Customer Non-Service

Customer service has been getting worse and worse for a long time. About ten years ago while addressing health related issues for my mother I encountered so many obstacles that I finally spoke with someone in patient relations (I wonder if the position still exists). I explained that their systems for providing healthcare were so complicated that my mother couldn't do it herself and I had to do it for her. I pointed out that their systems were becoming increasingly complex, obfuscative, confusing, almost like a gauntlet, and that without doubt within ten or twenty years I too would no longer be able to navigate their systems.Naturally things have only gotten worse since then, and additional ways of describing modern customer service have come to mind. Some aspects of customer service almost seem like a petulant child. Others seem passive-aggressive. Many seem obstructive by design, as if intended to prevent customer service instead of providing it.It's essentially the same problem with any provider of anything out there, from any large corporation to the DMV to health care to health insurance to any kind of insurance to Social Security to Medicare and on and on. Now, as you wait on hold, here's an article from The Atlantic that explains how and why this is happening to you: That dropped call with customer service? It was on purpose.--Percy

That is a very interesting read so far, I'll continue later, on an interesting aside, when they owe you money, the process to get them to pay out is always cumbersome, long, troubling, prone to fail (In ways you have to put more time in).Yet in the reverse, at least over here, there's a few warnings and then you get a debt collector on your ass, who also demands a fee from you, the pressure is eagerly built up to sometimes aggressive levels.

I remembered reading about HP doing something awful with customer services so asked ChatGPT to find the article (absurdly useful)Find article about hewlett packard introducing 15 minute delay before answering customer service enquiries.Yes — in February 2025, HP admitted to intentionally adding a mandatory 15-minute wait at the start of its telephone support lines in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, and Italy. The move was aimed at pushing callers toward online self-service options.⸻???? What HP Announced
• Starting February 18, callers heard:
“We are experiencing longer waiting times … the next available representative will be with you in about 15 minutes.”
This message repeated at the 5th, 10th, and 13th minutes even if agents were available, and digital alternatives were promoted instead  .
• The goal, as per an internal memo, was to “influence customers to increase their adoption of digital self-solve” and “generate warranty cost efficiencies” .⸻⚠️ Immediate Backlash & Reversal
• The policy triggered strong backlash from customers, tech press, and even HP support staff .
• Within about a week, HP abandoned the mandatory 15-minute delay, citing “initial feedback” and committing to ensuring timely access to live phone support .⸻????️ Community ReactionsOn Reddit, users criticized the move as “anti-customer” and a dark pattern to shift support calls online:”HP has reportedly added a 15 min mandatory wait… basically giving their own customers the big FU”  ”This post needs to be heavily upvoted as a prime example of anti-customer tech dystopia.” ⸻✅ Summary
• HP implemented a 15-minute default hold to discourage phone support.
• Labeled as a push to use digital self-help resources.
• Backtracked quickly after public outrage.
• HP now says it’s maintaining a priority on “timely access” to live support.⸻Would you like to explore official statements from HP or similar corporate tactics across other industries?

Sometimes you absolutely need to talk to a person. Two recent cases for myself:

• Making a doctor appointment. Both my schedule and the doctor's are highly varied. The webpage only allows you to select AM or PM or both. That's not detailed enough, so I need to talk to a person.
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• I was billed twice for the same item. I needed to talk to a person to resolve it.

Another problem involves security where you get a call from a company you deal with and they ask for your information to confirm it's you. Never give out any personal information to someone who called you. Instead, call the company back at their publicly available number, or at least at a number that you've previously somehow verified.I received a call a couple weeks ago from a healthcare provider who requested that I verify my information, but she was unprofessional and revealed enough about the reason for the call for me to know that she actually had information from the healthcare provider that only they could have. I said I could call back on their main number.I looked up the number she had called from, and Google identified it as a known Robocaller. My guess is that she is a contractor who does work for a variety of companies, including Robocall companies. This means my healthcare provider gave her my personal information outside their internal systems. I filed a HIPAA complaint (not easy).Even worse, when I called the healthcare provider at their main number, they had no knowledge of what the call was about, or that it had even been made. But I know it was a legitimate call initiated by the healthcare provider because of the nature of the personal information about me that this person accidentally revealed. Some companies are stitched together with spit and baling wire and never get around to integrating their various systems together.--Percy