AN increasing number of people phoning call centres are hanging up in frustration because of the time it takes to answer, says a report.
More customers than ever are calling contact centres - but more than one in 10 hang up before they can speak to someone.
The number of abandoned calls has risen for the sixth year in a row, especially those involving calls to telecoms firms.
Computer firm Dimension Data, which conducted the research, warned firms that their "fixation" on cutting costs through reducing jobs should not be done at the expense of customer satisfaction.
An increasing number of British firms have switched call centre work abroad in recent years to save money.
This has led to warnings about the quality of services.
Customers expect calls to be answered quickly and are only willing to wait 65 seconds, as against 71 seconds in 2003, says the report.
