You’re not being helped—you’re being trained to help them.
Customer service used to be a company’s pride. There was someone to answer your call, troubleshoot your problem, and actually resolve things without bouncing you through a maze of hold music and chatbots. But that version of service feels like it’s vanishing fast. In its place is a world where the burden is on you—the customer—to figure things out, troubleshoot on your own, and navigate endless hurdles just to get a human response. It’s not just annoying. It’s exhausting.
Companies pitch these changes as “efficiency” or “innovation,” but most people see them for what they really are: cost-cutting measures disguised as progress. They’ve handed the wheel to automation, outsourced basic help, and created policies that make resolution feel more like punishment. And worst of all, they’ve trained us to accept it. This isn’t just a rant about hold times—it’s a reality check on how businesses are shifting responsibilities onto customers without lowering prices or improving outcomes. These are the clearest signs that customer service isn’t just broken—it’s being offloaded onto the people who used to be served.
1. They make you search their knowledge base for answers.
Once upon a time, customer support meant calling someone who could actually help. Now you’re redirected to a “Help Center” filled with vague FAQs and outdated tutorials that never quite answer your specific issue. Companies want you to sift through layers of their website and troubleshoot problems solo, even when it’s their product that failed. They label it “empowerment,” but it’s really just passing the buck, according to Charles Quinichett at Camoin Associates.
It’s not that users mind learning something new—it’s the expectation that customers should do the work a paid employee used to handle. You waste time digging through articles, second-guessing your own interpretation, and often still have to reach out after all that effort. The knowledge base isn’t a bonus—it’s the first obstacle in a long relay race to actual support.
2. They force you to talk to chatbots that can’t understand you.
You try to ask a basic question, and the chatbot responds with something totally unrelated or sends you in circles. Instead of getting you closer to help, it feels like an automated stall tactic. Worse, many systems don’t even give you a way to talk to a human anymore. You either rephrase endlessly or give up.
Companies act like AI chat is an enhancement, but the reality is it’s often a frustrating delay machine, as reported by Suman Bhattacharyya at the Wall Street Journal. They know you’re more likely to abandon your request than stick it out. That’s not customer service—it’s strategic friction. It saves them time and money, but it costs you clarity, time, and patience.
3. They bury contact options deep in their website.
You’ve scrolled. You’ve clicked. You’ve explored every link that might say “contact us.” Still no email. No phone number. No clear way to actually speak to someone. It’s not accidental—it’s by design. Companies deliberately hide live support channels so only the most determined people find them, as stated by Emily Stewart at Vox.
This tactic filters out “low-priority” issues, but it also punishes loyal customers who have real problems. It creates a cold, distant relationship where your only point of contact is a faceless FAQ or generic chatbot. It doesn’t feel like a relationship anymore—it feels like a wall. And all the power is on the other side.
4. They require multiple steps to access basic services.
Trying to cancel a subscription or get a refund often feels like an obstacle course. Instead of a simple button, you have to fill out a form, confirm your identity three times, click through pop-ups asking you to reconsider, and sometimes even call a separate department during business hours. It’s exhausting by design.
This tactic is called a “dark pattern”—a user interface built to confuse and deter. Companies know that if it’s hard enough, some people won’t bother. And those who do persist are often left wondering why loyalty is repaid with resistance. Making basic requests feel like an interrogation is one of the clearest signs that customer service is no longer on your side.
5. They close their phone lines outside a narrow window.
Need help after 5 p.m.? Good luck. Many companies now limit customer support to tight weekday hours, leaving you stranded if you work a normal schedule. Even worse, some will only call you back “within 48 hours,” turning a five-minute issue into a two-day saga.
These limited windows aren’t about logistics—they’re about limiting costs. It’s a calculated decision to staff fewer people and make support harder to access. But it comes at the cost of customer goodwill. People remember when they’re treated like an inconvenience. Especially when they’re paying full price and getting half the access.
6. They expect you to troubleshoot their faulty products.
When something breaks or arrives defective, you’re often the one asked to test, photograph, or explain in detail what went wrong. Some companies even send you instructions to fix the issue yourself before they’ll consider replacing it. The assumption isn’t that you were wronged—it’s that you might be lying or lazy.
This attitude flips the traditional customer-company relationship on its head. Instead of trusting the buyer, they put up hoops to jump through. It’s insulting and inefficient. And it quietly shifts the responsibility for quality control onto the person who didn’t cause the issue in the first place.
7. They push paid support for problems they created.
More companies now offer “premium” customer service—for a price. If you want to skip the line or get a real human quickly, you can pay extra. The kicker? Sometimes that upsell is offered right after the company created the issue in the first place. So now, in addition to wasting your time, they want your money to solve their mistake faster.
It’s a twisted version of service. Paying to fix a problem you didn’t cause shouldn’t be an upsell. But in the age of outsourced support and cost-cutting, companies have figured out how to monetize inconvenience. It’s not better service—it’s ransom disguised as a feature.
8. They treat basic support like a favor, not a duty.
When you finally reach someone, they often act like they’re doing you a personal favor. Apologies sound scripted, solutions feel reluctant, and policies are quoted like scripture. Instead of trying to make things right, they seem more focused on defending the company line.
This shift in tone reflects how far customer service has drifted. It’s no longer about fixing problems—it’s about minimizing effort. You’re not a valued client—you’re a ticket number in a queue. And unless you push hard or complain publicly, chances are, you’ll walk away with more frustration than resolution.