By BRIDGET CARTER and CHRIS DANIELS
Hello ... hello ... beep, beep, beep.
The latest Herald survey of call centres reveals a greater crime than keeping customers waiting - cutting them off.
Last Tuesday, the Herald phoned seven companies at 10 am, 12.30 pm, 4 pm and 8 pm to find out how long it would take to receive personal assistance.
The same survey was conducted in March, June and December last year.
First up and first time in the survey was Air New Zealand.
But the new entrant proved elusive when we wanted information about Bonus Air Points.
The Herald tried to get through at 10 am, 12.30 pm and 4 pm, but received an engaged signal for about one minute before being cut off each time.
Air New Zealand spokesman Cameron Hill could not explain the communication breakdown.
"There were no complaints from customers," he said.
Mercury Energy was still the slowest when it came to offering that human touch.
Callers can now wait up to 15 minutes and 54 seconds for personal assistance - worse than December, when the survey recorded a maximum wait of 11min 26s.
But last March, the maximum wait was 42min 40s.
Mercury retail general manager John Foote said that although the waiting time was not great, it was mainly due to the demands of assisting customers who were switching between retailers.
He gave the same reason for the delays in December.
The company had hired another 12 people to answer the phones, said Mr Foote, but the call centre had a high staff turnover.
"If you have to sit on the telephone all day and listen to abuse, you don't last long."
For the fourth time running, the Auckland City Council took the prize for the fastest call pickup.
The council's services group manager, Raewyn Bennet, said it took customer services seriously.
"We are not trying to do more with less - it doesn't work."
The council was likely to employ more staff by next year, at an estimated cost of $250,000, to cater for an expected increase in calls.
"Ratepayers are happy with the service we give them. The feedback is, 'We don't want to compromise'," said Raewyn Bennet.
"The alternative is to get an electronic system, and we have chosen not to do that."
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