The Cost of Waiting: $37 Billion

NEW YORK (MainStreet) — Waiting for the cable guy to hook up your television can certainly be frustrating – especially if the provider arrives at the end of the four-hour appointment window – but it also has a pretty steep economic impact as well.

According to TOA Technologies, a workplace solutions software company, the “cost of waiting” for scheduled in-home services, such as cable and internet hook-up or furniture deliveries, is $37.7 billion, equivalent to removing every working American from the workplace for more than two full work days a year.

Researchers found that Americans waited nearly four and a half hours, on average – two hours and thirty minutes longer than expected – for service appointments. More than a quarter of respondents reported lost wages and 50% wasted a sick day or vacation day to wait at home for a service or delivery.

The estimates are based on a survey asking U.S. residents how long they spent waiting at home for service providers this year. The results didn’t reflect favorably on the customer service provided by in-home service providers. 

Where does “waiting” stack up against other workplace productivity killers like the flu or March Madness? Find out in this MainStreet roundup of  eight big productivity killers at work!

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