That philosophy goes over well with Mark Samuelson, an Arlington-based independent software contractor who travels frequently on Southwest. I don't mind calling if it's the fastest way to fix a problem. Southwest's phone customers rarely wait more than a minute to talk to service personnel, Mr. Stewart says. And most companies don't make that goal. But most companies, even the large ones, are still not doing a very good job of responding that quickly.
Smaller ventures are particularly hard-hit when it comes to hiring enough people.
We usually get an answer back to people within 48 hours, but it's tough sometimes. And as Christmas approaches, it's going to be even more of an issue. John Moser, customer service manager for J.C. Penney Co.'s online operations, says that's also a big concern for the Plano-based retailer. As is typical in the industry, Penney has seen an explosion of online sales, with 2.8 million registered online customers. That may be through natural-language search engines that let customers find answers on their own, live chat.