Duh, Pick Up the Phone!

Jason Lackey

Sometimes the world of business is filled with surprises. Sometimes, though, the truth is blindingly obvious.

McKinsey recently released the results of some customer care analysis in the wireless space. The big finding? Satisfaction increases as hold/wait times decrease. Willingness to recommend the service to others also increases as hold/wait times decrease. What a surprise! Customers tend to prefer doing business with companies that treat their issues with a sense of urgency.

Things get a little tricky when figuring out where the point of diminishing returns is, however. Below a certain minimum hold/wait time, there may be significant additional costs but there may not be any real increases in customer satisfaction - cost without benefit.

Check out Improving Customer Service in a Downturn from McKinsey.