800 Toll Free 45th Anniversary
As this year marks the 45th anniversary of toll free number service, looking back it’s easy to see how this service has revolutionize the call center and customer service worlds.
First introduced in 1967, the original purpose for toll free service was to support large corporations by providing collect call options to callers, as well as cutting down the number of call center agents needed. In these introductory stages, toll free service providers had many obstacles compared to today’s toll free capabilities. 800 toll free numbers were unavailable nationally; instead, geographic coverage was available, which did not conveniently serve extremely large corporation. Additionally, call centers using 800 toll free numbers were unable to handle a large influx of calls at once, and had difficulty managing and monitoring calls.
In the following years, toll free service progressed, changing from an actual number to a pointer to a database. Shortly after, with the help of computers and the Internet, toll free service started operating at a more enhanced potential. Finally in the early 90s, toll free numbers because portal, allowing owners to take their numbers with them, known as resporg.
Today, 800 toll free numbers are more prevalent than probably anticipated in the 1967. Service is used across a wide range of businesses and industries, making them the most commonly acquired business numbers worldwide.