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Appropriate Music for Callers 'On Hold'?
RiBread asks: "I work at a startup, and as such wear many hats. Right now I'm trying to make sure our phone system is useful. One of everyone's biggest complaints is the cheesy music that plays when someone calls in and is put on hold. The stunning MIDI rendition of 'Home on the Range' they hear vies only with the ice cream truck and 'It's a Small World' for its ability to infuriate. I found out we can hook up a CD player to the phone system to alleviate this, but the real question is now: what do we want to play? What's the best 'on hold' music you've heard?
(comments with links to samples of music will be most appreciated)"
Classical music is good, but don't forget about copyrights. Although the music itself may be in the public domain the performance may not be.
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Once you put them on hold, they'll never make the mistake of calling again.
I heard Thelonious Monk while on hold for AT&T last week.
Sweetness.
Rage Against the Machine - Bullet in the Head.
It perfectly describes my attitude to being on hold.
...while I do real work. I didn't call to listen to music, it just serves as a reminder that you haven't hung up on me.
The purpose of call-hold music is to indicate that you have not hung up. So why not send soft beeps, once in a while, so that
(a) the exchange does not terminate the call thinking that there is no activity
(b) the listener doesnt get pissed off listening to some (great?) music played over a crap 3KHz bandwidth phone line
US is now divided as the "Red" and "blue" states. Red States = communist countries. Coincidence? I think not
For a commercial music, you want to try to offend as few people as possible, while still playing interesting music that people won't mind listening to. Generally you want it to be instrumental, apolitical, and good.
You don't want to be playing The Clash or blaring Radiohead out to the world.
Downtempo electronica and acid jazz fit that bill perfectly. They have a certain amount of respectability because they generally sample jazz and mix it with electronic beats and modulations to produce very "chill out" music. It's not hard on the ears, it's not loud. It's quiet and relaxing, and still good. The nice thing is, there's a lot of it that is purely instrumental. No annoying vocals to deal with, so you have to neither risk alienating people with controversial vocals, nor dumb down vocals to the point where they are stupefyingly trite and banal.
For concrete suggestions, try the following:
Suzuki by Tosca
Bricolage by Amon Tobin
Another choice you have is to play straight up good Jazz. Put on some Coltrane or Miles Davis or Herbie Hancock or something. There's no fucking way anybody can be offended by that music. It's all instrumental, and it's all rock solid.
Jazz and jazz-based electronica seem to be a perfect fit for what you're looking for in terms of: apolitical, instrumental, and good.
-Laxitive
Then again if this is not a tech support line, please disregard. Might want to think about doing the Engelbert Humperdinck thang.
Web2.0: I love when people Flickr my cuil and digg my boingboing until my google is reddit and I start to yahoo
No. When there's talk on the radio you can't easily tell the difference between the chatter and the person you're waiting to pickup the phone, frequency -wise. It forces you to listen.
Use your competitors adverts. It means that there is an incentive to get people off those dumb arse holding queues.
For a long time, Apple used to play surf rock. Beach Boys, Ventures, etc. Definitely different; made waiting much nicer.
- The Amazina Llama
Start with an ETA every minute or so. There's nothing worse than "your call is important to us, we'll be with you shortly" every thirty seconds for tens of minutes.
After that, the minimalist in me says just play enough white noise to make it clear that the line isn't dead.
In this day and age, I'm really genuinely surprised at how common being on hold is. Let the customer input their phone number, leave a message, or whatever, and get the next available person to just call them. The customer doesn't have to hold a phone to their head for an hour. They don't have to tie up their phone line. They can listen to whatever music they want, watch TV, make food, or pretty much do whatever it was they were doing before they had to call you.
"You know, Hobbes, some days even my lucky rocketship underpants don't help" -- Calvin
The reason is because you can't get the copyright permission on the public performance of those 10,000 songs. Music on hold (MOH) is a public performance, and companies sell specially licensed collections for that purpose. It's similar to libraries of background music for radio and tv.
Get them humming, at least for a time - Abba
Entertain them for a half hour (or more) on hold - radio comedy shows from the 40's and 50's
Remind them of a time before computers - 101 strings playing "hits" of the 60's and 70's
Get them to forget they're on hold if they're over age 40 - up-tempo orchestral classics - Brahms, Beethoven, Thaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussagorsky, etc.
But whatever you play, run it through an audio compressor so the dynamic range is minimal - and then check the actual volume from another phone so you neither blast them out nor make them strain to hear.
Been there, done that, paid for the T-shirt
and didn't get it
This is something that really annoys me. If I'm at work, and calling a vendor, supplier, whatever, and end up on hold, I tend to put the phone on speaker, low volume, so I can keep working. Everytime I hear speaking, I have to stop and listen to see if someone has actually answered my call.
A better idea would be to allow the caller to leave a brief message including name and number. My ISP does this, which is wonderful. I don't have to wait on hold, yet I usually get a call back within 10 to 15 minutes.
