Google Voice 800 Numbers
Google just announced a very exciting new service Google Voice, which is actually a re-launch of the Grand Central service Google acquired in 2007. Like everything new from Google, it’s in ‘beta’ which in this case means it’s only available to existing customers of Grand Central right now.
They took an excellent voicemail service and added Goog411, Gmail, Free Long Distance and more to it and in one announcement made the telecom world nervous. I actually think this is a milestone on the path toward Google becoming the all knowing and powerful Star Trek computer in the sky. This is an important step taking Google out of the computer and into your phones.
Google doesn’t offer 800 numbers yet. But you can point any 800 number you get from us to your Google Voice number and all of the features of Google Voice will work on your 800 number! That’s right you pick the best 800 number here at TollFreeNumbers.com and then send the calls to your Google Voice number so it tries you at up to 6 numbers simultaneously. Most people describe that as trying you on multiple numbers but if you use a Google Voice number for your sales number you could have up to 6 different people answering your calls from their home phones entering orders into their laptop.
The announce and screen callers feature can allow you to tell when someone is calling your 800 number or Google Voice number instead of your local number. That means you can run your business from your home phone and only accept business calls the kids aren’t screaming and always answer business calls in your business voice.
You can call your 800 number and then make free calls within the US and internationally for 2 cents per minute. You get your voicemail transcribed into email or text messages, or listen to the voicemail on the web too. You can change where your calls are routed or to who, right from the web. You can even change the greeting for different callers or block callers.
There is more information on the Google Voice features but keep in mind that you can make these features of your toll free number by pointing a toll free number to it. You’ll have to use a regular phone company to get the calls to your GV number but since Google’s forwards the calls from there for free, it creates a very feature rich enhanced voicemail service. Also keep in mind that this looks like just the beginning. Google seems very serious about bringing out amazing new features and services that are definitely going to change the face of telecom.
PS. Someone suggested that you could make your GV# one of your ‘Faves’ on your cell phone and you’d be able to make free calls to anyone in the US and cheap calls internationally from your cell phone. This will be Big!
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What can I say! Now-a-days everytime you need service over the phone you're put on hold for 2 hours, transfered five times to other departments , it takes thirty tries and one month to accomplish the task. I have to say that working with you was headache free. You are on top of things and the service is very efficient. I would rate your service *****. 
Greg says:
July 3, 2009 at 1:06 pm
Hi Bill,
Is it possible to set up your GV number in a way it displays your 800 number when you make a call?
Thanks,
Greg
Bill Quimby (613 comments.) says:
July 6, 2009 at 1:38 am
Greg,
If you point a toll free number to a local number and then make an outgoing call from that local number, you’re not making the out bound call on your toll free number. Toll Free Numbers are like call forwarding numbers so you can’t make out bound calls on them. If you see a toll free number in someone’s caller ID, it’s probably because they’re a telemarketer, which has a sophisticated predictive dialer or PBX system that allows them to program their caller ID.
I think the samething is true about Google Voice numbers, in that just because your GV system forwards to a specific number, it wouldn’t change the caller ID of the number it forwards to.
Sorry!
Bill
Robert Siciliano says:
July 29, 2009 at 11:36 am
Bill,
I’ve pointed toll free numbers to google voice and they point just fine. I set up a custom greeting too. However when calling the toll frees the google voice message is defaulting to google standard message. But when I call the GV number directly the recording is fine. Any ideas?
Robert
Bill Quimby (613 comments.) says:
July 29, 2009 at 7:28 pm
Robert,
It sounds like the caller ID isn’t passing with the toll free number or it’s passing differently than when you dial directly. You could use an enhanced voicemail service that allows you to put the toll free number in for the caller ID so you can play a business message to the callers using your business line. That would be a cool way to use the two separate features of Kall8 or Virtual PBX that allow you to change the caller ID and Google Voice which allows you to play different messages.
Bill
Robert Siciliano says:
July 29, 2009 at 8:25 pm
Thanks. Its weird, sometimes when I test it the recording plays, others times it doesn’t. Forwarding lines to GV is not ready for prime time.
Robert
Bill Quimby (613 comments.) says:
July 29, 2009 at 10:11 pm
What company are you using for the toll free service?
Nick says:
August 5, 2009 at 1:30 pm
If I want to use an available 800 number and forward it to a GV#, do I need to maintain a service, or can I just purchase the number from you for $49 and retain that number, even though I don’t have service with anybody?
Bill Quimby (613 comments.) says:
August 6, 2009 at 3:32 pm
Nick,
You can point any number you find available to your GV# or whatever number you have now. You have to have someone to forward the calls to your local number though. You have to keep the toll free number active somewhere.
Bill
Richard (1 comments.) says:
November 4, 2009 at 9:36 pm
Is this post really true. Can you use an 800 number and still
use Google Voice? Any restrictions?
Diana says:
July 15, 2010 at 10:29 am
would I be able to receive text messages through my 800 number?
Bill Quimby (613 comments.) says:
July 16, 2010 at 2:14 am
Diana
No, toll free numbers in the US don’t receive texts. They can in Australia, but not here. Sorry.
Bill Quimby