September 23, 2013 12.45 pm
This story is over 133 months old
Classic tunes keep council callers on hold
Upbeat songs: More people are willing to wait on hold when calling Lincolnshire County Council since classic songs have been introduced as on-hold music.
More people are willing to wait on hold when calling Lincolnshire County Council since classic songs have been introduced as on-hold music.
Lionel Richie, Simply Red, Aretha Franklin, Abba and Billy Ocean are some of the artists whose songs are used by the authority for its on-hold tracks.
Since introducing the new songs in February 2013, the council said it has seen the abandoned call rate cut by half, from around 4,000 calls per months to 1,600.
The new information came to light after a freedom of information request from the Press Association, which requested data from 150 authorities across the country.
It revealed that local authorities paid nearly £6.5 million to the Performing Rights Society during a three-and-a-half-year period for their on-hold music.
But in Lincolnshire, the move was much less costly, at only £175 per year.
Executive County Councillor Richard Davies said: “People can be kept waiting for a few minutes at peak times so we use commercial songs for our on-hold music.
“Quite frankly, our callers love it. It costs just £175 per year and since we introduced it, we have reduced our abandoned call rate by half – from 4,000 calls per month to just 1,600.
“I would, however, like to take this opportunity to apologise for our use of the Lighthouse Family’s Ocean Drive.
“I accept this was a deplorable lapse in judgement and we deserve all the criticism we get. In our defence, it was either that or M People’s Movin on up.”
On-hold tunes in Lincolnshire
If you want to listen to the County Council’s choice of on-hold music, The Lincolnite has compiled a Spotify playlist for you to listen to.
To save the playlist to your Spotify account, just hit the “Subscribe” button.
Alternatively, you can listen to the tracks on this player:
The full track listing is:
Be With You Everywhere – Fleetwood Mac
Penny lover – Lionel Richie
Easy – Lionel Richie
Dock of the bay – Ottis Reading
Stars – Simply Red
High – Lighthouse Family
Ocean Drive – Lighthouse Family
One of Us – Abba
Winner takes it all – Abba
Say A Little Prayer – Aretha Franklin
Don`t Know Why – Norah Jones
Say What You Want – Texas
Stand by You – Pretenders
Suddenly – Billy Ocean
Time After Time – Cyndi Lauper
Waiting For a Star – Boy meets girl
Dreams – Fleetwood Mac
Wonderful world – Louis Armstrong
Nine Million Bicycles – Katie Melua
The Lincolnite welcomes your views. All comments are reactively-moderated and must obey the house rules. Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers.
Exciting news for MyLocal app users and The Lincolnite readers! Our latest update is now available to download from your app store and comes packed with the best local news experience you can enjoy.
Revamped News Feed: Enjoy faster loading times and smoother scrolling that make catching up on local news a breeze.
New Play Video Feed: Dive into a dynamic video feed that brings local stories to life in a whole new way.
Enhanced In-App Browser: Access external links quickly and efficiently, right from the app, without any distractions.
Update your MyLocal app from your app store (version 2.73) now and start enjoying these great new features today!
P.S.: Start your MyLocal membership today to support MyLocal and The Lincolnite deliver you a better local news experience and honest journalism from across Lincolnshire.
P.P.S.: We have some huge things in the pipeline, stay tuned!
Exciting news for MyLocal app users and The Lincolnite readers! Our latest update is now available to download from your app store and comes packed with the best local news experience you can enjoy.
Revamped News Feed: Enjoy faster loading times and smoother scrolling that make catching up on local news a breeze.
New Play Video Feed: Dive into a dynamic video feed that brings local stories to life in a whole new way.
Enhanced In-App Browser: Access external links quickly and efficiently, right from the app, without any distractions.
Update your MyLocal app from your app store (version 2.73) now and start enjoying these great new features today!
P.S.: Start your MyLocal membership today to support MyLocal and The Lincolnite deliver you a better local news experience and honest journalism from across Lincolnshire.
P.P.S.: We have some huge things in the pipeline, stay tuned!