A new survey by leading outsourced communications provider Moneypenny, shows the biggest bugbears in Wales when trying to contact a business are annoying hold music (37%) and calls not being answered (32%).

Company communication bugbears

Annoying hold music:                                     37%

Calls not being answered:                              32%

Complex phone attendant messages:           32%

Being told to check website:                           21%

Being asked to call back:                                19%

Background call centre noise:                        18%

Feeling rushed/not listened to:                       18%

Having to leave a voicemail:                           12%

The survey also shows that a major source of irritation in Wales is when companies don’t put their phone number on their website – cited frustrating by 72%.

Moneypenny’s Customer Communications Trend Report¹ also highlights that a bad call experience can significantly impact ongoing business success, as 40% of the Welsh say they would go elsewhere following a poor call, while 32% would make a complaint, and 32% would tell friends and family. However only 16% of the Welsh surveyed would write a negative review, which is fewer than those in other regions, such as Northern Ireland (33%) and East Midlands (31%).

There are clear regional differences in choice of communication methods, with 19% of the Welsh preferring WhatsApp to contact a company, second only to 28% of Londoners, and compared with only 1% of those in the East of England and 3% in Scotland.

However, digital forums such as Chatbots are less popular with the Welsh as a form of communication: 29% said they are satisfied with using them to contact a company, compared with 55% of Londoners, and 50% in the North West.

The survey showed that for Wales the phone is the top choice when callers’ needs are ‘urgent’ (44%), or ‘complicated’ (34%). The research also found that 69% of those in Wales spend longer on the phone to businesses than three years ago – a marked increase on the 41% finding on this in Moneypenny’s identical 2022 company communications survey.

Joanna Swash Group CEO at Moneypenny, commented: “Our survey shows that people want to talk to people, but poor phone etiquette is a major turn-off, and its costing firms business.  Just one bad call can result in lost revenue and a damaged reputation.  Professional telephone answering support can mitigate those risks, solve the phone irritations and give clients what they’re looking for – consistently high-quality and empathetic customer care, every time. If companies invest in their phone-led customer service to meet callers’ changing needs and complement it with digital channels, such as live chat and social media, they will deliver a much more well-rounded, seamless and positive experience for clients.”

Click on the link to read Moneypenny’s  Customer Communications Trend Report in full.