Envirosell, a retail consultancy, has timed shoppers in line with a stopwatch to determine how real wait times compared with how long shoppers felt they had waited. Up to about two to three minutes, the perception of the wait "was very accurate," says Paco Underhill, Envirosell's founding president and author of the retail-behavior bible "Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping."
But after three minutes, the perceived wait time multiplied with each passing minute. "So if the person was actually waiting four minutes, the person said 'I've been waiting five or six minutes.' If they got to five minutes, they would say 'I've been waiting 10 minutes,'" Mr. Underhill says.
You can easily apply this same principle to having a customer wait on hold. I know I have been put on hold at times while they transfer me to someone in the correct department, and it seems like forever. Long hold times cause added frustration, and too long of a hold may make customers feel like they have been left and forgotten.
On a side note - for me, one of the worst parts of being on hold is the audio that plays while you are on hold. Few companies have this aspect down okay, but most do not. I find it very frustrating when there are only like three "commercial" messages that rotate while you listen. After about the fifth time of hearing the same things over and over, it becomes so much more irritating. A system that plays a stream of continuous yet different music (even elevator music) is a much better choice over the repetitive system that most seem to employ these days.
Then there are the systems that about every 60 seconds come in with an announcement "we're sorry for the wait - the next available agent will assist you in the order your call was received." Hearing this once is fine, then just let some music play. Repetition adds to the irritation. So, if you are in a position where you have some say or control over this area of the phone service, do us all a favor and tweak it to be more appealing.
Now, back on topic - this discussion is more about working hard to reduce the overall amount of hold time you put a customer through. Limit this time to less than two minutes, because as studies have shown, once you get above the three minute mark, customers become much more anxious or aggravated. Here are a few good tips to always use when placing someone on hold:
- Always ask the customer if you can put them on hold. Do NOT just say "hold please" and hit the button. Tell them what you are about to do, and ask them to please allow you to put them on hold. It is more courteous and does not immediately add to the frustration level.
- Try your hardest to give an accurate time you expect to have them on hold. Do not just say "please hold a second" when you know for sure it will be a minute or two hold time. And if at all possible, always return to the line no more than two minutes in, to tell them any updates you have, or to tell them you need some additional time and ask if they would continue to hold for you. Never just leave them hanging without human contact for long periods of time.
Jeff McCormack resides in Virginia Beach, VA. where he works as a web designer by day. In his off time he is a husband, father, and musician. Aside from being a freelance writer for this Customer Service Jobs blog, he also seeks to assist in career choices and information by contributing to other Nexxt blog sites.
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