I had the absolute worst experience with customer service (or lack thereof) a few weeks ago. Over the span of five phone calls, I spent over three and a half hours on hold and never spoke to a live person. It began when my grandpa passed away. I needed to change my husband’s flight and during numerous attempts over the span of two days, at times I would wait on hold up to 45 minutes before the line would suddenly disconnect or I would give in and hang up.
Apparently I’m not alone, because 67% of people put on hold also resort to hanging up.
Other times, I would be told after 15 minutes (via an automated machine) that due to high call volume I would need to call back later. All of those wasted hours got me thinking about all of the things I would rather endure, than waiting on hold.
25 Things I Would Rather Endure Than Waiting on Hold
- Eat the Play-Doh cakes my daughter makes.
- Wallpaper my house in 50s prints.
- Fish out the magnetic alphabet that’s made it’s way under the fridge.
- Hand over my iTunes password to the kids.
- Get a pedicure (really!)
- Cuddle with “Cuddles” the Snake.
- Scrub the kitchen floors on my hands and knees.
- Let my kid color on the walls.
- Clean up said color from the walls.
- Play Barbies..over and over again.
- Deal with the fact that my kid starts Kindergarten in a month.
- Fold a fitted sheet.
- Get involved in another Facebook debate on the correct way to parent/breastfeed/raise your child.
- Stub my toe on the coffee table, stub it again on the way back.
- Wait for the latest season of Bones to come to Netflix.
- Be held down and tickled for 15 minutes. On a full bladder.
- Forget my leftovers at the restaurant table.
- Listen to Southerners complain about the cold. “Hey, I’m from Michigan.”
- Get stuck in a group text that won’t end.
- Watch the same episode of a kids television show over and over again.
- Get stuck in the middle seat between two snorers on a cross country flight.
- Go shopping on Black Friday. For something that isn’t even on sale.
- Hit a Jazzercise class with a hangover.
- Never be able to eat pizza again.
- Get the run around from a customer service rep. No really, I would because at least I would be talking to someone.
[infobox]Did you know 86% consumers report being put on hold every time they call a business? Of those surveyed, 71% of people are tremendously annoyed when they can’t get a live customer service agent. Clearly the 29% of people who aren’t tremendously annoyed are sadist (this is not an actual fact). [/infobox]
Ladies and gentleman, there has to be a better way. I say enough is enough and so does the #HoldNoMore movement. Together we can collectively demand that companies be held accountable for making us wait on hold to resolve our issues. Time is money, it’s precious, and yet there is no accountability for these companies to respect and value our time.
After an initial voting on which brand should “face the music”, the#HoldNoMore group took action and blasted their LA building.
To kick off the movement, #HoldNoMore is launching a ‘Hold Face’ march to demand that companies provide alternatives to this outdated practice– either stop putting us on hold, or provide another solution. You can participate by uploading a selfie with the hashtag#HoldNoMore to Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram with the creative message.
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