The average American spends $36.00 / year in directory assistance charges – $8 Billion nationwide. There are FREE alternatives to dialing 411 on your phone to find the number to the local pizza place.
1. The Internet – there are several websites devoted to bringing you phone numbers and addresses of individuals and businesses: www.whitepages.com , www.switchboard.com , www.yellowbook.com and the list goes on and on. There is even a website devoted to reverse lookup – type in the phone number and you get the name and address, www.reversephonedirectory.com .
2. 1-800-FREE411 – Of course, if you are traveling and do not have an internet connection handy, there is a FREE directory assistance service available. I saw a news report on CNBC about 1-800-FREE411 (1-800-373-3411). Dialing that 800 number will get you the same information as dialing 411 – the only difference is you MAY hear a 15 second advertisement about a business in the area that may be related to the type of company you are looking for – but the call is FREE! For example, if you call 1-800-FREE411 and ask for Louie’s Pizza you may hear a recording telling you that while they look up your number, they want you to know that Dominoes Pizza is offering a special deal. After the 15 second ad is done, you get your phone number and have an option to connect to Dominoes instead. Also, keep in mind the majority of the time an ad will not play at all and you’ll get your requested number right away.
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