“Hold” Does Not Hold Anymore

What is your first thought when you hear the words, “Will you hold please?”

Even if the call is important, setting or confirming an appointment, or getting critical information, it ticks you off and that’s the polite translation of your thoughts about being put on hold.

In the October 28 issue of Automotive News in an article titled “All Eyes Should Be on Fixed Ops Heading into Q4 and 2025”, Kim Saylor authored an in-depth article on today’s service shoppers. Pulling data from CDK’s recently released Service Shopper 4.0 study, the results give a clear picture of how service customers rank work done and the business practices of dealerships, independent repair shops, and chain service stores.

What The Numbers Say

The picture for dealership service was positive. Although still trailing independents, dealerships today are 7 points behind compared to last year’s 11; dealerships also gained 11 points over chain stores. But in reading further, the facts about the ‘pivotal role of a Service department’s phones,’ just jump off the page:

• 64% of customers set service appointments by phone, not online; 65% for Gen Z

• Only 3 out of 10 said they got to who they needed to talk to ‘without issues’

• 70% of all callers said they had problems and being put on Hold was the #1 issue • Average Hold time: 8 minutes!

• Satisfaction scores absolutely tumbled from an average of 59% to 39% if put on hold…26.7% if no one answered at all.

The Cost of Putting Customers on Hold

I was stunned to see that 26.7 figure…that’s 73.3 out of 100 callers who wanted to do business just blowing your dealership off. It comes with an extreme cost because more than half of the people in the survey said online reviews were important in the decision of where to have their service done. Unhappy customers can vent online like no one else.

The message I took from reading this article that applies to my business, or any business, is to make sure your point people on the phone are getting callers connected correctly, and no doubt, quickly. It’s like the old saying, ‘You can’t judge a book by its cover’…you can’t judge the importance of a phone call until the caller is connected! The most important call that your business and your dealership will receive today is the next one. And no question, you will not hold your customers putting them on hold for 8 minutes, or 4 or 2 or 1.