I have been reading more and more about companies who neglect customer service and get punished by losing customers and/or losing share price. Sure the two are generally related but a company like Dell has been slammed so many times for hiring Indian call center reps that it is likely their P/E multiple has been affected as well.

But it isn’t just accents or call center agents with lack of training that upset customers. Another pet peeve many customers have is long wait times. I could go on for pages actually about all the items that upset customers -- like not answering e-mail. Even worse is when a company has a robot respond saying an e-mail is coming in 24 hours and no e-mail ever arrives.

But I get the feeling wait time is one of those things that upset customers more than we realize. Fortunately technology is available to help companies deal with connecting agents with callers. In addition the call center scheduling channel on TMCnet can help you understand how to optimize your agent schedules and ensure your customers remain happier. And of course we know happier customers typically recommend services to friends, relatives, etc. And that course leads to more sales and profit.