A new “mystery caller” survey looked at call handling customer service skills and showed there is still some room for improvement in the finance sector. Despite most businesses delivering overall great customer service, the survey of 60 US companies by leading call and chat company Moneypenny showed a mix of service performance for a number of the financial services companies surveyed in terms of the warmth of their greeting, their helpfulness, and call handling quality throughout the call.  

Nearly half of the financial services companies called defaulted to voicemail, with three even letting the phone ring until it was disconnected. About three quarters of the companies received a score of “poor” for their greeting, overall helpfulness, and warmth, with only three scoring “outstanding” across the board. When it came to the speed of calls being answered, the best-performing financial services company answered their calls in an average of one ring or 7.7 seconds and the worst performing answered in an average of five rings or 35.13 seconds.  

“We were surprised that some companies didn’t place as much focus on their customer service when answering the phone,” said Eric Schurke, CEO of Moneypenny North America. “Clients will form a lasting impression of a company from a phone call, so a long delay in a call being answered or a cold phone experience could cause lasting damage to a brand. The difference in answering after one ring versus five or more may sound small, but when someone picks up the phone, they’re looking for answers, not frustration.”