Angry on the phone

What annoys customers most about call centres? According to a recent study by the UK market researcher Mintel, it would seem pretty much everything. Of the 2,000 adults surveyed, only five per cent said they had never experienced a problem.

The biggest complaint was about waiting on hold, with some 60 per cent of callers frustrated about having to wait for long periods before someone finally answered their call. In busy call centres, customers often have to wait for over 15 minutes before being connected to a "live" customer service agent. For many, that's far too long, so they abandon the call. Almost a third of callers claim to have hung up while being left in the queue. Maybe not surprisingly, those aged between 25 and 34 are the least tolerant towards call centres, with around 35 per cent abandoning calls, while just 25 per cent of those aged 65 and over do so.

Callers are also annoyed about the increased use of automated phone systems, also known as iVR (interactive voice response) systems. Over one third of consumers dislike the synthetic voice. This is one reason why Mintel suggests using "real" people to deal with phone calls. "While this would add extra staff costs, it would likely be well received by customers who may feel that they were receiving a more personal service," commented Brett Afshar, a Financial Services consultant.

You may not work in a call centre, but you will almost certainly have to deal with customers and co-workers on the phone at some time in your career. Here, we've created an exercise on improving your customer service skills.