Oct 25, 2007
How you can obtain free-of-charge directory assistance from any telephone
In this age of the Internet, you can find pretty much any answer with Google. But what if you're on the road without a computer and need to find a phone number -- say to find that great restaurant your friend recommended, or the nearest Motel 6?
Once upon a time you could call directory assistance to get the number of any business for free. Then, in the 1990s, 411 started charging a modest fee of around 35ยข. Now the charge for calling 411 has jumped to a ludicrous $1.25 to $3.49.
Enter 1-800-FREE-411 (tel. 800-373-3411; www.free411.com), a "free" directory assistance number. I call it "free" because there is a kind of cost: about 30 to 40 seconds of your time spent listening to brief ads, one before you ask for the listing and another before you get the number.
The system is not perfect. For one thing, the automated voice recognition software has a few bugs. I tested it by asking for the number of a favorite pizza parlor called "caserta vecchia." The automated system thought I had asked for "conservative party." A live operator came on to sort things out and I did get the proper number in the end. A test to find a residential number worked much better.
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Once upon a time you could call directory assistance to get the number of any business for free. Then, in the 1990s, 411 started charging a modest fee of around 35ยข. Now the charge for calling 411 has jumped to a ludicrous $1.25 to $3.49.
Enter 1-800-FREE-411 (tel. 800-373-3411; www.free411.com), a "free" directory assistance number. I call it "free" because there is a kind of cost: about 30 to 40 seconds of your time spent listening to brief ads, one before you ask for the listing and another before you get the number.
The system is not perfect. For one thing, the automated voice recognition software has a few bugs. I tested it by asking for the number of a favorite pizza parlor called "caserta vecchia." The automated system thought I had asked for "conservative party." A live operator came on to sort things out and I did get the proper number in the end. A test to find a residential number worked much better.
Write and read comments about this post.
Labels: cellphones, tips
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