Turn “Hold Time” Stress Into Customer Satisfaction

• March 20, 2019
• Author: Keith Young

Despite all the technological advances that have been made over the years, consumers still find themselves getting put on hold, wondering if or when they will get a human on the phone.

Various tricks have been implemented to try and make being ‘on hold’ more pleasant, but a recent study speaks clearly to what consumers think about the dreaded on hold experience.

What Customers Hate About Being On Hold

An article by Charlotte England of the ‘Independent’ highlighted a study showing the phrase “your call is valued” to be deemed the most annoying thing to hear while waiting on hold.

England states “Some 47 per cent of people questioned by consumer group Which? found the words to be the most irritating, while 28 per cent said it was worse to be directed to a company’s website”.

Is honesty the best policy? Research showed that 1 in 10 of 2,260 people surveyed also stated that the most annoying thing to hear while on hold is “all operators are busy” – which, although still annoying, at least is the honest response to why you’re sitting on hold.

Music has also been used as a good way to pass the time while on hold. However, most said they would not want to hear rock music but that classical music was the preferred musical genre to listen to.

The Best Alternative to Being On Hold

But no matter if they’re listening to music, hearing the joke of the day or being told their “call is valued,” hands-down consumers feel most valued when their call is simply answered.

We here at UnitedCloud understand that no one likes being put on hold. That’s why our solutions maximize your ability to manage calls efficiently, and keep wait times to a minimum. (It’s also why we have the best hold music.)

The Music and Messages On Hold features seem like obvious options at first glance. But these features can be the difference between keeping your client on the line and losing them forever, so spend some time considering your music and messages.

Hold Music

Hold music can say a lot about your company, and callers will probably make some association between your music and your company.

If your business plans children’s birthday parties, you likely don’t want to have the same hold music as the funeral home down the street. If you’re an insurance company and have people calling in a panic, you might want music that’s a little more calming, rather than something that’s going to get your callers further worked up.

Think about your customers and their situations and select music that seems appropriate.

Messages On Hold

These features go far beyond simply playing music. UnitedCloud allows you to upload your own customized recordings. We can also record your messages for you. If you like, you can even allow each user to play their own style of music and their own message.

This can be a powerful tool. Some ideas of how you could use it include:

• Your sales line could play a message about a new exciting product or special.
• Your main line could remind callers of your location and hours of operation – and if that’s the only information they need, then that’s one less call for you to handle.
• Or use your messages to prepare callers for the upcoming conversation – “Ensure you have your account number ready”.

Little things like these can help you reduce overall call length, which in turn might reduce the number of callers you need to put on hold.

So dig into the Music and Messages on Hold feature. Even if you just play some tunes that are pleasing to the ear, you’ll still be making the hold process a bit more bearable for your callers.

For more about what we can do to make the hold queue a little less frustrating, or the wide range of features UnitedCloud has to offer, contact us at today.