I called a few back in the day for clues. Sonic 3, Tomb Raider 4 (I think), Overblood (lol) were a few games that stumped me as a baby child. This was long before I had internet let alone a PC that could connect.
It was something like 5-6 bucks per minute a total rip off to have someone tell you you're a dummy for not looking up and pressing 'A'.
Never got to call one, though I remember trying to memorize the cheat codes or walkthroughs from Tip & Tricks Magazine in the store and then writing them down once I got home.