Categories: advertising

Never use letters in advertised phone numbers

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I’ve recently seen a fair amount of advertising with phone numbers listed with letters instead of numbers. Listings like 555-SOLD are fine, so long as you also list the digits associated with the letters. My Treo, and many other smart phones like Blackberries and iPhones, doesn’t have a way to associate numbers with the letters advertised. The take-home message is that letters in numbers went out of style with the advent of modern technolgoy and using them as an advertising tool means that many prospective customers won’t be able to call you.

Aaron Traffas, CAI, ATS, CES

Aaron Traffas, CAI, AMM, CES, is an auctioneer from Sharon, Kansas. For the last 22 years he's worked for Purple Wave. Aaron served as president of the Kansas Auctioneers Association in 2017 and on the National Auctioneers Association Education Institute Board of Trustees from 2009 through 2013. He is a past instructor at CAI and co-wrote the original ATS and AMM designation courses from NAA. An active contract bid caller, he has advanced to the finals in multiple state auctioneer contests. During the summer, Aaron operates a farm in south central Kansas. Aaron is an active singer and songwriter and the Aaron Traffas Band's latest music can be found at aarontraffasband.com as well as Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon.

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  • I have a Samsung Blackjack II and it won't translate the numbers. I have tried many times and usually have to pick up a landline to figure out the numbers.

  • I have a Samsung Blackjack II and it won't translate the numbers. I have tried many times and usually have to pick up a landline to figure out the numbers.

    • @Col. Ryan Wankel -
      Thanks for the comment, Ryan. Does the Blackjack II have a full keyboard like the Treo or does it have the keyboard with multiple letters on the same key? That poses a more serious problem, as someone entering numbers based on a non-standard keyboard layout may actually call the wrong person!

  • @Col. Ryan Wankel -
    Thanks for the comment, Ryan. Does the Blackjack II have a full keyboard like the Treo or does it have the keyboard with multiple letters on the same key? That poses a more serious problem, as someone entering numbers based on a non-standard keyboard layout may actually call the wrong person!

  • This has been a pet peeve of mine for some time. I did however discover recently that my Treo has a touchscreen dial pad feature that shows the corresponding letters on the numbers.

    It is still a pain in the butt.

    • Whoa! Thanks for pointing out the dial pad. I'd never noticed it before.

      I still agree that the days of assuming everyone can access a phone with the correct letters and numbers matched up are over.

  • This has been a pet peeve of mine for some time. I did however discover recently that my Treo has a touchscreen dial pad feature that shows the corresponding letters on the numbers.

    It is still a pain in the butt.

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Aaron Traffas, CAI, ATS, CES

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