haʊˈɛvɚ, ʌnlˈaɪk ɐ stˈændɚd tˈɛlᵻfˌoʊn dᵻɹˈɛktɚɹi, wˌɛɹ ðə jˈuːzɚ jˈuːsᵻz kˈʌstəmɚz diːtˈeɪlz sˈʌtʃ ɐz nˈeɪm ænd ɐdɹˈɛs ɪn ˈɔːɹdɚ tə ɹᵻtɹˈiːv ðə tˈɛlᵻfˌoʊn nˈʌmbɚɹ ʌv ðæt pˈɜːsən ɔːɹ bˈɪznəs, ɐ ɹᵻvˈɜːs tˈɛlᵻfˌoʊn dᵻɹˈɛktɚɹi ɐlˈaʊz jˈuːzɚz tə sˈɜːtʃ baɪ ɐ tˈɛlᵻfˌoʊn sˈɜːvɪs nˈʌmbɚɹ ɪn ˈɔːɹdɚ tə ɹᵻtɹˈiːv ðə kˈʌstəmɚ diːtˈeɪlz fɔːɹ ðæt sˈɜːvɪs.
However, unlike a standard telephone directory, where the user uses customer's details (such as name and address) in order to retrieve the telephone number of that person or business, a reverse telephone directory allows users to search by a telephone service number in order to retrieve the customer details for that service.