4 Things Customers Hate About Calling a Business

Business buying field guide Clutch surveyed more than 500 individuals who called up a business more than three times in six months to learn what people liked least about calling. Most of the respondents (57% percent) chose long waiting times as their top irritant. Fifty-two percent said it’s rude service, and 51% stated it’s the automated menus. 

Other respondents also identified language barriers, having to repeat themselves, frequent call transfers, and annoying hold music as downsides to customer experience. Why do these aspects create a negative impression? Can they potentially drive away callers?

Let’s find out in this article.

Call Handling Practices That Can Drive Away Customers

Putting Callers on Hold

Waiting for your turn in a call is the top reason customers are dissatisfied with a company they contacted. Why? We see people queueing up all the time in the milk tea shop, the cab line, the airport baggage counter, or the mall on Black Friday. What makes a call queue any different?

There is a psychology to this, according to MIT professor Richard Larson’s queuing theory. People don’t like waiting because of the perceived waiting time, not because of the actual waiting time. For example, when people see a long line in a shop, they perceive slow service and assume that the shop will take ages to serve them, even though the line is really moving fast.

Prof. Larson further stated that people perceive a shorter waiting time when occupied than when they’re idle. So when they’re waiting in line but doing something else, they don’t feel as anxious or impatient and often think they have not been waiting that long.

When one makes a call and waits forever for the business to pick up, the perception of long wait kicks in. When they are put on hold, the caller does nothing else but hold the receiver or listen to some music they don’t like, so the annoyance of being kept waiting grows.

Having Confusing Auto Call Menus

Are you one of those who detest listening to that computerized voice asking you to press 1 or 2 to reach the right option? Experts say that if it takes more than three steps for callers to be connected to the right department, there’s something wrong with the process.

The Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system was designed to make call routing easier, but businesses should also look at the content and flow of call menus. Customers aren’t happy about complex menus or those that don’t contain the option they need. Seventy-four percent of customers say they will likely choose a different company after a poor experience with auto-call menus.

Rude or Poor Service

Receptionists might put customers on hold for more than 5 minutes and don’t apologize when they pick up the phone again. They may not attempt to understand the customer and let the customer repeat their request or complaint multiple times.

Many businesses consider these and other practices just part of the job, but customers may find it rude. They don’t like to be ignored, disrespected, given the run-around, lied to, or treated as just another call to meet the quota.

No Human Interaction

Despite the prevalence of digital processes and systems, customers today still expect a human to pick up at the other end of the line. They still anticipate a real-time conversation with someone who can interpret their problems and answer their questions, especially after office hours.

Allhealthpost.com offers this explanation:

• Only humans understand people – A voice answering machine can’t possibly understand the nuances of language or won’t be able to interpret the message if the caller is not very articulate.
• Only humans can offer human support – Callers sometimes need assurance for the problem they’re facing with the product or service. They want to hear a live agent reassure them or guarantee a solution, with a tone that only humans use.
• Only humans can give emergency or urgent assistance – When customers call after hours, it’s likely the only time they’re free to call, or they have an emergency situation involving your product or service. They don’t want to be asked to leave a message in a voice mailbox.
• Humans can calm down an angry customer – IVRs are not capable of calming down a caller. The machine can only offer preprogrammed options the customer can take but can’t address their emotions.

Phone Answering & Virtual Assistant Services 

Hiring a virtual assistant or professional phone answering service will solve most customer frustrations. With a phone answering system, your customers’ calls will be answered immediately and routed to the proper resource person. Reliable business phone services come with menus that have a better user interface. 

Virtual assistant services eliminate the problem of no-human interaction. Virtual assistants are trained to communicate with courtesy and care, letting your customers feel important and heard.

My Receptionist offers virtual receptionist and answering services. We do 24/7 call answering for SMBs, appointment booking, meeting reminders, and mobile messaging. Don’t miss a call again. Contact us today to keep your office efficient and your customers happy.