Cell Phone Text

Dale S.

I just had something sort of strange happen that has got me thinking about an idea.

I called 411 and got the phone number of a business I was trying to reach. (Actually, they gave me the wrong number, but that is a different story...)

After I was put through to the company, I received a text message on my cell phone about more info available about the company.

It got me thinking...is it possible that when someone calls you (or gets you phone number from a 411 service) that you could send a short marketing message to their cell phone? Maybe something like "Thank you for calling ABC Remodeling. Please call anytime and we appreciate your business" Anyway, the text could change, but I hope you see the basic idea.

Anyone heard of something like this?

By the way, I have no idea how they (at 411) knew that I was calling from a cell phone so they could send a text message when I hung up.

Anyway, what do you all think?

dale

rbsremodeling

Somebody has done this before I think It was Google It failed miserably it was about 1 or 2 years ago.

I tried it for about six months no one never chose remodeling as a category in the six months.

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rombo

you can send a text to a house phone as well

neolitic

That would definitely tick me off.
Tell me what I want to know...
then leave me alone.

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rbsremodeling

They also tested an option that would play an ad while you waited for 411 to answer

So you call 411 for a locksmith and a locksmith ad would play while you where waiting for 411 to pick up

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Ed the Roofer

They have a free information service that does not charge the fee for calling 411 if you choose to listen to an ad.

I forget what number it is though.

Ed

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OGStilts

Ed...

That number you are thinking of is 1-800-373-3411 or also known as 1-800-FREE411

It's a pain in the A$$ listening to those ads but hey it's free.


Dale...

You usually have to push "1" to have the information texted to your phone while you are waiting to be connected. Is it possible you hit that button by accident while you were waiting to be connected? I've never had a service text me without hitting the button before. But I'm with Neo, that would tick me off if everytime I called a company they would text message me after I hung up the phone.

ChainsawCharlie

If I got a message like that I would call them between 3 and 4 a.m.

But that's just me.

ChainsawCharlie

Has anyone tried Goog 411? It's free.

1-800-goog411

It's a pain in the ass here, as our alphabet is quite different than standard english pronunciations.

And there is thee google info harvesting to consider as well.

Grumpy

Remember the old 555-5555 which was the exact same as 411 but totally free? I mis it at $1 per call... well with the internet I seldom use 411 but sometimes out on the road when I am driving I need it. That's why I am getting a GPS with a directory look up capability.

Grumpy

Oh on to the topic at hand, I don't think it'd be hard to write a computer program (for a professional programmer of coarse) that scans all your calls in real time and send a text message to all numbers, perhaps when their call to you hangs up or at regular scheduled intervals. You'd probably need a dedicated computer just sitting in the corner of your office somewhere. It's actually a pretty good idea... "Hi you contacted Grumpy's Roofing Co. today. If you require further service please call us back at 000-123-456 or looks us up on the web at www.somesite.com "

That'd probably induce some hang up callers to call you back. I see from caller ID that alot of the people who call when nobody is in the office never leave a message.

Dale S.

After thinking about this some more, I think thew annoyance factor would outweigh the potential benefit.

I could have pressed 1 by accident to get the text message I received. Fumble fingered it....

dale

HomeSealed

They knew you were calling from a cell because 411 is operated (or outsourced) by your cell carrier....I do use Goog411 from google and it works out pretty well.

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SquirrelNmoose

I don't use 411 very much, almost never now with a data capable phone. But the only one I've use for the last couple of years was 1-800-FREE411. There is a short ad you have to listed to, but compared to the charges it's pretty painless (at least in my area, I'm sure it has regional settings)

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BKFranks

Many people have their name on the Do Not Call Registry with the FTC. I wouldn't even want to get involved in that mess.

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