Kellaris, who has studied the effects of music on consumers for more than 12 years, teamed with Sigma Research Management Group of Cincinnati to evaluate the effects of "hold music" for a company that operates a customer service line. The UC researcher and his colleagues tested four types of on-hold music: light jazz, classical, rock and adult alternative. 

Study participants were asked to imagine calling a customer assistance line and being placed on hold. They were then exposed to "on hold" music via headsets and asked to estimate how long it played. 
A summary of what the study discovered about callers on-hold: 

• Hold time seems longer than it is. 
  No matter what music was played, the time spent "on hold" was generally overestimated. The actual wait in the study was 6 minutes, but the average estimate was 7 minutes and 6 seconds. 
   
• Light jazz makes the hold-time seem shorter. 
  Time spent on hold seemed slightly shorter when light jazz was played, but the effect of music format differed for men and women. Women reacted more positively to the music than did men. Women also felt the hold-time was shorter during light-jazz hold-music. 
   
• Classical music produced gender differences. 
  Among the males, the wait seemed shortest when classical music was played. Among the females, the wait seemed longest when classical music was played. 
   
• Rock hit rock-bottom. 
  Rock music was the least preferred across both gender groups and produced the longest waiting time estimates. 

Unfortunately for companies operating on-hold lines, men and women have different ideas about what music is "fun." "The possible solution, Kellaris jokes: "If you're a male, please press one. If you're a female, please press two. If you are in a bad mood, please hang up and try later." 

--Source: David Demko, AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com  Reprinted with permission