Call it a thoroughly modern dilemma.
You can get any style of shoe delivered right to your door in 24 hours via the Internet, but must sort through five pages of random Google results just to find the right number for the pizza joint down the street. Oh and P.S. — the hours on some robo-generated listing are completely wrong.
Well East Haven Patch would hate to see anyone pizza-less and hungry (or without those killer boots) so that's why we launched East Haven Patch in November 2010 with the area's most comprehensive and detailed business directory.
You can find descriptions, hours, what credit cards are accepted, even parking — all verified by an actual human being, and all 100 percent local.
And no more driving around to a shop only to find it closed three months ago. We are constantly updating our database to reflect reality on the ground.
Yes, we are pretty proud of it, but we still need your help.
Above and beyond a free listing, owners of local businesses can "claim" their own listing on Patch.
What's in it for you or your customers? Once you've claimed your listing (and our super quick verification process is complete) you will be the proud owner of a small business dashboard where you can make certain changes and updates to your listing.
The first step is to get your free Patch account, find your listing and find the button that says "Do you own or manage this location? Claim it." The rest is easy.
Once up and running, you can see how many users have rated, reviewed or follow your business on Patch. You can e-mail your customers to seek out more reviews, and link the Patch directory to your Facebook or Twitter account. Add a scrumptious photo of your latest dish or update contact information when you finally have a minute to rest, which we know is usually at 2 a.m.
It's as easy as typing out a Facebook status update or uploading a photo of the kids.
Think we got something wrong? We hate mistakes at East Have Patch so we'll do everything we can to get it right. You can request a new description if you think your business is inaccurately described.
Everything above is completely free, which is awesome, but we know some of you want to do even more. For a fee you can upgrade your listing with a personalized video profile, add a direct message to your customers and become a featured business on the Places page.
Our readers support our local shops and establishments because they care about their community. We know you do too, so please let us know whatever we can do to help maximize your presence on Patch.
Have more questions about claiming your listing? Email East Haven Patch editor Julie Weisberg at julie.weisberg@patch.com or call 203-321-7570.
(Editor's note: This article originally ran on Feb. 2)
