Whatever Happened to Customer Service?
When You Have a Real Problem, Sometimes You Just Need a Real Person
I bought a new Frigidaire refrigerator from Home Depot on April 20 of this year.
It’s a new appliance. It shouldn’t be giving me much to think about.
But recently it started making a strange noise.
So I did what any customer would do.
I tried to call Frigidaire.
That’s when the refrigerator almost became the smaller problem.
Instead of reaching someone I could explain the problem to, I got an automated system.
A robot.
Questions. Choices. Prompts.
But what I needed was very simple:
“My new refrigerator is making a strange noise. Can someone help me figure out what’s wrong?”
How complicated should that be?
Yet increasingly, getting a real person on the telephone seems to be one of the hardest parts of being a customer.
And I don’t think I’m the only person who’s had enough of it.
Customer Service Has Changed
I remember when customer service meant talking to a customer.
You called a company.
Someone answered.
You explained the problem.
Maybe they could solve it immediately. Maybe they had to transfer you to someone else.
It wasn’t always perfect.
But at least you were having a conversation with another human being.
Today, the experience can be very different.
Before you reach a person, you may have to deal with:
- Automated telephone systems
- Recorded menus
- Chatbots
- Online help pages
- Frequently asked questions
- Virtual assistants
- Requests to download an app
- Instructions to visit a website
All of those things can be useful.
Until your problem isn’t one of the choices.
That’s when technology that was designed to make things easier can make things incredibly frustrating.
My Refrigerator Doesn’t Fit Into a Menu
That’s what struck me about my Frigidaire problem.
A refrigerator making an unusual noise isn’t something I necessarily know how to describe to a computer.
Is it a rattle?
A hum?
A vibration?
A fan?
A compressor?
Is it normal?
I don’t know.
That’s why I’m calling.
I want to explain what I’m hearing to someone who understands refrigerators and can ask me questions.
Maybe it’s perfectly normal.
Maybe a technician needs to look at it.
Maybe there’s something simple I can check myself.
But first, someone needs to listen to me.
That’s what seems to be disappearing from customer service.
Why Is It So Hard to Find a Phone Number?
Here’s another thing I’ve noticed.
Sometimes just finding a company’s customer-service telephone number has become an adventure.
Go to a company’s website and you’ll often find plenty of opportunities to:
Shop.
Buy.
Create an account.
Download an app.
But try to find a telephone number where you can speak to somebody.
That information isn’t always nearly as easy to find.
That bothers me.
If a company is happy to take my money, I don’t think I should have to conduct an investigation to figure out how to talk to someone when the product has a problem.
Something a Home Depot Employee Said to Me
I went back to Home Depot, where I purchased the refrigerator, and asked customer service why it was so difficult to get help.
One employee made a comment that stuck with me.
In essence, she told me companies make the numbers difficult to find because they hope you won’t call.
I can’t say that’s an official policy of Home Depot, Frigidaire, or any other company.
It was simply one employee’s observation.
But I understood exactly what she meant.
Every customer who solves the problem through a website, automated system or chatbot is one less customer who needs an employee’s time.
I understand why companies automate customer service.
What I question is whether we’ve taken it too far.
I’m Not Against Technology
This may surprise some people reading this.
I’m not against AI.
I’m not against automated systems.
I’m not against chatbots.
Technology can be extremely useful.
I use technology every day.
If I have a simple question such as checking a balance, finding store hours or tracking a package, automation may actually be faster.
But there’s an important distinction.
Technology should help customers reach a solution.
It shouldn’t become a barrier between the customer and the solution.
That’s where I think many companies are getting it wrong.
This Can Be Especially Frustrating After 60
I write Reinvent After 60 for people like me.
We’re perfectly capable of learning new technology.
But that doesn’t mean we should be forced to navigate complicated systems simply to get customer service.
Imagine someone in their 70s or 80s whose washing machine stops working.
They’re told to scan a QR code.
Create an account.
Download an app.
Enter the model number.
Talk to a virtual assistant.
Watch a troubleshooting video.
And after doing all that, they still haven’t spoken to anyone.
At some point you have to ask:
Who exactly is this system convenient for—the customer or the company?
Sometimes the Problem Requires a Conversation
There are plenty of situations where automation works beautifully.
But some problems aren’t multiple-choice questions.
Suppose you’re dealing with:
A strange appliance noise.
An insurance claim that doesn’t make sense.
A bank charge you don’t recognize.
A problem with your telephone service.
A medical bill you don’t understand.
A delivery that supposedly arrived but didn’t.
Sometimes you need to explain the situation.
The person helping you may need to ask questions you hadn’t thought about.
That’s a conversation.
And conversations are difficult to replace with menus and predetermined answers.
What Can We Do About It?
I’ve learned that persistence is sometimes necessary.
If an automated system doesn’t solve the problem, don’t assume that’s the end of your options.
Look for words such as:
Contact Us
Customer Support
Warranty Service
Speak With an Agent
Technical Support
If you bought the product from a local retailer, ask whether the store can help you reach the manufacturer.
Keep your receipt, model number, serial number and purchase date handy.
And when you finally reach someone, write down the person’s name and what you were told.
If there’s a case or reference number, save that too.
It shouldn’t require this much effort.
But until companies make customer service easier again, a little preparation can save a lot of frustration.
Companies Should Remember Who the Technology Is For
AI isn’t going away.
Neither are automated telephone systems.
And I don’t think they should.
But companies need to remember something very basic:
The purpose of customer-service technology should be to serve the customer.
Give me the chatbot.
Give me the automated system.
Give me the website.
But also give me an obvious choice that says:
“Talk to a person.”
And when I choose it, let me talk to one.
That doesn’t seem unreasonable.
Final Thoughts
Maybe I’m old-fashioned about this.
At 79, I’ve certainly seen customer service change.
Some of those changes have been improvements.
Others haven’t.
When I spend my money with a company, I don’t expect perfection.
Products break.
Mistakes happen.
Things go wrong.
What matters is what happens next.
That’s where a company earns—or loses—my trust.
My refrigerator problem will eventually get resolved.
But this experience reminded me of something much bigger.
Technology is supposed to make our lives easier.
When it prevents a customer from getting help, something has gone wrong.
Sometimes you don’t need another menu, another app or another chatbot.
Sometimes you just need a human being who will listen.