From the “confirming what we already know” department comes a press release from Fasthosts:

A staggering 78 per cent of British consumers have been disappointed by a slow response to a customer service email enquiry, with the average consumer sending three emails before receiving a satisfactory response, according to research released today by Fasthosts Internet Ltd…

More than 30 per cent of consumers surveyed said they regularly wait three days for a reply, while nine per cent have waited up to a week and even two per cent reported it can regularly take up to a month.  Interestingly, men are statistically more likely to receive a quicker response (21 per cent regularly receiving a reply within six to 12 hours).

The average consumer (51 per cent of the survey group) sends three emails before receiving a satisfactory reply to their enquiry, while 33 per cent say they have sent up to 10 emails about a single enquiry.  Of the latter group, men seem to be the most persistent sex, with 5 per cent more men than women sending up to ten emails; while women are more likely to abandon emails in favour of telephoning the company.