We don’t put anyone on hold…do we?
Competition is tougher than ever. The economy is worse than any of us can remember. And customers are more demanding and less loyal than ever before.
It’s all true. Yet, we know that we’re all scrambling to accomplish more than ever before. The word “multitasking” is less than a decade old, yet most of us can’t remember the luxury of just doing one thing at a time.
We don’t put callers on hold. It’s against company policy. We don’t get enough phone calls. We have enough staff. We can handle everything right from a computer screen. We’re a paperless office.
They’re all good ideas. But successful businesses realize that there’s a difference between intentions and reality. AT&T Research shows that 69% of business calls are put on “hold”. And there’s more “research”
UK Research indicates that callers spend 60 million hours on hold each year, being forced to listen to songs by Enya and Celine Dion!
According “Office Team” you spend an average of 17 minutes on hold each day.
90% of callers holding in “silence” will hang up after just 40 seconds. 50% won’t call back.
The average business phone call spends almost 60 seconds on hold.
Computerized Telephony magazine estimates that executives spend 10-20% Airline Reservations centers have experienced 20% or more increase in the time it takes for a reservations agent to answer a call in the past decade. Automated attendants eliminate the expense of a phone operator, but most automated phone systems can take up to a minute to find the right person for your caller. Tech support phone lines…well, you know how long it takes them to answer your call.
How to make “hold time” less frustrating?
25% of callers “hold on” longer when getting helpful information according to AT&T
20% of callers buy more after hearing an offer on hold according to AT&T
Want to do your own research? Call your company, and ask to speak with yourself. Listen to what your best prospects hear when they call you!