This morning, like a lot of other people, I was locked out of using my PayPal debit card while the site (and apparently its glass-jawed transaction processing network) took a total dirtnap. So it goes. That’s only indirectly the point of this post (although I did kind of feel like opening a “Can of Cory” on The Pal).

Point is, my pal dansays left a great comment on my whiny Flickr post laying out why he’s put all the customer service numbers of products and sites he uses right into his Apple Address Book. Great advice that I’ll be taking this weekend:

1. The number syncs to my iPhone, so it’s handy when I need it.
2. I have a record of the number, should the website decide to, ahem, “streamline” their customer service department by removing all traces of their phone number from their website and forcing all communications through email. This happened to me just last week.
3. I have a central place to keep all notes related to customer service conversations. Whenever resolving disputes, I switch into hyper-documentation mode. Who I talked with, when I talked with them, and what they promised me.

Smart fella, that Dan. 1 and 2 may seem obvious, but 3 is super-clever. If you’ve ever had to throw down with a dopey company, you know the importance of the paper trail. I really like the idea of having that with me on my Mac and on my iPhone.