I recently tried to contact a well-known New Zealand service provider and was told the indicative wait time was one hour. I gave up and sent an email. Ten working days later, I’m still waiting for a response.
This experience, frustratingly, has become normal. There seems to be an unspoken consensus that COVID-19 has permanently reset acceptable service levels downward. I disagree strongly, and I think organisations adopting this view are making a strategic mistake.
The COVID Excuse Has Expired
There’s no doubt that COVID-19 presented genuine challenges for contact centres. Rapid transitions to remote work, unexpected demand spikes, and supply chain disruptions affecting staffing all created real operational problems. Those challenges were legitimate — in 2020 and 2021.
But it’s 2022. The organisations that treated COVID as a catalyst to genuinely improve their operations — building more resilient staffing models, investing in technology, and developing their people — have emerged stronger. Those that used it as an excuse to lower service standards have done lasting damage to their brands.
What Good Looks Like
At Telnet, we maintain standards where at least 80% of calls presented are answered within 20 seconds. This isn’t aspirational — it’s operational. It requires precise forecasting, flexible resourcing, and the right technology. But it’s achievable.
The utilities sector, where Telnet has deep expertise, is particularly important to get this right. Customers calling about power outages, gas faults, or billing disputes are often already stressed. Every minute on hold amplifies that stress and increases the risk of escalation.
The Technology Exists
Complex systems don’t necessitate poor service when proper triage processes, guided prompts, and staff training are implemented effectively. IVR systems can route calls intelligently. AI can handle routine queries. Predictive analytics can ensure staffing matches forecasted demand.
Telnet’s proven approach across utilities, fuel, and government sectors demonstrates that scalable, reliable customer service remains achievable. Poor customer service from key service providers shouldn’t be tolerated — not by customers, and not by the organisations’ own leadership teams.
The 22 million hours New Zealanders spent on hold is a choice, not an inevitability. It’s time we stopped accepting it.
