1-800-SMART-USA Lines Swamped.

With gas prices in the United States soaring this summer, consumers are looking into buying gas-saving, smaller, vehicles. And none is more popular right now than the new Smart Car.

Popular in Europe for quite some time, the Smart Car is now in great demand in America—calls to 1-800-SMART-USA are booming. The compact two-seater has become the vehicle of choice of more than 900,000 customers in 37 countries. Motorists can get 40 to 70 mpg with a Smart Car and American consumers are getting hooked on the tiny vehicle. Some Smart Car dealers have waiting lists lasting for months for these mini-cars.

Smart Car set up toll free phone lines in anticipation of the blast of inquiries by interested U.S. consumers looking for a vehicle with better gas mileage. Calls to 1-800-SMART-USA have been steadily increasing all summer and experts say interest will continue even if gas prices drop. The original idea behind the Smart Car was convenience- the teeny vehicle can easily be parked anywhere and is even short enough to allow "nose-in" parking. Now, skyrocketing gas prices have pique American interest mostly for financial reasons.

Officials at Smart Car knew that when the beloved car was introduced in the United States, the company would need to organize ways to get as much information to the American public as they could—in the most convenient and efficient manner possible. So they immediately set up a memorable toll free phone number to handle the influx of inquiries. And the number has been a great success.

Every business can benefit from a toll free phone number. Customer satisfaction improves when a consumer is offered a free connection to a company representative. A 1-800 number establishes credibility and opens the lines of communication with millions of potential customers.