Waiting For The Cable Guy Hits Pocketbook: Study

When cable and telco technicians miss an appointment window, customers not only get royally annoyed -- it makes them feel like they're losing real income.

American consumers wait for service appointments from cable, satellite, telco, utility and other providers on average for 4.3 hours, which is 2.5 hours longer than they expected, according to a survey commissioned by TOA Technologies, a provider of mobile workforce management software. In the U.S., the average individual cost of waiting is $243 per year, according to the TOA survey. That amounts to a total cost of $37.7 billion for the total time spent waiting for in-home services, when applied to the entire American workforce. About 27% of those surveyed said they lost wages and 50% wasted a sick day or vacation day to wait at home for a service or delivery. Of course, if a service technician needs to perform work inside a customer's premises, there's no way around the need for a homeowner to be present. But TOA CEO Yuval Brisker said on-time performance can go a long way toward making consumers happier. The TOA survey found that 70% of respondents said they would recommend a company if an appointment was on time -- but that drops to 27% if a service technician is 15 minutes late.