To wait or not to wait: effect of apologies and explanations on customer call abandonment

Research on wait management has almost exclusively focused on customer affective response, trying to mitigate their negative emotions. As such, prior studies appear to be motivated by the assumption that encouraging customers to quit the wait is not an option. Our study challenges this assumption by proposing that during peak hours or for customers who are unlikely to get served within a reasonable time frame, the firm should consider applying tactics to skillfully guide them to quit the wait. We examine the effects of apologies and explanations on customer emotional and behavioral responses to waiting in a telephone queue setting. In two field studies and two lab studies, we find that apologies with a high-control explanation (which indicates that the firm has a high degree of control over the situation) versus a low-control explanation, result in greater attribution of locus to the service provider. In turn, this leads to greater customer call abandonment but, crucially, will not generate additional negative emotions from customers. Our study offers a new research angle by incorporating an operational perspective into customer experience management. Our findings can be applied to help service providers better manage the flow of customer calls while avoiding negative customer sentiments.