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Buzztime - Business Bar Trivia by Buzztime

When your customers need something from you, do you keep them waiting? Whether they’re calling to make a reservation or voice a complaint, how long do your customers have to wait before getting a response? If your response times are lengthy, you’re probably frustrating your customers—and costing them a lot of money. In fact, according to this infographic by Click Software, customer service wait times cost Americans more than 100 billion a year!

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As the graphic clearly shows, the speed (or lack thereof) of your response time can make a big difference when it comes to your customers’ satisfaction. 35% of customers say they’ve stopped using a brand altogether because of long wait times. 13% have taken to social media to complain, and 72% have taken action of some sort. Think about how you’re responding to customers. Are you getting back to them promptly and efficiently, or are you making them wait? If you aren’t as prompt as possible, you could be losing business!

When you make your customers wait, you also cost them money. As the graphic explains, the total cost of the time wasted yearly by employed adults is $108 billion. But don’t think that customers are the only ones who pay! Your company has a high price to pay in the form of lost productivity. In fact, companies in the U.S. could be paying $130 billion!

So how can your restaurant keep customers happy and keep wait times down? Customers have some suggestions! They’d like to be able to schedule their appointments via other methods than the phone. What this means for you is that online reservations just might be the way to go. 27% of customers would like more opportunities to communicate with a company’s service department. Most significantly, 49% of customers just want companies to show a willingness to improve. Simply making an effort can make a huge difference!

Keep these statistics in mind when it comes to your restaurant. Remember that long wait times can cost you a ton of business and money!