Leadership: Toll Free

Sometimes words can be misleading.

For example, consider "Toll Free" as applied to toll free phone numbers.

This implies that calling a "toll free" number might be free. Actually, nothing is free. Someone has to pay for it.

I'm writing this blog to make two points.

1) Toll free phone calls cost more than standard phone calls. In fact, they cost a lot more.

Businesses provide toll free numbers as a service to their customers. They consider these calls so important that they are willing to pay a premium to receive them.

So, here's a suggestion: if you have bought a phone service with unlimited calls, use the company's standard phone number. Your call will cost you nothing, and it avoids adding to the expenses of businesses that you support.

2) The owner of a toll free number receives a statement every month that itemizes all the calls that were placed using that number.

Thus, if you call a company with their toll free number, your phone number will be listed in that statement. Now they have a record of the phone number that you used to place your call. This can cost you a bit of privacy in case the company chooses to do anything with your phone number.

I find this especially curious when friends and relatives use my toll free number to call me. First, I know that they used my toll free number. And second, I wonder why they wanted me to pay for their call. (This, by the way, has happened to me twice during the past month.)

So, here is a friendly nudge to use toll free numbers with discretion. And certainly, if you have a friend who owns a toll free number, use that person's standard number. It's bad manners to make a friend pay for your call.

Key Point: Use toll free numbers wisely.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

Web Site

Linkedin