Instead of hold music, natural sounds?

Topic: 

We all hate waiting on hold, and we shouldn't have to. But companies don't do a lot to make it easier, do they?

Most people, I presume, when at their desks, put the hold music on speakerphone, and turn it low. The worst hold musics are ones where a human voice breaks in every 30 seconds or so to remind us that "all agents are busy" or tries to convince us to go to the web site or buy something else. These are the worst because we have to perk up and listen to the human voice to make sure it's not the agent finally getting to us.

Some places offer silence, which is OK, though it makes us suspicious after a while that we might not actually be on hold any more. A good solution there would be to respond to any touch tones the user types with a "Yes, we're still holding. Press 1 for music or we'll continue with silence." Some insert a beep every so often, but that also distracts.

The best ones put a distinctive sound (ideally loud) when you're about to be connected to the agent, so you can listen for just that.

One thing I've not seen is the use of natural sounds instead of music. By that I mean those tapes people use to relax -- waves rolling in, babbling brooks, woodland sounds. These are good because we seem to have a natural ability to hear them without noticing them. If we focus on them, we know they are there, but otherwise we edit them out. And no royalties for the musicans, either.

My hold music is Jazz recordings my mother made during her singing career. She loves it when I put her on hold!

Of course, long hold periods simply should not be. Some systems let you enter your number to be called back when the agent is ready, but people are afraid of those because if they happen to be on the phone or busy, they will lose their coveted place in line. Some day this will no longer be the case.

Comments

Of course, even better would be more reliable and detectable signs of disconnect. On my VoIP phones, disconnect is clearly shown on the screen, but the PSTN still has its issues.

Add new comment