You make some nice points diddler, but the original post of this discussion said 3-4 hours total of hold time for 5 jobs as being a daily norm. I would say either he has made enemies of all dispatchers he is working with, or it's a completely unacceptable situation of incompetence. If the latter is true, it's time to bolt, and in a hurry. I too, when I did installs would always try to make and keep friends with as many dispatchers as I could. Some overload time will occur and cause excessive hold times, but if that is "normal", for most or every single contact with dispatch, then that shows a complete disregard for the installer and their valuable part in the whole process. I too have been on both side of the fence.