How Long Should A Telephone Call Last?

No two telephone calls a business handles are alike, which means the average time it takes to handle those calls can vary based on a number of factors. Some calls, like wrong numbers, will last a few seconds, but other calls, like helpdesk calls for computer issues, could take an hour. Unfortunately, there is no clear cut formula for estimating the amount of time it takes to handle a phone call, but as an answering service that has handled like, millions of calls, we’re experts on knowing just about how long typical telephone calls will take. Check out our helpful guide below to get a clear idea of how long your calls will last if being handled by an answering service, or handled by your own office staff!

• Dead air call: What – Operator answers the call and no one is on the line. Length – 1 second.
• Record message: What – Caller calls a business and leaves a message on the voicemail. Length – 6 seconds.
• Wrong number with no recording: What – Operator answers the call but the caller has the wrong number. There was no prerecorded greeting on the line prior to the call being answered. Length – 10 seconds.
• Wrong number with recording: What – Operator answers the call but the caller has the wrong number. There was a prerecorded greeting on the line prior to the call being answered. Length – 15 seconds.
• Gather caller’s name and immediately transfer: What – Operator documents the caller’s name and immediately transfers the call. Length – 30 seconds.
• Question about business location: What – Operator answers questions regarding the business’s location. Length – 45 seconds.
• Question about business hours: What – Operator answers questions regarding the business’s office hours. Length – 1 minute.
• Question about prices: What – Operator answers questions regarding the business’s pricing. Length – 1 minute and 15 seconds.
• Question about services: What – Operator answers questions regarding the services the business provides. Length – 1 minute and 30 seconds.
• Question about insurance: What – Operator answers questions regarding if the business accepts insurance, and what types. Length – 1 minute and 45 seconds.
• Take message with Name, Number and Regarding: What – The operator documents the caller’s name, phone number and reason for call. Length – 2 minutes.
• Take message with Name, Number, Email and Regarding: What – The operator documents the caller’s name, phone number, email and reason for call. Length – 2 minutes and 15 seconds.
• Take message with Name, Number, Email, How Heard and Regarding: What – The operator documents the caller’s name, phone number, email, how they heard about the company and reason for call. Length – 2 minutes and 30 seconds.
• Take message and reach out to on-call: What – The operator documents the caller’s message and reaches out to the on-call staff. Length – 2 minutes and 45 seconds.
• Employee call out: What – The operator takes a call for an employee calling out of work and documents the reason. Length – 3 minutes.
• Event registration: What – The operator registers the caller for a specific event and reserves their spot. Length – 3 minutes and 15 seconds.
• Process telethon donation: What – The operator processes a donation for a telethon by taking payment from the caller over the phone. Length – 3 minutes and 30 seconds.
• Cancel appointment: What – The operator cancels an appointment made by a caller. Length – 3 minutes and 45 seconds.
• Prescription refill: What – The operator documents the name and number of the prescription and submits the form to the office. Length – 4 minutes.
• Request lab results: What – The operator requests lab results on behalf of the patient by documenting their name, number and date of appointment then sending the message through. Length – 4 minutes and 15 seconds.
• Schedule appointment: What – The operator schedules an appointment for the caller directly on the business’s calendar software. Length – 4 minutes and 30 seconds.
• Reschedule appointment: What – The operator cancels the original appointment and reschedules a new one on behalf of the caller. Length – 5 minutes.
• Product recall: What – The operator talks to the caller regarding a product recall, helps answer questions and escalates their message. Length – 5 minutes and 30 seconds.
• Access outside website to submit a support ticket: What – The operator goes out to the business’s own website to submit a support ticket on behalf of the caller. Length – 6 minutes.
• Seminar registration: What – The operator registers the caller for a specific seminar and reserves their spot by processing payment on behalf of the business. Length – 7 minutes.
• Employment screening: What – The operator follows a scripted workflow to screen potential employees for the business to follow up with. Length – 8 minutes.
• Access online catalog to answer questions: What – The operator goes out to the business’s online catalog to help answer caller questions regarding products. Length – 10 minutes.
• Access online catalog to process order: What – The operator goes out to the business’s online catalog to help callers process orders. Length – 12 minutes.
• Access outside website to process refund: What – The operator goes out to the business’s website to assist the caller with processing a refund. Length – 15 minutes.
• Basic help desk call:  What – The operator follows a scripted workflow to troubleshoot a basic help desk issue. Length – 20 minutes.
• Conduct a survey: What – The operator conducts a survey with the caller on behalf of the business. Length – 25 minutes.
• Process loan application: What – The operator assists a caller with processing a loan application on behalf of the business. Length – 27 minutes.
• Advanced help desk call: What – The operator follows a complex scripted workflow to troubleshoot an advanced help desk issue. Length – 60 minutes.