“I wouldn’t have purchased from them if I knew their service was this bad”. You’ve probably heard a friend say that before, a family member, or even yourself! As a customer service professional, this is undoubtedly the last thing you’d want to hear your customers say. Customers don’t want quality and fast service, they expect it, and they’re willing to go across the street to another vendor if they don’t get it, how can you blame them?
In this blog, we want to look at some of the statistics that reinforce how important it is to reduce long wait times and boost CX. As you read along, just remember that we have solved this common problem for countless organizations and turned things around for the better. Just ask us how!
How long are customers willing to wait?
A study that surveyed 1,500 US consumers showed that almost 66% of respondents would wait 2 minutes or less, and 13% responded with “no wait time is acceptable.
Your customers value their own time, as they should. Immediate service shows your company invests in CX and that you value and respect their time as well!
How is bad service affecting current and future sales?
The study also found that a whopping 60% of respondents said they have changed their mind about a product or service when their attempt to purchase revealed bad CX. 50% of respondents also found that they have stopped mid-purchase when they experienced negative CX.
The average customer is thinking about the future. The reason for this loss in sales during the buyer’s journey because of negative CX is simply due to that. The data reveals how heavily the average consumer relies on good service and their willingness to break ties at any stage if they are getting a sense of bad service.
How frustrated are customers with long wait times?
A study that surveyed 1,016 adults concluded that 75% of respondents find it “highly annoying” when they cant get a live person on the phone. This data may reflect a difficult to navigate IVR system that prolongs a connection with a live agent, as well as long on-hold times due to low live agent availability. If you want to learn more about improving your IVR system, take a look at our other blog here!
With this being said, it’s difficult to get off on the right foot when your customer or prospect is already frustrated. And again, we see the impact long wait times and bad service has on sales since such a large percentage of consumers would think twice about a company with low quality service.
What are the solutions to these problems?
Every organization is different and requires a tailored solution to effectively combat long wait times and improve CX. Our CX experts will meet with you to identify the areas that need improvement and will bring forward solutions that you have not implemented yet. Since we have helped organizations from all types of different industries, we will know what will work best for yours. One simple and effective way to reduce frustration due to long wait times is offering a callback option. A survey which had 1,100 respondents concluded that 63% preferred callbacks. This is no surprise since with this option, consumers can maintain their queue position without having to wait on the line.
To gain a high level idea of some of the other actions that can be taken to help, read our blog here “Reduce Queues & Average Wait Times With These Tips & Services“.
We hope this blog helped, and if you have any further insight, please comment below!
