What Waiting on Hold Teaches Us About Creativity

Can you remember the last time you enjoyed waiting on hold?

Me neither.

Waiting on hold sucks. There. I said it. We can all relax a little more now.

But, man...talk about something that's been approached with zero creativity by most companies on the planet.

We get it that most large companies can't afford to pay enough humans to immediately answer every call that comes through. But that doesn't mean the experience has to be torture for the customers.

This is where creativity comes in. And where creativity creates a huge opening for the companies willing to do something different.

Imagine this.

Instead of your typical, "Thank you for calling ABC Pharmacy, please listen to the following options..." followed by bad soprano saxophone music...

you hear, "Thank you for calling. We know waiting on hold sucks, but we're here for you until one of our humans can get to you. To keep you entertained, sit back and listen to some exclusive standup comedy provided by the one-and-only Lewis Black."

Or, what if the options were read by a Samuel L. Jackson impressionist?

Or, instead of saying, "If you need help sooner, visit our website..." 

try, "If you need help with X, it's really easy on our website and will save you 30 minutes of listening to this crap. In fact, it's so easy, if you still struggle to do it, we'll pay you $50 to show us why."

Any of these things would be more interesting than the typical waiting-on-hold experience. And who wouldn't want to tell their friends about a remarkable experience waiting on hold?

When in doubt, do creative and different. When everyone else is doing the same old boring thing, there is potential to change an entire industry.

Especially industries that the world has become sick of...like waiting on hold.