How many of you have tried to call or write customer service somewhere only to have to wait…and wait…and wait?

Yawn.

And the worst of it is that often we think poorly of a company, ministry, or group that can’t get back to us in a reasonable time frame. What is reasonable? That’s hard to say.

Seth Godin explored the wait today on his blog. I think he hit’s the nail on the head when he says:

We’ve all heard this excuse when we’re on hold. Personally, it doesn’t make me feel any better. I don’t say, “Oh, they’ve staffed up with plenty of people but this particular moment is an exception so I’ll cut them some slack.”

How long do people have to wait to get a reply from you when they contact your ministry? The increased wait can cause anxiety and it can communicate that you are under-staffed, or worse, under-caring!

It’s so vitally important to the success of a ministry to provide a feedback look and be able to reply. Please put in acceptable standards to reply in a timely manner. A lot more depends on the timeliness and accuracy of that reply than you may think.