Ticket Scalpers versus the real fans
While discussing how we try to get 800 numbers in Disconnect and who we’re competing against, Sandeep Gupta from Ontario used the analogy of ticket scalpers versus the real fans. When we’re trying to get a phone company to release a number for us, we’re not competing against regular phone companies or regular customers.
We’re only competing against companies that are trying to get good numbers for themselves, not for end users. Some use them for Mass Misdial Marketing, some for phone sex or to promote an expensive directory assistance service and many just want to rent them or squat on them hoping to sell them.
The ticket scalping analogy was excellent because we’re trying to show that this is for a real customer (or fan), not just some business hoping to make money from it (like a ticket scalper). We’re putting a human face on it and trying to show that this will help real people. In some ways, it’s a race and who it’s for doesn’t matter, but because of the competitiveness we also have to approach the phone company before the race now and in that area showing it’s a real fan definitely helps.
That’s why we suggest that customers send in what we call the begging and pleading letter http://www.tollfreenumbers.com/blogs/backorders/begging-and-pleading.html for 800 numbers in the disconnect aging process, as well as the Resporg Change Form. So if you backorder a number make sure you send in that form from the Backorder Report and write a simple letter letting the phone company know who this will help and how important this is to you, your business and your family. And we’ll do our best to try to get you the number you really want.
The ticket scalping analogy also applies to 855 numbers when they are opened up (in maybe 10-15 years). Unless they change the rules, the shared use companies and misdial marketing businesses will have all the good seats within a few minutes. Very few real customers will get those good numbers. That sucking sound will be the number squatters sucking up everything before regular customers even wake up. So don’t assume that’s going to help anyone unless they drastically change the rules and their enforcement.
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Do you want to be a Ticket Scalper? at TollFreeNumbers.com says:
August 31, 2009 at 10:04 am
[...] We love helping customers find good numbers, but once in a while a good customer that started out getting tickets for themselves decides this is such a good business that they start buying up more tickets than they can use to start reselling them for as much as they can get for them. We’re basically Ticketmaster and the customer in this analogy has moved out of the customer status and essentially become a Ticket Scalper. [...]