The popularity of 1-800 numbers is surpassing that of local phone numbers at rates exceeding industry expectations.
Toll free service has increased at such a fast pace that the supply of available 1-800 numbers is at an all-time low. According to the Federal Communications Commission 1-800, 888, 877 and 866 numbers are increasingly popular for businesses and for personal use. With no plans for the addition of new numbers, the existing supply is quickly depleting.
Experts say that consumers recognize that many of the advantages of 1-800 numbers outweigh standard local phone service. Toll free service is becoming increasingly common with parents wishing to keep in close contact with children and teens. Businesses with a 1-800 number see increases in sales, word of mouth referrals and a decrease in product returns. Standard local phone service does not provide any of these advantages.
The value of a 1-800 number has become a necessity for any business. Toll free numbers allow callers to reach businesses, organizations and even friends and relatives without being charged for the call. A toll free number lends credibility to any business, enhances customer service, and increases customer confidence. There are no additional installations needed for a 1-800 number and the calls can be routed to any cell phone, landline, or fax. Studies show that sales can double and word of mouth referrals can increase by as much as 200% making toll free service indispensible for business.
Toll free service has been available for 40 years, but has skyrocketed in popularity in the past decade. 1-800 numbers were introduced in 1967. By the 1980s, half of all long distance calls were through 800 numbers. A decade later, the FCC added two new pre-fixes, 888 and 877, to address the shortage of available 800 numbers. Then with the supply continuing to drop while demand increased, 866 numbers were added in the year 2000.
Industry insiders are recommending that anyone wishing to obtain a toll free number secure one immediately. With a limited number of toll free possibilities, the finite supply is nearly expended. It is important that subscribers deal with reliable service providers. Companies like AT&T and Verizon quickly secure a number for any subscriber, offer low rates, and reliable fiber optic connections.
Filed under: Information | Tagged: 800 numbers, local numbers, phone numbers |
Toll Free Service Management System News 
good point
Toll free numbers popular? Are you kidding me!? That\’s an understatement if I\’ve ever heard one. I\’ve been using toll frees since \’88 and I\’m adding new lines all the time. I don\’t think I\’d be where I am without \’em.
good point
I\’m only dealing with local business. Why should I consider getting a toll free number?
Ive got a small business in a small town in upstate New York but after I got my toll free I started getting calls from people in towns 50 miles away! It works better than I need.
Whoa, you can route these things to a cell phone? I thought it had to be a land line.
I think itd be fun to just have a 1-800 number. How do they work?
I\’ve been using a calling card this whole time only to find out how cheap tollfrees are. Alright, I\’m on the bandwagon now!
I loves me some toll free…
I want to get one just because. Sounds fun.
good point
i tried to call but accidently hit my head with the phone.
“Please hold while your call if forwarded to our customer service department in India”… ***** ***** ***** *****!!! ‘ello dis is Dakshesh how may I assist you? Hahahaaa….. can’t wait to try that one!! Then I can get out my cursing before the call, great! Who knew?
A wise man does not need advice and a fool won’t take it.
Always forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.
That’s the secret to life… replace one worry with another…
reynold’s site is 400% better
Wow, that google 411 thing almost seems to good to be true. Free 411, sure. Connecting you for free? Sweet!
The chief danger in life is that you may take too many precautions.
good point
Like a welcome summer rain, humor may suddenly cleanse and cool the earth, the air and you.
I don’t think so. I just bought a vanity 888 number to go with my company’s name. It’s not so much because it is toll free, it is because it is a little more professional to give out an easy to remember number than just any old regional number.
You never lose by loving. You always lose by holding back.
It’s good to be clever, but not to show it.
well, since 1960, 800 numbers have been increasing in popularity
Hey, at least you are getting better than normal customer service.
how long will it take before the NSA starts using this, no more calling from phone booths, to hide your number
I’m gonna have to say that the WRT54GL is the greatest router ever.
If you don’t know where you’re going how do you expect to get there ?
my number 1. my debt collectors have been calling me alot lately
i tried to call but accidently hit my head with the phone.
I should keep my words soft and sweet in case I have to eat them.
I once had to call eBay… what a nightmare. I wish I’d never found their number, as the “service” was so horrible and the experience even worse.
Nonetheless, this is a great resource to have handy – I’ve bookmarked it. Thanks for sharing this info with us.
Being yourself is being the person everyone else wants you to be.
It’s not that 800 #’s are doomed, it’s long distance calling is doomed. 800 #’s are just a reverse way of paying for a long distance call. Instead of you paying for the call, the person you are calling pays for it.
This is normal anyway, as prices come down and competition it just makes sense that national long distance (within a country) be done away with and the companies focus on other services to make money.
Pressure makes diamonds.
Personal opinion here, but it’s not about the price of the call.
I’m in the UK; our equivalent is 0800, but it’s essentailly the same as 800 in the US. On most mobile networks here, you get charged for calling 0800, at the same rate as calling a normal fixed line phone.
So, it’s not the price that I see when I call, it’s the image of the company. Unless I spot a company with a familiar area code such as my local area, I’m going to go with the company that looks the most impressive. Given the choice between two identical offerings, one from a company on 01987 532345 and another from 0800 4532345, I’ll go with the 0800 offering every time.
It’s like domain names. Who would you buy from? http://www.flowerpots.com or hometown.aol.com/tedsflowerpots
Be nice to your kids . . . they’ll be the ones choosing your nursing home.
Speak softly and carry a big stick, you will go far.
lovely
just because you have a number doesn’t mean you’re going to be heard.
One thing you can give and still keep: my word.
If you want truly to understand something, try to change it.
I thought the tin foil hat was good enough
Personal opinion here, but it’s not about the price of the call.
I’m in the UK; our equivalent is 0800, but it’s essentailly the same as 800 in the US. On most mobile networks here, you get charged for calling 0800, at the same rate as calling a normal fixed line phone.
So, it’s not the price that I see when I call, it’s the image of the company. Unless I spot a company with a familiar area code such as my local area, I’m going to go with the company that looks the most impressive. Given the choice between two identical offerings, one from a company on 01987 532345 and another from 0800 4532345, I’ll go with the 0800 offering every time.
It’s like domain names. Who would you buy from? http://www.flowerpots.com or hometown.aol.com/tedsflowerpots
It’s faith in something and enthusiasm for something that makes life worth living.
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The wisest mind has something yet to learn.
Well it’s an interesting idea, but I would not trust my freedom to a line trick if your worried about a phone tape. Use an encrypted phone link.
The standard encryption in your digital cell phone does not qualify. As a matter of fact a cell phone is one of the worse things you could use for “Private” conversation. Not only can some one automatically route a copy of your call to another receiving party. They know within 100 feet where you are this is without your phone having A GPS chip. If your phone is GPS enabled “they” can know your location down to 10 feet.
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