In the South, we like our tea sweet and the person on the other end of a business call polite. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen.
Only a third of people in the South are satisfied with the way businesses handle their phone calls, new research suggests. A nationwide study of 2, 234 consumers, conducted by audio branding specialist PH Media Group, discovered just 33 percent of respondents are pleased with companies’ phone manners.
Despite this, the South came out of the research as the most satisfied region and compares favorably to the U.S. average of 32 percent, the study found. The Northeast also recorded a satisfaction rate of 33 percent but the Midwest (32 percent) and West (31 percent) were less pleased.
“Poor call handling is a common complaint for American consumers but this research suggests businesses are still not doing enough to improve standards and delight customers, ” says Mark Williamson, sales and marketing director for PH Media Group.
Older people were found to be particularly dissatisfied, with only 28 percent of 45 to 64-year-olds claiming to be happy with how their calls are handled, compared to 37 percent of 18 to 34-year-olds.
The company recommends businesses respond quickly to calls, have a set practice for answering the phone and consider implementing “on-hold marketing” tools, such as spoken or music messages to better communicate their brand.
Text by Dave Helms
