Toll-Free Misprint Wreaks Havoc On Charitable Intentions
Further evidence that the term “toll-free number” and the prefix 800 are synonymous in the minds of many comes from this story out of Cincinnati. As WCPO Channel 9 reports, Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco recently introduced a new breakfast cereal to the marketplace, OchocincO’s. Seems the pro ball player wanted to have the charity Feed [...]
Further evidence that the term “toll-free number” and the prefix 800 are synonymous in the minds of many comes from this story out of Cincinnati. As WCPO Channel 9 reports, Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco recently introduced a new breakfast cereal to the marketplace, OchocincO’s. Seems the pro ball player wanted to have the charity Feed the Children benefit by including a plea to give to the non-profit on the cereal box.
Unfortunately, according to the report, an error was made by the representative for the charity who provided the telephone number 1-800-HELP-FTC and which wound up printed on the box. The correct number should have been 1-888-HELP FTC. The 800 number that appeared on the box belonged to a sex line, something Ochocinco was ironically unaware of when he tweeted his 1.3 million followers with the message, “Start your day with a lil suga!!!”
While anecdotal, this regrettable mishap illustrates the fact that so often when people hear “toll-free” their brains go on autopilot and they assume “eight-zero-zero”. At Dial 800, evidence of this phenomenon is experienced daily because we bear witness to the hundreds and sometimes thousands of misdials that occur against the 800-prefix versions of numbers that are in our bank of memorable Rapid Recall toll-free numbers.
Simply put, when direct response advertisers use anything other than 800-prefix toll-free numbers, such as 888 or 877, they are potentially missing the boat on countless inbound calls due to misdialing.
ABC News Covers The Story
Recent Entries
-
Dial800′s own Ping Pong Champ Kim Gilbert
March 15, 2012
See Dial800′s own Kim Gilbert show off her skills along with international sensation Soo Yeon Lee in this short clip shot exclusively for Dial800.
-
Affiliate Summit West
November 30, 2011
Las Vegas at Caesars Palace Las Vegas on January 8-10, 2012 Read More →
-
International Home & Housewares Show
November 30, 2011
Chicago on March 10-13, 2012 Read More →
-
ERA Great Ideas Summit
November 30, 2011
Fountainbleau Miami beach, FL on February 27-29, 2012 Read More →