If you are going to play hold music, as others have suggested, something light and relaxing. Customers are not happy being on hold, so anything with too much excitement is not going to make dealing with them easier. Also, avoid interrupting the music too often with a message like "Your call is important to us. Please stay on the line as it is faster than redialing". I've been on hold where they repeat this every 30 seconds, and it annoys the hell out of me. If you have the ability, having a status of the phone queue is a good idea. "There are currently x callers ahead of you. Please stay on the line". If you're going to add time estimates, make sure they are not underestimated. Nothing worse than hearing your call should be answered in 5 minutes, and waiting another 10. In any case, any interrupts like this should be no more than once every minute or two.
You should play morse code training materials.
<morse code> di-dah
<Eisenhower era voice> "A"
di-dah "A"
di-dah "A"
dah-di-di-di "B"
dah-di-di-di "B"
dah-di-di-di "B"
Etc.
MM
--
By including this sig, the copyright holders of this work or collection unreservedly place it in the public domain.
There were some particularly weird "things" on XMission (a local and awesome ISP)'s hold music
When I worked there, there were two songs that were the techs favorites. One of them was something like six minutes of dogs barking. The users really hated it, it really rubbed all of them the wrong way. Rubbed them the wrong way so much that you could always tell when it had just finished playing and someone had to sit through all of it. Even though there were thousands of songs in the playlist (mostly trance), this one got a lot of attention and was removed.
The song that people liked to hear the most was "C is for cookie" by the cookie monster. Wouldn't matter if they had just been sitting on hold for three days and the DSL line had surged out of control and killed both of their parents, anyone after listening to that was in a pretty happy mood by the time they got to you. I think that one is still on there.
My personal favorite Hold Music was what I put on when I worked at a little company in San Jose. 100% Christmas music, the Secretary said it shouldn't be done, it was October and all. But I said "But if we don't do it now, we won't catch them by suprise." It's really quite amazing how few people know how to change the hold music, even though it was powered by a normal cd player with a little wire running to the PBX
You asked about what on-hold music to use. I'm going to pretend you said, "Give me input on phone-related stuff for my company."
1) NEVER blame "unusual call volume" for hold times. God, that makes me sick. It's a sneaky way of saying "It's not our fault you're on hold." Yeah, it is.
2) When the caller has finished their business, NEVER ask "Is there anything else I can help you with blah blah blah?". "No." "Okay then, thank you for calling Ultrablather Systems Software Systems Incorporated." STFU and say goodbye like any normal polite person and let me get off the goddamn phone.
3) NEVER have a phone system that constantly reminds me every 30 seconds that your sorry I'm holding and blah blah blah. If you're not gonna have enough people to eliminate the wait, at least let me wait in peace.
4) If your phone system requires me to punch numbers in, you better be sure your system rewards my effort. Being asked for the info I just punched in makes me want punch in your face.
5) Make sure the hold music is QUIET.
6) Play Dixieland music, simply because nobody does. Added bonus: It uses banjos.
It's all catchy music that is mellow, interesting enough to keep you listening, without putting you to sleep. They're all on iTunes if you wanna give 'em a listen.
And why stop at a fixed playlist? This has so many {exciting,absurd} possibilities. 1) Offer menu choices. 2) If you've got caller ID, remember the setting for that customer's next call. 3) Think of things that would work well on an open speakerphone that the caller's probably using in a cube.
As for selections, sure, you could go with generic popular music, but, particularly if there are selectable options, I'd try for more things at the absurd/fun/useful end of the scale, like:
That all said, nothing is more annoying, once there is interesting hold conent, than to have it interrupted every 15 seconds reminding the caller that "Your call is important to us, stay on the line to keep your position, blah, blah.". Say that at most once up-front and never again.
Find some AMBIENT music from any musician. I would personally recommend Aphex Twin's ambient works, but that's personal taste.
Remember, hold music is meant to just remind the caller that the line has not, in fact, gone dead and that they are still on the line. It should not be anything catchy or particularly enjoyable (because everybody has different tastes and there's no such thing as a song that every person will enjoy).
So just pick something ambient. Preferrably it'll be calming, with no beat.
Whatever you do, please god, don't play popular mainstream music.
This is the song that never ends...
1) it is proven that helps to relax
2) no RIAA bugging you
but please make it longer than the usual 30seconds.. and it would be nice to "beep" loud when someone answers the phone, in case the on-hold time will take longer than 2 minutes.
-- There are two kind of sysadmins: Paranoids and Losers. (adapted from D. Bach)
I worked a summer job a at small-time ISP when I was 16. I hated working there and the boss always treated me like scum, so when he wasn't around I'd change the CD for the PBX to Dead Kennedys "In God We Trust, Inc." or Crass' "Christ - The Album".
Oh ho ho. Somehow the old boar didn't find out. I loved it.
"It was hell!" recalls former child.
...some UK companies pipe live radio stations like Radio 1 to their hold music. you'd need to licence it, but it's always new, doesn't get stale and people *might* not mind listening to it.
