RSVP Idea: Toll-Free Number
Thursday, October 18, 2007 at 7:08AM One of the most aggravating things as your Bar/Bat Mitzvah nears is dealing with the RSVP's. Many people do not send in their RSVP cards by the RSVP date, leaving you with many phonecalls to make in order to get a final count. An idea to make this all easier is obtaining a toll-free number from an RSVP service! They will give you a number and extension for your guests to call 24 hrs/day. The service will email or fax you your responses periodically. Most RSVP services can also set up a web page for your event, which will list all the details of your Bar/Bat Mitzvah, like maps, directions, hotel information, etc. The best part is that THEY will call your guests that haven't responded on time! This service almost pays for itself, because you can eliminate the cost of the RSVP envelope and return postage (which also lessens the weight and postage of your invitation). You could even eliminate the RSVP card altogether by printing the RSVP info directly on the invitation (see below for wording). Sounds like a great idea to make things easier as the big day nears! Here are some RSVP service companies that seem reasonable in their rates:
- $150/100 invites (includes a personalized wedding website with links to your registry, meal choices, guestbook, and directions
- A password protected list of your guests. You can watch your RSVP's right as they come in
- A toll-free number with LIVE staff to take care of your guests 24 hours a day
- Reminder calls to any guest who does not respond
Example of wording:
Invitations 
Reader Comments (2)
We sell a toll free service that takes voicemails and converts them to .wav files and sends them to your email. It's not as fancy as others, but the price is right!
I've sold this service several times to mothers planning Bar/Bat Mitzvahs. The web page is geared toward wedding planning but it works for any kind of event. The nice thing is the cost - only $2 to set up and $2 per month. Then 6.9ยข per minute for your calls. Once the event is over you just log into your account and cancel the service. http://www.easycall.net/rsvp-toll-free.shtml
You are so right! Waiting for RSVP cards to be returned is nervewracking! It is extremely rude behavior to fail to notify your host that you will/will not attend, but guests today do not bother. I found out about these services two years ago, and I've used them for most functions I've hosted ever since. I can't personally speak for anyone except RSVPetc, but they are worth their weight in gold as far as I am concerned.