I see this happen nearly everywhere I go. Voice mails go unanswered. Email messages too. Tweets, if your company uses Twitter. Every communication from every customer should be responded to in a timely manner. Prioritize, sure, but you have to respond.
The worst is when this happens face to face. A restaurant patron waits and waits to get a table. You’re in a checkout line at some retail store and the cashier never acknowledges your presence, preferring instead to chat with a coworker about their weekend.
Problems don’t go away when ignored, but your customers just might.