And for the companies intent on fast Chapter 11:
Who says corporate suits have to be uncool?
(Shuddup!)
And remember: Martha was ready to change brokers over bad lift music - it's a good thing!
While you are apologising for putting them on hold might be a good time to ask.
Having said that, if you are a tech company, how about the 6-CD set of the HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy (the BBC radio show version)? No ads, no swearing (apart from b*lg**m), and quite a high 'oh, I forgot about this funny bit' value if you dip in at random.
A pizza of radius z and thickness a has a volume of pi z z a
Please don't use live radio. I work for a large national hardware chain co-op. I'm on hold frequently waiting for a store to do something and occasionally hear a commercial for a competing store. Think Lowes doing advertising for Home Depot with their hold music.
8) Don't recommend going to your website to find the solution. I'm ringing because your website is rubbish and doesn't do what I want it to.
9) have a menu system that covers everything, or at least has a category for "all other enquiries", I hate trying to force what I want into categories that don't quite fit (although I have a sneaky suspicion that I end up talking to the same person, whatever buttons I push)
-- Intelligence is soluble in alcohol
You're welcome to use my solo piano album, license-free. It is currently used at several other places as on-hold music, and some people actually ask to be put on hold to hear it from time to time!
There are twelve tracks, more than enough music to handle most on-hold situations without repitition.
All I ask is that you give me credit if anyone asks, and point them to my site. Oh, and please let me know if you use it - I like to know!
Email me privately if you want more information.
Mattcelt
Believe it or not, an iPod isn't the answer to every damn thing that involves music.
....
Exactly! This is the *perfect* situation for Gentoo... Hey... What are you guys doing in there? Hey, get out!
"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge"
- Charles Darwin
I hope you're better at playing the piano than driving a Jeep...
It doesn't have to be music -- but beeps? That could easily confuse a caller into thinking there was some error in the system.
The hold music used by the Macaroni Grill (Italian restaurant chain) -- and what they play in the bathrooms in the restaurants -- is an interesting alternative; it's a "learn Italian" CD, teaching you common phrases in Italian.
You might think it'd be annoying... but the voices are soothing (and Italian in general is a very musical language), there's some subtle music in the background, and it really worked for me.
I'm not sure what an equivalent would be for tech support, though... listening to some adenoidal geek stuttering through technical term definitions somehow wouldn't be the same.
There are only 10 types of people: those who understand decimal, those who don't, and, uh, 8 other types I forget.
1) NEVER blame "unusual call volume" for hold times. God, that makes me sick. It's a sneaky way of saying "It's not our fault you're on hold." Yeah, it is.
Ever tried making sure hundreds of support agents are in the right place at the right time to answer the right amount of calls? It's not easy. Especially if there are multiple centers and/or there is something happening (virus, network outtage, 9/11, etc) that's causing increased volumes. Tech support is a loss leader for companies, they don't want to pay any more for it than they have to because it costs a *TON* of money. Quite frankly it may even cost more than losing a few customers for a lot of companies.
2) When the caller has finished their business, NEVER ask "Is there anything else I can help you with blah blah blah?". "No." "Okay then, thank you for calling Ultrablather Systems Software Systems Incorporated." STFU and say goodbye like any normal polite person and let me get off the goddamn phone.
People usually remember the first and last things about a call and not the middle. Most people *like* it when the agent seems to genuinely want to help. You're not going to get rid of this one anytime soon, management wants the companies name said at the end of the call so people will remember it.
As for the rest of your suggestions, I only have an issue with #6, I hate dixieland music...
I'd work on your priorities.
1. Police/Fire Scanner
2. Books on Tape
3. White Noise
4. Foreign Language Lessons
5. NPR
6. Raymond Scott - Soothing Sounds for Baby
7. Place Microphone in Center of Office
8. Train Sounds
9. Bubble Wrap
10. Car Dealership Commercials
11. Make a "People On Hold" Party Line
12. Heavy Breathing
13. These
14. Fax Machine Sounds
15. "Guess The DTMF" Game
16. Funny Answering Machine Outgoing Messages
17. Phone Sex
18. Bass Test CDs
19. Trivia Questions
20. The Sound of One Hand Clapping
Several years ago, I had occasion to call 3com's tech support. After wading thru several layers of menus, the last option was what kind of on-hold music I wanted to listen to. Something like "Press 1 for jazz, press 2 for classical, press 3 for country, etc."
The worst part about it was that the one time I get to choose my on-hold music, the wait time was less than a minute.
Give me my freedom, and I'll take care of my own security, thank you.
I don't know if they still do, but Symantec used to have a live DJ running the on-hold music, along with "traffic reports" saying how many people were on hold, and what the average wait time is.
Give me my freedom, and I'll take care of my own security, thank you.
If that message never changes, yeah, but I once dealt with a company that would break with "you are now Nth in line". Depending on N and how quickly it changed, I knew whether it was worth it to hang on or just leave a message.