New research shows that UK public sector hotlines now cause more caller frustration over hold times than banks, with essential services such as healthcare and government agencies topping the list for caller dissatisfaction.
The survey, commissioned by customer experience platform 8x8, found that three in four Britons reported regularly failing to reach the correct department on urgent calls to public service organisations. The findings indicate a growing impatience among consumers regarding inefficient call routing and long wait times, particularly when contacting essential public bodies.
Rising frustration with essential services
While banks have historically been the main source of caller irritation, the survey found that only 28% of respondents now complain about bank wait times. By contrast, 35% cited healthcare providers as the most frustrating for hold times, and 33% pointed to national government agencies such as HMRC and DVLA. Local councils were also mentioned by 31% of those surveyed, particularly for delays in resolving issues like council tax and bin collection.
A notable gender divide emerged from the data, with women expressing significantly higher frustration with healthcare wait times than men, at 41% compared to 28%. Regionally, Cardiff residents were the most impatient, with almost 8% willing to hang up in less than five minutes. In comparison, only 1.4% of respondents from Norwich said they would do the same.
Reduced tolerance for waiting
The survey illustrates that consumers' patience is wearing thin: 31% of respondents said they would abandon an urgent call if they were kept on hold for more than 10 minutes. Only a tiny fraction (less than 0.2%, or four people) said they would stay on a call longer than an hour. Expectations for response times are even higher for digital channels, with 70% of Britons expecting a reply to an urgent text message within five minutes.
Additional findings revealed that more than half (53%) still prefer calling for urgent issues, but nearly 12% now use text or WhatsApp. When a call goes unanswered, 41% of respondents immediately turn to alternative channels such as email, texting, or social media to seek a resolution. For those using messaging, 38% expect a response within four to five minutes, 25% within two to three minutes, and 7% would not wait more than a minute.
Public sector under strain
The findings arrive against a backdrop of projected reductions in local government technology investment. Insights from Tussell and techUK suggest that spending on technology solutions in the public sector is expected to decline, which may further exacerbate wait times and caller frustrations.
"UK consumers won't tolerate long wait times or poor call routing for urgent matters," said Jamie Snaddon, EMEA Managing Director at 8x8. "In an age of AI, chatbots, and multiple contact options, wait times are a solvable problem. Businesses need to modernize contact center strategies with intelligent routing, automated callbacks, and real-time messaging to meet rising expectations. Using technology for the simple queries – which normally make up more than half of calls to organizations – frees up human agents to deal with the more complex matters."
This is in line with a previous 8x8 survey conducted earlier in the year, which found that 62% of UK consumers believe companies should be fined for keeping them on hold for extended periods.
Changing expectations and approaches
The survey, which included responses from more than 2,000 people across the UK, highlighted how expectations around customer service and contact resolution are changing. As digital communication options become more prevalent, consumers are seeking faster, more efficient resolution of their queries, whether via telephone or digital channels.
Organisations across both the public and private sectors are being urged to adopt smarter approaches to handling customer contacts, particularly as consumer patience wanes and budgets remain tight. The use of intelligent technology in contact centres, such as automated queues, messaging, and more sophisticated query routing, is seen as a way to improve the situation and alleviate pressure on human staff.
