Why are Toll Free Numbers so popular?

just a cute phone I have on my deskConsumers like them because they’re free to call. Advertisers like them because customers are more likely to call. Companies also like them because they are portable and they create a more national presence and they have additional capabilities in terms of reporting and routing that local numbers don’t have. Another major reason for their popularity is that they have dropped so dramatically in price and ease of use. When they were first introduced they were expensive and hard to get. But now they are so cheap and so simple to set up that even the smallest part time business or residential user, almost can’t afford not to use one.

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    4 Comments »

    tina says:
    January 23, 2008 at 3:05 am

    Is it possible to get a number JUST for NY state? I found the vanity number I want but it seems to be used only in Iowa

      Bill Quimby (346 comments.) says:
      January 23, 2008 at 6:40 pm

      The answer for that is yes and no. I’ll try to explain.

      No, there is only one official customer of record for any toll free number. It is technically possible for the customer to make calls from one area ring to one place and calls from the other but in reality the toll free number really isn’t split. There is ultimately only one customer of record and it’s very difficult for anyone to work out a sharing arrangement with a regular customer even if they only use it in one regional area.

      You also run into the same problem you face with shared use, in that you wind up putting yourself at the mercy of the other customer. If they don’t pay their bill, your service will be shut off too. And it can be hard to prove that you have any right to the number (because you really don’t) if anything changes with the original end user.

      It’s also a little strange for most people to get a call from someone asking for a piece of their toll free number. You will have to get past the knee jerk reaction against it. If you do try to do it write back about your experience, especially if you do get anywhere.

      Bill Quimby

        Gerard Laurain says:
        August 23, 2008 at 11:16 am

        Bill,
        Do you know of a source where I can determine the total number of toll free minutes that are generated/year in the U.S.?

        Thanks,

        Gerard Laurain

          Bill Quimby (346 comments.) says:
          August 23, 2008 at 2:24 pm

          Gerald,

          No, I’m sorry. I don’t think there would really be a valid source for that information. It would be hard to determine since they’re not done all through one company any more since they were broken up from AT&T in the early 90s. It’s kind of like asking how many page views occur in a day on the internet.

          Bill

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