Waiting in a call centre phone queue for more than five minutes and 58 seconds is bad for your health, new research shows. Experts found callers' stress levels and blood pressure rise dangerously high as they become frustrated with the delay in getting through.
一项新的研究表明，在电话呼叫中心排队等候超过5分58秒，对健康有害。专家发现，当接通被延迟时，打电话者会觉得很沮丧，他们的精神压力和血压会上升到非常危险的高度。
Dr Roger Henderson, a stress expert and GP said: “We live in an age where for many people time is the most valuable commodity of all. More and more people are unwilling to wait. ‘I call this phenomenon ‘speed greed’, which reflects our growing demand for instantly access to information and service. ‘It is part of human nature to rarely be satisfied with what we have in life.”
压力专家、全科医生罗杰·亨德森汉德森博士说：“在我们生活时代里，对许多人来说，时间是最宝贵的商品。越来越多的人不愿意等待。我把这种现象称为‘速度贪婪’，它反应了我们日益增长的、对立即获得信息及服务的需要。这是人性的一部分，极少满足于我们已经拥有的生活。”
Dr Henderson said other symptoms of queue induced stress include a racing heartbeat, sweaty palms and headaches. This could develop into a more serious medical condition such high blood pressure, chronic anxiety, stomach and bowel upsets - or even the breakdown of relationship, he warned.
亨德森博士说，排队诱发的其他症状包括心跳加快，手心出汗和头疼。他警告说，这很可能发展成更严重的健康状况，比如高血压、长期焦虑、肠胃系统紊乱，甚至导致人际关系破裂。
And not surprisingly, 67 per cent admitted to feeling ‘annoyed’ when they are forced to wait too long. A third also experienced stress, 19 per cent became ‘angry’ and 16 per cent feel their custom is ‘not valued’.
这一点也不奇怪,67%的人承认，当他们被迫等待太长时间时会感到“恼火”。三分之一的人感到紧张，19%的人变得“生气”，16%的人认为他们的风俗习惯“不被重视”。
Furthermore, long waits in a queue are not just bad for customers' health but for the company's reputation too, the study found. Almost 70 per cent said their impression of a company was ‘permanently damaged’. Just under a quarter have even terminated a contract as a result of their wait.
此外，研究发现，长时间的排队等待并不仅仅对客户的健康有害，也对公司的声誉有影响。差不多70%的人说，这永久的损害了他们对一家公司的印象。低于四分之一的人甚至会因为他们等待太久而合公司终止合约。
The length of time Brits wait varies with the type of queue they are in but it averages between seven minutes and 18 seconds. They will wait five minutes 58 seconds for a call centre, six minutes 32 seconds at a supermarket checkout and 10 minutes 57 seconds for public transport. That increases to 13 minutes exactly when queuing for service at a restaurant.
英国人的等待时间长度和他们等待队伍类型而变化，但平均时间是7分18秒。人们会等待呼叫中心5分58秒，等待超市结账6分32秒，等待公共交通工具10分57秒。在等待餐厅服务时，则增加至13分钟整。