Indians Spent 15 Billion Hours Waiting for Customer Service Complaints in 2024

New Delhi: Even with growing usage of chatbots and AI agents for customer service, they have not been able to actually decrease customers' waiting time. Indian customers spent over 15 billion hours last year simply to file complaints, as per a report. 

The ServiceNow Customer Experience report explored the increasing difference between customer expectation and actual delivery in service. It consisted of responses from 5,000 Indian customers and 204 customer service agents.

Nearly 80 percent of Indian customers now depend on AI chatbots for important tasks like monitoring the status of their complaints and getting product suggestions. These customers nevertheless spend an unbelievable 15 billion hours on hold every year, the report says.

"Although there was some progress—average wait times for resolving issues fell by 3.2 hours from last year—there is still a vast difference between customer expectations and customer experience being delivered in service.

"This gap indicates the problems created by siloed systems and ignorance of customer experience, and these problems lead customers to get frustrated," the report stated.

The survey resulted in 39 percent of the customers being put on hold, 36 percent being routed around a number of times, and 34 percent thinking that companies intentionally make complaint harder.

Patience among customers is dwindling, as 89 percent of Indian consumers are willing to switch brands in case they get poor service. Additionally, 84 percent mentioned that they would post a bad review on social media or the internet following an unpleasant experience in terms of service.

Firms are at the doorstep of a new era where humans and AI will be collaborating to bring unparalleled efficiency. Agentic AI will be driving productivity, lowering expenses, and helping in maintaining customers loyal.