Be Careful Dealing With Bill Quimby

Toll Free Vanity Number Articles, Links & Ideas

Need a toll free number for your business, go to tollfreenumber.org, not to be confused with tollfreenumbers.org. The latter is owned by Bill Quimby, an individual you should be very wary of. See the postings about this guy at this complaint site and how he reacted to an article about toll free vanity numbers that he disagreed with here.

If you have an 888, 877, 866 or 855 toll free vanity number that you've been told is not as good as an 800 toll free vanity number, that "might" not be the case. Here's an article with a different take on the subject.

Favorite Links For Those With Toll Free Numbers

The links below are NOT affiliate links for the owner of this site. They represent the BEST services for use with toll free numbers, and they offer the best combination of price and features I have found on the web.

PowerNetGlobal - Best Toll free/long distance services

Maxemail.com - Best Unified messaging service

Telemsg.com - Best Voicemail features

Computer Telephony Applications Offer an Excellent Way to Build a Business Around Your Toll Free Vanity Number.

Here are a few applications that might give you some ideas.

Menu Routing/Prompt Menus: When a toll free number is dialed, the caller will hear a welcome announcement, and then will be provided with a menu of choices for how the call is to be routed or treated. The menu is customer-defined. The caller is prompted for DTMF input.

Message Announcement: With Message Announcement, the caller hears a pre-recorded promotional or informational message prior to, during, or after the call is routed to the caller-selected.

Standard Database Routing: This feature enables calls to be automatically routed to the appropriate destination based on customer-designed database of the caller's phone number (ANI), time of day, day of week, or caller-entered digits (CED) such as ZIP code or account number. Customers can also allow their callers to respond to a series of questions before the call is terminated.

If caller input (via DTMF) is required:

Messages may be played to the caller as a prompt
An acknowledgment message (Thank You) can be played upon receipt of the specified number of digits, whether the entry is valid or invalid. The validity of an entry is checked during the subsequent database lookup.
The digits entered can be repeated to the caller for verification before attempting to retrieve database information

Data fields contain information for use by the call processing application. Examples of data fields are out-dial telephone number, message number, application box number, and password.

Database Routing provides the customer with the ability to make real-time updates to their own internal database records. Using our custom online GUI (Graphical User Interface), customers can add, delete or change application database records such as in real time.

Percent Allocation (Uniform Call Distribution): Routing based on a percentage of traffic to predefined locations, e.g. 40% of all calls go to location A, 40% of all calls go to location B and 20% of all calls go to location C.

Out Dial: Gives companies the ability to assign PIN numbers to employees/clients so they can call a toll free number and dial out to a local number. The bill in separated by PIN number.

Busy/No Answer: If a call reaches a busy signal or is not answered within a specified time (number of rings). Busy/No Answer automatically reroutes the call to a pre-specified alternate location or recording. Customers can direct their callers to respond to a series of questions before the call is terminated.

Caller Take Back & Transfer: Caller Take back allows a caller to return to the menu to make additional call routing selections, or can access "hidden" menus not available during the initial selection process. By using Caller Take back, the caller can maneuver themselves through various routing options without the need to hang up and redial.

Called Party Transfer: The Called Party Transfer allows the called party to send a transferred call back to originally called location back to the main menu or to other predefined locations.

Take Back & Transfer: This feature allows the called party to transfer a call to another location or to give control of the call back to the caller to make additional call routing selections. Take back and Transfer is always attended. For example, if a company has one location that provides first-level technical support, callers may be allowed to transfer their calls to another agent group for second-level support. Take back and Transfer gives the caller control over moving between locations, departments, or countries without the need to hang up and redial. Customers can direct their callers to respond to a series of questions before the call is terminated.

Call Announce/Whisper: Call Announce, often called 'Whisper' provides a customized message to the called party before the caller is connected, alerting the called party with certain information about the caller (i.e. account number, ANI). Call Announce can also alert the called party as to the nature of the call, and can allow pre-access of pertinent customer/caller records or other stored information. This eliminates the need for the caller to restate the reason for the call. The caller is on hold, usually listening to music or message, while the Call Announce message is played to the called party.

Remote Audio Update: Remote Audio Update allows the customer to make real-time updates to their audio messages heard by callers. Using their assigned ID Number and Password, customers can dial into their application message and modify or review it. This process allows them to have more control over their application and providing their callers with accurate information in a timely manner.

Survey: Survey allows callers to respond to a series of questions via touch-tone (DTMF) input. Customers can design their own customized survey to gather information on service levels or customer satisfaction. A maximum of 9 questions can be asked, although studies show that the percentage of caller responses drops significantly after 4 questions. Call Survey collects DTMF digits only (like 1 for yes, 2 for no, and scales from 1 to 5). Since surveys are usually used to get validation on level of service provided by agents, they are a quick and easy way to collect feedback from callers and are usually prompted to the caller at the end of each call. Customers can choose to send all or a random percentage of callers to the survey. Responses are tallied and summarized in a report to the customer. Reports containing the results of the survey responses for the specified period of time are available online 24/7.

Dealer Locator: System performs database look-up and determines where to send the caller off of the following geographical criteria or combination of criteria.

LATA
Area Code
Area Code and Prefix
Longitude and Latitude
GPS Grid
Radius
Zip Code
City
County
State

Dealer Referral: Dealer referral uses the same process as a Dealer Locator but offers them a choice of which locations to be routed to starting with the nearest location.

Virtual Call Center: Allows your customers to interact with a virtual assistant. We can help you screen calls, capture important client information all while reducing the amount of time your clients spend on hold or with a live operator.

Reverse ANI Address lookup: Matchs the caller's billing address, city, state and zip code with a RBOC (Regional Bell Operating Company) interface. The address is automatically retrieved without requesting it from the caller. The address is manageable through our system that allows you to print labels for strategic mailers.

Record: Our system records every call, or percentage of calls from start to finish. This is especially useful for sales and customer relations. Review each call for responsiveness, professionalism and efficiency.

Custom Call Coverage (Call Blocking): Allows the customer to customize call handling for specific geographic locations. Callers can hear options such as a busy signal, out of area messages, or be sent to a default message or location.

Time of Day Routing - Day of Week Routing: Route a call based off time of day or day of week. This is very useful for hours of operation, holiday's, special meetings and 24 hour technical support applications. The routing options can be changed in real time via the online GUI (Graphical User Interface).

Repeat Caller: Repeat Caller tracks how many calls are received from any given ANI (Caller I.D Number). Callers can be uniquely routed or blocked from the system based on a predetermined number of calls.

Speak Back: Speak Back reads back the callers digit entries. Speak Back is very helpful for applications that need callers to enter in precise info that needs to be verified by the caller before call termination/connection.

Voice Capture: Voice Capture allows the caller to leave specific information such as name, best time to call, address, and order number when a live operator is not available. This is an especially useful feature when call volume spikes, or as an after-hours alternative. The message is immediately emailed to you as an audio file and available online through a reporting login.