A survey of U.K. consumers from NewVoiceMedia, a provider of cloud contact center technology, found that 95 percent of consumers take some form of action following inadequate service, and half of consumers are so put off calling a business for fear of being kept on hold, that they will switch to a competitor without even attempting to resolve a problem.
Top frustrations include lack of appreciation from a business (28 percent); unhelpful/rude contact center staff (22 percent); being passed around to multiple agents (16 percent); calls being answered by someone without the required knowledge to answer a query (16 percent); and being kept on hold (12 percent).
Faced with a negative experience, 56 percent said that they would never use that company again, more than a quarter tell friends not to use the business, and a fifth would take their revenge online by posting a review, and 14 percent would get even via social media.
The younger generation that are more willing to tolerate long hold times: 49 percent of 16-to-24 year-olds are prepared to wait five to 10 minutes before hanging up and 30 percent said they would wait 11 to 20 minutes. However, the older population was not so tolerant: of those aged 55-plus, only 9 percent would wait 11 to 20 minutes, and 22 percent hang up within five minutes.
According to the results, men are generally more impatient than women, with a fifth prepared to wait less than 5 minutes (20 percent) versus only 13 percent of women. Following a great customer experience, women are more vocal at recommending the company, whereas men would actually use the service more frequently.