Call queues...

[tony84]

Ive just been on hold to a mortgage lender for 10 minutes...
Only now does it decide to tell me im number 5 in the queue and will be answered in.... 38 MINUTES!!!

Where else can you get away with a hold time of pretty much an hour!

 

[David Griffiths]

Where else can you get away with a hold time of pretty much an hour!

Hmm, I'll have to think about that.

 

[tony84]

Haha, ok HMRC being the exception.

Update:
Good news - im now 3rd in the queue
Bad news - it will take them 48 minutes

They must realise one of those 3 has a pain in the ass case which will take a while to get through.

 

[tony84]

oooo im now number 1 in the queue with 6 minutes to go!

Everyone must have hung up at 5pm.

 

[leemason]

Wait a few minutes and you'll get a recorded message saying they are closed!

When I was working on a call centre project we implemented a callback system so that callers could hold their place in the queue but hang up and be called back when they were at the head of the queue.

 

[tony84]

The lender in question - theyre not allowed to go home until all of the calls that were on hold before 5pm have been answered - not many people know that though

It only ended up being a 30 minute wait in total so not too bad in comparison to what they were saying.

 

[leemason]

Still a pretty poor service level. I wonder what their service level target is?

 

[tony84]

No idea, its permanently like that but my account manager there is pretty good and she usually calls me if i send her an email but she was off today. If it wasnt for her i wouldnt use them.