1-800 Numbers With Words

Old Wireless Phone Pardon this rant, but I just need to get this off my chest. You know what bugs me? When ads show 1-800 numbers made up of words to represent the numbers. Such as 1-800-FLOWERS or 1-800-PLUMBER.

Now, I know why such numbers exist. It’s much easier for a customer to remember a phone number with a catchy word than a string of random numbers. That totally makes sense because the dialpads of phones list letters with each number.

But: Not all new phones have such dialpads. Many smart phones don’t. My phone doesn’t. And every time I have to dial a 1-800 number + word, I have to dig up a phone with a traditional dialpad. A few times, I’ve just given up and called a competitor.

I’m sure I’m not the only person with this problem too. Just about every smart phone owner has this problem, and if these people make up your target audience, you’re as good as Boo.com: dead.

There’s an obvious solution to this problem though. Include the corresponding numbers with your word in the ad. Duh.

Whew, I feel much better now that this is off my chest. Now go fix your ads!

Author: Mike Lee

An idealistic realist, humanistic technologist & constant student.

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