Consumers : Fingers Don’t Know Where to Walk?
Can’t find those turtle doves, those lords a-leaping or that partridge in a pear tree?
Directions are as close as your telephone--and a new bilingual service for perplexed Southern California shoppers who know what they want but haven’t a clue where to find it.
Called Talking Yellow Pages, it offers free suggestions, in both English and Spanish, for where to buy what you want. Consumers need only dial (213) 777-7776, (714) 777-7776 or (800) 777-7776, then tell the operator the type of merchandise being sought. According to Talking Yellow Pages spokeswoman Barbara R. Beck, if the merchandise is listed in standard Pacific Telephone or GTE directories, the operator will then tell the caller the name, address and phone number of the appropriate merchant closest to the caller’s location.
Who’s underwriting all this free information?
“More than 450 merchants throughout Southern California,” says Beck, who adds, however, that these merchants receive no preference when names of merchants are being given to callers.
Lay This on for Kitty
Jill Harris was tired of covering her furniture with ratty, old towels that looked liked something her cats dragged in (to protect it from her cats, so the furniture wouldn’t look like something that should be dragged out).
Thus was born the “The Cat’s Towel,” a cotton terrycloth towel designed to protect furniture against cats’ shedding and scratching, all the while looking more attractive than the scuzzy rags cat owners might otherwise use for that purpose.
As it says on the label, the product was designed “because your furniture doesn’t have nine lives.”
Earlier this year, the pastel-colored towel was offered exclusively through mail order. But it’s now available nationally at retail outlets. You’ll find it carried locally in such shops as Montana Paws in Santa Monica, Pawsha in Calabasas, Doggone Perfection in Sherman Oaks, Chatsworth Pet Center in Chatsworth, Cats Plus in Burbank and the Woodcliff Animal Hospital in Chatsworth.
The towel, which features a drawing of a cat and the words “The Cat’s Towel,” is sold in two different color combinations: mint green, dusty rose and black with an ivory background or mint green, dusty rose and black on a slate blue background.
Suggested retail price is $8.99. For information on how to purchase the towel, call Jill Harris at (818) 700-6955 or write to Rabbit Foot, Inc., 20945 Devonshire St. , Suite 102, Chatsworth, Calif., 91311.
Fix-It Idiots, Rejoice!
For those who have difficulty taking measurements with the usual equipment, Homestar International has a couple of new alternatives: QuickSticke (an alternative to traditional rulers) and Quicker Tape (an alternative to standard tape measures).
Both products claim to make measuring tasks easier by instantly displaying the distance measured. Both use digital technology. For example, as a tab slides along QuickStick’s ruler-like edge, the device instantly gives you a digital readout of the measured distance. With Quicker Tape, a button is pressed when the tape has measured a given distance and the measurement is frozen into display.
Why would anyone want one?
“Principally, the concept of the products was to eliminate having to read all the little marking on tapes or rulers,” says Ross Heil, vice president of marketing for Homestar, which is based in Pleasanton, Calif.
“People, no matter how frequently they use them (tape measures or rulers), seem to have the same, continuing problem; that is, you have to count how many little slash marks there are on the edge of a ruler or a tape measure. So what we’ve done is maintained the same level of accuracy and principally made it a little easier to read.”
The tape measure, he adds, also has a memory feature to it. “This allows you to hang off the end of a ladder and get a measurement into a corner by merely pressing a button to freeze the measurement in memory. Even after the tape retracts, the measurement is still there.”
Both Quicker Tape and QuickStick are battery operated. Quicker Tape has a price range of $19.95 to $24.95. QuickStick ranges in price from $14.95 to $19.95. For information on where to purchase them, call Homestar International at (415) 847-9500 or write to the firm at 4256 Hacienda Drive, Suite 101, Pleasanton, Calif. 94566.
Astronauts’ Back Relief
Back pain sufferers--or those who simply enjoy sitting in chairs outfitted with back support cushions--can now rest their bones against material that was originally created for the U.S. space program.
Accu-Back, the Encino-based firm that offers a variety of back support cushions, recently introduced a new adjustable support cushion filled with “Temper Foam,” a material said to distribute pressure evenly. It has the added feature, according to the manufacturer, of absorbing body heat from the user and returning it to the back, thus acting as a mild heat treatment.
The cushion (model 4001) was designed especially for people who have had back surgery or lateral curvature of the spine (scoliosis) but is appropriate for anyone looking for more back support. It weighs 2 1/2 pounds and is covered with a fire-retardant, stain-resistant, velour-like fabric which the manufacturer says is easy to clean.
The cushion’s suggested retail price is $74 and it is available at home health care stores throughout Southern California. For more information on the product or where to purchase it, call Accu-Back at (213) 639-7992 or write to the company at 1475 E. Del Amo Blvd., Carson, Calif., 90746.
