Mystery caller survey of top Atlanta companies shows there is still room for improvement in customer service

A new “mystery caller” survey was commissioned to look at call handling customer service skills, and showed there is still some room for improvement among Atlanta businesses. Despite most businesses delivering overall great customer service, the survey of 60 Atlanta companies by leading call and chat company Moneypenny of Duluth showed a mix of service performance for a number of the companies in terms of the warmth of their greeting, their helpfulness, and call handling quality throughout the call.

Nearly half of the companies called defaulted to voicemail, with ten even letting the phone ring until it was disconnected. Over half of the companies received a score of “poor” for their greeting, overall helpfulness, and warmth, with only five of those “shopped” earning “outstanding” marks across the board. When it came to the speed of calls being answered, the best-performing company answered in less than one ring or five seconds and the worst performing answered in an average of seven rings or 39.89 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.”