files over 100K on slow Internet connections. There are two solutions to this problem; make your picture smaller or get on a faster connection. If none of the previous advice is relevant, and you just want to help from on high with your profile, then e-mail help@localjones.com.
The drop down menu won’t stay open long enough for me to select what I want. What should I do?
This seems to happen more often in Safari than in other browsers. Try using Firefox instead. If for some reason that doesn’t work, you can navigate to all of the areas in the drop down menu by clicking on any of the following links:
Consumers: My Jones, My Profile, My Network, My Places, My Account
Merchants: My Dashboard, My Messages, My Customers, My News & Promos, My Account
What if I sound like a dork in the message I leave?
If you’re feeling a bit of remorse after drinking and dialing, you can always erase your audio messages by logging into your online account. Just go to My Places. Select the offending message and hit delete. Of course, if you have the presence of mind to realize that you sound like a dork as you are recording the message over the phone you can re-record it on the spot. Just listen for the prompt that asks you if you’re satisfied with your message.
Can I leave more than one message about a business?
Absolutely! We understand that some people have actual love affairs with businesses and can’t say enough good things about them. Some of these people have an equally strong addiction to the phone. As long as the info you provide about a business is relevant, you can call as many times as you want. Even so, you should know that we only count your actual ratings once, so that your unbridled affection won’t skew the business’ ranking.
Do I have to leave an audio review when I call Local Jones?
Nope. You can just tell us how many stars you give it and whether or not you would recommend to a friend. Once you do that, you are free to hang up if you like.
Will I receive unwanted text messages from Local Jones on my phone?
The only time that you will receive text messages from Local Jones is if you ask for them. If you tell us over the phone to send you a coupon or more information about a business, you will receive it only once. Additionally, if you have opted to receive text message alerts from your Inner Circle whenever they rate a new business, you will receive those, too. If you do not wish to receive text messages from Local Jones, please make sure you have indicated that in your account settings.
Does it cost me anything to use Local Jones?
Local Jones charges you NOTHING to use our service. Your phone company however, will charge you whatever your normal fees are for using airtime or receiving text messages.
Will Local Jones keep my identity private?
Local Jones does not reveal the actual identity of its users, however user’s screen names are visible to other Local Jones members, including merchants. Merchants may contact you via your My Jones page regarding messages that you have left about their business. Aside from your screen name the merchant is given no other identifying information about you. If you feel as though you are being harassed by a merchant please e-mail help@localjones.com. For a full explanation of Local Jones’ privacy policy please check the Privacy section of our website.
Who do I contact if I still have questions?
Feel free to send your questions or comments to help@localjones.com.
