Customer Contact Network New Zealand (CCNNZ) said customers were okay with dealing with long wait times if their calls were answered and serviced properly and with required level of customer care. 

CCNNZ chief executive Elias Kanaris stated that trendy focus on service’s speed can cost call centers a fortune as it harms customer experience. 

“I think you will find that most New Zealanders are prepared to be on hold for longer, so long as their problem is resolved and the contact centre operator listens, understands, and ultimately produces a solution,” he said.

“Unfortunately, the quality of the customer service experience is likely to be poor if the operator is unhelpful, impatient and short, all of which can happen when operators are measured by their average handling time-the faster, the better.”