Singaporeans spend 40m hours on hold, report reveals
Singaporeans have spent 40 million hours on hold attempting to resolve customer service issues, according to a new report by ServiceNow, highlighting significant challenges in the nation's customer service landscape.
The ServiceNow Customer Experience Report uncovers that Singaporeans now spend an average of nearly five working days waiting for issue resolution, marking a 4% increase year-on-year. In stark contrast, customer service employees believe complex issues could be resolved within 30 minutes if not for systemic inefficiencies.
Despite the crucial role of customer service, a concerning gap persists between customer expectations and the resources allocated by employees. On average, employees devote only 18% of their working week to addressing customer queries, with considerable time lost to non-direct customer service activities such as administrative duties and interdepartmental liaison.
ServiceNow's report further elucidates that customer service employees frequently need to navigate over three different systems to resolve a single query, adding to the complexity. CK Tan, APJ Innovation Officer, Singapore at ServiceNow, elaborated: "Service is only complex because organisations are complex. Brands that are delivering the best service, make it feel like you're talking to one company. If you have to speak with five departments to resolve one issue, you risk losing business. Customers want to have one conversation to resolve their issue. To do this, businesses need to connect all systems for employees and AI agents to deliver the best, speedy service to customers, all in one."
In terms of customer expectations, the report identifies a prioritised 'rule of three': being served quickly (47%), avoiding transfer between departments (45%), and empowering employees to resolve issues (32%). As dissatisfaction grows, 85% of Singaporeans indicate a willingness to shift their business due to poor service in 2025.
The report also highlights sector-specific performance, with government, healthcare, and financial services maintaining high customer service rankings. CK Tan remarked, "The Singapore Government continues to retain strong service leadership in ServiceNow's research year on year, with a focus to enable people with technology to improve services. Applying AI to drive value creation was further underscored in The Singapore 2025 to enhance national competitiveness and efficiency." However, sectors like telecommunications and transport experienced increased wait times.
In their pursuit of efficient service, 75% of Singaporeans are now opting for self-service methods before resorting to direct contact with customer service. Social media has emerged as the quickest resolution channel, offering average solutions within 1.5 hours. The potential for AI to transform customer service resonates with many; 62% believe AI can enhance 24/7 service access, while 75% are open to AI replacing traditional customer service roles given consistent or improved service quality.
The report notes that new AI tools such as Chat GPT have elevated consumer expectations, with 65% of Singaporeans recognising a positive impact on service quality. CK Tan stated, "A lot of simple issues can now be resolved through self-service and AI options. Singapore consumers are among the most optimistic in the APAC region on the true potential of AI to enhance services. The best service always connects people and technology in a way where it doesn't matter to the consumer, because they've been delighted by a brilliant experience."
