“Your Call Is Important to Us.” Then Why Am I Still on Hold?

In brief: Long recorded greetings and endless hold times drive all of us crazy. Here’s why businesses do it, what a reasonable wait looks like, a few tricks for getting through faster, and a friendly challenge to local businesses. Then have your say in this week’s poll.

Updated November 13, 2026: added the “our menu options have recently changed” line. You know the one.

A minute and fifteen seconds

I timed it. When I call my doctor’s office, it takes a minute and fifteen seconds just to reach the front desk. First the recording tells me their address. Then their phone number, the one I just dialed. Then their hours, their website, what to do in an emergency, and everything else under the sun, except the one thing I need: a person who can help me.

So I tried pressing 0 to skip it. The whole greeting started over from the beginning.

And somewhere in there is my favourite line of all: “Please listen carefully, as our menu options have recently changed.” So whatever shortcut you remembered from last time won’t work now. Except they haven’t changed a thing. Same menu, same options, same order. That line has been “recent” for years.

And once I’m finally through it? Then comes the hold music. Fifteen minutes. Twenty. Sometimes half an hour. All the while, a voice keeps reminding me that my call is important to them.

If my call is so important to them, then why am I sitting here on hold? Apparently they don’t care how long I wait.

It isn’t just the doctor. Banks, utilities, the cable company, government offices, they all do it. I don’t think I’m the only one who’s had enough.

Why do they do this to us?

I’ve spent a lot of years around business technology, and in fairness, there are some reasons behind it:

• Fewer calls cost less. Every call a person answers costs money. All those “did you know you can visit our website” messages are hoping you’ll give up and do it yourself.
• Legal and privacy wording. Notices like “this call may be recorded” are often required or recommended.
• Nobody ever trims it. A message gets added for a holiday, then a new service, then a move, and years later nobody has gone back to clean it up.
• Not enough people answering. A long hold usually means a short-staffed front desk, not just a busy day.

None of that makes it any easier when you’re sick, in a hurry, or calling from the truck.

So what’s reasonable?

In the call-centre world, a common target is answering 80 per cent of calls within 20 seconds. Your doctor’s office or a local shop isn’t a call centre, and nobody expects that. But here’s my rule of thumb:

• A greeting should take seconds, not minutes.
• If the wait is going to be long, say so up front, and offer to call me back instead of making me sit there.

How to get through faster

These won’t work everywhere, but they’re worth a try:

• Press 0, or say “agent” or “representative.” Many systems will jump ahead to a person. Fair warning: some, like my doctor’s, treat 0 as “start over.” If that happens, make a note and don’t bother next time.
• Save the shortcut in your phone. Once you know which button gets you to the front desk at a place you call often, add it to the contact. Most phones let you add a pause and extra digits to a saved number.
• Ask for a direct line. When you do reach a person, ask if there’s a better number or a quicker way to reach them. Some offices have one and never advertise it.
• Take the callback. If they offer to call you back, say yes.
• Skip the phone when you can. Many offices take appointment requests by email, text or online form, which is perfect for simple bookings.

A challenge to local businesses

If you run a business in Lethbridge or southern Alberta, try this: call your own number and time it. If it takes more than 15 or 20 seconds to reach a person or a useful choice, your customers are noticing.

• Put the most common choice first: “For the front desk, press 1.”
• Move the address, hours and website to the end, or to their own option. Most callers already know where you are.
• Make sure pressing 0 gets people to a person, not back to the start.
• If your wait is long, offer a callback.
• And if a real person answers your phone, brag about it. These days, that’s a selling point.

Most of all, think about who’s on the other end of the line. It might be someone who’s sick and just wants an appointment, a senior who finds long menus confusing, someone hard of hearing, a worker calling on a 15-minute break, or somebody on a spotty cell signal out on a country road. A greeting that seems fine from behind the desk can feel like forever to them.

Have your say

Vote in this week’s poll: how long will you stay on hold before you hang up? You’ll see how everyone else voted right away.

Then tell us your story. Email us and we’ll share the best ones here, by initials only:

• Your best trick for getting through to a real person, or your longest wait.
• Business owners: what happens when a customer calls your number? Be honest, and if you’ve never called it yourself, try it today.
• Shout-out time: which local business always answers with a real, friendly person? Let’s give credit where it’s due.

We’ll add the best tips to this post. Let’s see if a few local businesses are listening.

— Gary

Questions or ideas about this post? Email us at help@drhd.com. We read every one.