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New Policy Announcements Lead to High Volume of Calls

  • Lianhe Zaobao (17 January 2008) : New Policy Announcements Lead to High Volume of Calls
  • Lianhe Zaobao (11 January 2008) : Beseeching MOM to Improve Waiting Time

New Policy Announcements Lead to High Volume of Calls
- Lianhe Zaobao, 17 January 2008

Please refer to the letter, "Beseeching MOM to improve waiting time" (Lianhe Zaobao, 11 Jan 2008) by Ms Tan Lay Hong.

2. We would like to apologise to Ms Tan for the inconvenience she experienced when she tried to call MOM recently. Our Contact Centre has been experiencing a high volume of calls due to recent announcements of manpower policies, with a 25% increase in call volume in recent weeks. As a result, MOM customers who called during peak periods have had to wait longer for their calls to be answered. In general, close to 80% of calls are answered within one minute. We will continue to improve our service standards.

3. The Ministry will be contacting Ms Tan to assist her with her enquiries. MOM customers can also visit the MOM website for comprehensive information on MOM matters, including law and policies.


Beseeching MOM to Improve Waiting Time
- Lianhe Zaobao, 11 January 2008

I recently called MOM trying to find out about issues pertaining to employees' welfare. However, I did not manage to get through after waiting for more than one-and-a-half hours. Earlier, I heard the waiting time would be long (my colleague once waited for 45 minutes), so I deliberately put my phone on hands-free mode during the wait while continuing to do my household chores.

The long wait left me exasperated! While I understand the work pressure faced by telephone receptionists, could more staff be deployed during peak periods or callers who have waited for more than half an hour be asked to leave their contact numbers (I believe the agency has caller ID) for follow-up later?

I was still able to do some work while on the hands-free mode. Imagine the feelings of those callers who have to hold on to the telephone while waiting. Callers would invariably sound unpleasant after a long wait but the telephone receptionists who were already kept busy would still need to deal with unpleasant callers. Such an unbearable situation would be indescribable!