Survey: Surprise again! Customers hate waiting

Another survey finds that consumers hate waiting for service calls. The surveyors calculate that the typical three- to five-hour service appointment window is costing U.S. businesses billions of dollars.
 
The "2010 In-Home Service Appointment Survey," conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of SoundBite Communications, covered customers waiting for home appliance, cable, satellite and broadband service provider appointments.
  
The survey reinforces similar studies released earlier, such as this Toa Technologies one that found nearly one-fifth of respondents have actually switched providers because of their pique over being kept waiting for a service call.
  
The survey calculates that all that waiting amounts to $13.4 billion in lost workplace productivity . Eighty-one percent of consumers report having to take time off from work or adjust their schedules to ensure they are home during the service appointment window.
 
Consumers report text messaging is the answer: If given the option, the majority of consumers would opt-in for text notifications with more specific technician arrival times.
 
"This survey shows today's consumer clearly wants in-home service providers to be more respectful of their time, and to use the latest technology to better communicate expected arrivals," said Mark Friedman, chief marketing and business development officer of SoundBite Communications. "Businesses simply cannot survive under the status quo and should provide new options that give customers greater control over the ultimate touch point: in-home service. Text messaging is clearly a viable and high-demand solution to build long-term loyalty and customer satisfaction."

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