Indians spent over 15 bn hours on hold with customer service, causing $55 bn economic loss

New Delhi: Indians spent more than 15 billion hours on hold with customer service, according to new research from ServiceNow. 

The ‘Customer Experience Intelligence Report 2024’ revealed that the average person spent more than one day each year on hold to address an issue or complaint (30.7 hours), equivalent to an economic loss of $55 billion (USD), annually. 

4500+ Indians, aged 18 and above took part in the study, conducted in collaboration with Lonergan Research to understand the state of customer service over the past year. 

More than 50% of survey respondents believe that their time waiting on hold has increased from the past year. Slow service solutions mean the average employee is spending 3.9 days to resolve each customer issue and 66% of respondents said they would consider switching to another company if their issue is not resolved within three working days. 

“Indian businesses are at risk of losing two-thirds of their customer base in 2024 due to slow service solutions,” said Sumeet Mathur, Senior Vice-President and Managing Director, ServiceNow India Technology and Business Center. “Consumers have spoken – three days is the maximum time they will wait for a solution before taking their business elsewhere. Businesses that can’t meet that standard must act, installing AI powered self-service options available at the consumers’ fingertips.”  

Nearly two-thirds (62%) of respondents have resolved more issues through self-service options in 2023, compared to the previous year. Over half of Indians say that their trust in chatbots (55%) and self-help guides (56%) has also increased. 

The study shows a notable surge in trust towards AI amongst Indians, with two-thirds (66%), expressing confidence in GenAI to deliver good customer service, nearly 10% higher than trust in traditional in-person customer support.

“Consumer expectations from AI are straightforward - effectiveness in issue resolution, ease of use, quick response times, and accurate query comprehension. This shift marks the era of Industry 4.0, transitioning from human-led intervention to exploring the diverse capabilities that AI has to offer.  In an era where customer retention is increasingly challenging, it is time for enterprises to put AI to work and drive growth, improve efficiency, and deliver superior customer experiences in a competitive business landscape,” added Mathur.

The study highlights that structural problems are pushing wait times further with 48% of Indians identifying inefficient internal communication as a major issue for customer service delays, while 47% say customer service staff lack decision-making power.   44% Indians believe lack of ownership and responsibility between different departments, followed by 44% believe - poor record keeping from the previous service and 41% think Issues with internal systems are some of the main reasons for delay in resolving their issues which can be fixed with strategic interventions. 

Close to 60% of Indians would like to see customer service teams improve their speed of resolution while half would like to see a reduction in the time spent on hold. Close to half (48%) would like to see better customer experience in their applications. 

Around 2 in 5 Indians (40%) would like increased opening hours or response times – Improving their use of self-help guides and resources (40%) – Improving their use of chat bots (39%).

“Indian enterprise now faces a choice: allow mediocre experiences to continue eroding customer loyalty or rethink the way they design and deliver those experiences. It is abundantly clear that customers are willing to use AI led chatbots or self-help guides for faster resolution. Businesses should embrace AI to help create meaningful experiences and reduce the burden on the customer service agents” concluded Mathur.