Please Hold the Line Reading Passage
Please Hold the Line Reading Passage
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Almost everyone has been placed on "musical hold," which means that when you call any customer service number, you should expect to hear at least a few bars of monotonous elevator music before an operator answers the phone. The question is whether to hang up or stay on the line. According to research reported by University of Cincinnati Associate Professor of Marketing, James Kellaris it either depends on the type of music played or gender.
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Kellaris has been researching the effects of music on consumers for over a decade, and she recently collaborated with Sigma Research Management Group to assess the effects of 'hold music' for a company that operated a customer service line.
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Researchers tested four types of 'on-hold' music on 71 company customers, including 30 women. Light jazz, classical, rock, and the company's current adult alternative format were all evaluated. The sample included individual consumers, small businesses, and large businesses. Participants were asked to estimate the time. In addition, the researchers solicited and quantified their responses and comments.
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The service providers do not want you to be on hold, but if you are, they want you to have a pleasant experience. However, Kellaris' findings could spell bad news for businesses. The time spent "on hold," regardless of the music, was frequently underestimated. The actual wait time in the study was 6 minutes, while the average estimate was 7 minutes and 6 seconds.
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He informed the client who had hired him of some good news. Their alternative type is most likely their best option. It was a wise decision because of two factors. For starters, it did not elicit significantly more positive or negative responses from people. Second, male and female reactions to this type of music differed less.
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Other findings of Kellaris, however, make the state of musical hold a little less firm: time spent ‘on hold’ seemed slightly shorter when light jazz was played, but the effect of music format differed for men and women. Males appeared to wait the least when classical music was performed. This could be due to variations in attention levels and musical tastes.
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Males gave the most positive responses to classical music, while females gave the most positive responses (and the shortest waiting time estimates) to light jazz. Rocks were the least desired by both genders, resulting in the longest estimated wait times. The driving beat of rock music, according to Kellaris, tends to aggravate people who call customer service with a problem. "The longer the wait appeared to be, the better the response to the music." "Perhaps time does fly when you're having fun, even if you're on musical hold," Kellaris jokes.
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Men and women perceive music differently, which is unfortunate for businesses that use on-hold music. Kellaris jokingly suggests that the recorded message instruct male callers to press one and female callers to press two. Please hang up and try again later if you are upset.'
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