Long wait times named top reason Brits hang up on call centres, study finds.
More than half of Brits (55%) hang up on contact centres because they’re left waiting too long, according to new research, making long wait times the number one reason customers abandon calls.
The report, fromcontact centre software specialistsMaxContact, surveyed 1,000 UK consumers who had interacted with a call centre in the past 18 months. It reveals the most common reasons customers give up on calls, and what contact centres must address to keep people on the line.
While long waits top the list, the second biggest frustration is agents not understanding the customer’s needs (35%). Other reasons include being passed between departments (34%), repeating information (26%), and poor connection quality (21%).
Top reasons Brits abandon calls:
- Excessive wait times – 55%
- Agents not understanding their needs – 35%
- Being transferred multiple times – 34%
- Repeating information – 26%
- Poor connection or line quality – 21%
- Agents lacking authority to help – 19%
- Confusing menu systems – 18%
- Inconvenient callback times – 11%
Ben Booth, CEO and Founder of MaxContact, says the findings are a clear signal that contact centres need to tighten both wait times and quality of service:
“Keeping average handle time optimised is crucial. It impacts efficiency, customer satisfaction, and operational costs, so it’s vital to strike the right balance between CSAT and AHT.
“If call times are creeping up, that doesn’t always mean inefficiency. It could be that agents are dealing with more complex queries. The key is identifying the real cause, and fixing it without sacrificing customer experience.”
Download your copy of the report now.
