24/7

24/7 is an abbreviation which stands for "24 hours a day, 7 days a week", usually referring to the availability of a service.^[1]

In commerce and industry, it identifies a service that will be present regardless of current time or day, as might be offered by a supermarket, convenience store, ATM, Filling station, restaurant, concierge services or a manned computer data facility. Today, it is common for call centers to have representatives available 24/7. This is due to, in part, a decrease in long distance phone call charges, which allow, for example, employees based in India to provide services to customers in the US during the US night hours.

In some cases, even a service available 24/7 may shut down, such as on a major holiday. The extended phrase 24/7/365 ("... 365 days a year") specifically denotes a service that is available year-round, such as police, firefighters, and emergency medical services.

There have been some criticisms of the proliferation of the abbreviation in the internet age, with companies claiming to be available 24/7, when actually only their websites, unattended by any staff, are in operation.^[2]

See also

• Shopping hours

References

1. ^ Inventory Accuracy Glossary (from Inventory Accuracy: People, Processes, & Technology - Piasecki, David J.)
2. ^ What 24/7 should mean? (from the sticky-marketing.net website)

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