My staff compiles mailing lists and enhances the data with phone numbers. On average, they'll call Information (411) two thousand times each month. I bet you're doing some mental arithmetic (2,000 calls x $.25/call = $500/month). But we spend less than $50/month! We could do it for less, but spending the $50 actually saves me extra employee costs.
How? Pay phones. At home or in the office, you pay a quarter for every 411 call you make (past your minimum allotment). So if you make 500 calls, you'll spend $125 in Directory Assistance charges. But pay phones allow you to call 411 without paying anything (probably because the phone company realizes that most phone books in outside booths disappear in about 3 hours due to weather and unsafe neighborhood conditions).
But it's difficult to put down everything you're working on in your office to run down the block, make the 411 call and come back. (Easy to do if you feel like wasting an intern's time, but not a viable option for most of us). Solution: Install a "semi-private" pay phone in your office waiting room. This is the option we chose. It cost about $350 to install the phone and we pay $48/month for the service. But we save $500/month on the 2000+ Information calls we make each month. An Extra Benefit: When a customer or delivery person sees a nearby pay phone, they'll generally spend their own quarter before they'll ask to use our office lines. We don't discourage office phone use, but the option of a pay phone does take some of the burden off our main business phones. Additional Benefit: If electricity blackouts force your office phones out of commission, the pay phones, which somehow operate on the phone company's own power, generally remain operational. You're never completely out of touch.
The pay phone option isn't for everybody, but if you're like us and make a lot of 411 calls a month, you'll save a fortune in both time and money by installing your own pay phone. Hidden Benefit: If your clients make a lot of pay calls from your pay phone, you may receive a commission back from the phone company. If your pay volume is extensive, the phone company may even drop the monthly $48 charge as well as pay you commissions.