November 13, 2006
a future without 800-numbers (?)
USA Today has a theory that 800-toll-free-numbers - 40 years a part of daily American life — are doomed.
"This would be very bad news for phone companies, which rake in $12 billion a year from toll-free numbers.
...Just about everyone who has a cellphone has a flat rate package for local and long-distance calls. So there is really no difference between calling a toll-free 800-number or a "toll" 847 area code - both would cost essentially nothing.
Also, new services such as voice-recognition systems that reply to your query, will further render 800 numbers obsolete.
... Then there's the Web. Calling an 800-number and getting routed into voice menus or waiting forever for a live person has persuaded a lot of people to go to a company's website first. And companies are finding better and cheaper ways to connect with consumers right through their websites — like with IM-style chat help or "push to talk" buttons from Skype and others.
... In it's favor, the 800-number has one distinct advantage: its hold on the consumer psyche. "It does indicate "free".
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