(End of the American Dream)—For many of you, just reading the phrase “customer service” is enough to make your blood boil. We have all had experiences where we have been on the phone for hours trying to get help with a problem. In many cases, it can be a real adventure just trying to find a real person to speak with. I think that a lot of companies purposely try to make the customer service process as frustrating as possible so that many of us will just simply choose to give up. If they can get us to go away, that is a win. In other cases, companies are trying to pay as little as possible for customer service, and the result is complete and utter chaos. AI chatbots and call centers in India can save corporate executives a lot of money, but there is simply no replacement for speaking with a real person that can understand what you are saying and that has been properly trained.
According to the latest National Customer Rage Survey, 77 percent of U.S. consumers say that they have had a product or service problem within the last 12 months.
In the entire history of the survey, that was the highest level ever recorded…
Seventy-seven percent of customers reported experiencing a product or service problem in the previous 12 months, according to the latest National Customer Rage Survey, conducted in February.
That was a new high, surpassing 74% in 2023, when the study was last conducted, and 66% during the height of the pandemic in 2020. Only 32% told researchers they had experienced a problem in 1976, when a similar version of the study was first conducted.
Are you among the 77 percent?
I am.
Some of you might be thinking that 77 percent is an extremely high number, but other surveys have come up with similar results…
The Customer Experience and Communications Consumer Insights survey showed seventy-one percent of U.S. and Canadian respondents think most companies need to improve their customer experience, a record high, according to the seventh annual study conducted in August and published in November by fintech company Broadridge Financial Solutions.
And the research and advisory firm Forrester in June found that U.S. and Canadian consumer perceptions of the customer experience have dropped for a fourth consecutive year, with brands’ average score reaching a record low of 68.3 out of 100. The index reflects consumers’ attitudes across six metrics, including how easy a brand is to deal with and how interacting with the brand feels.
There are a lot of companies out there that are very eager to sell us stuff, but when we have problems it is an entirely different story.
When I first started working many years ago, I was taught that the customer is always right. But now dealing with “problem customers” has become a headache that is to be avoided if at all possible.
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Of course there are some companies that do make an honest effort at serving their customers, but unfortunately they are hiring from a pool of low paid workers that struggle to communicate effectively.
According to the National Literacy Institute, 21 percent of U.S. adults are illiterate and 54 percent of U.S. adults read below a 6th-grade level…
- 21% of adults in the US are illiterate in 2024.
- 54% of adults have a literacy below a 6th-grade level (20% are below 5th-grade level).
- Low levels of literacy costs the US up to 2.2 trillion per year.
- 34% of adults lacking literacy proficiency were born outside the US.
- Massachusetts was the state with the highest rate of child literacy.
- New Mexico was the state with the lowest child literacy rate.
- New Hampshire was the state with the highest percentage of adults considered literate.
- The state with the lowest adult literacy rate was California.
Our system of public education is failing.
Nobody can deny that.
And that helps to explain why there is such a high level of incompetence in our society today.
Of course if you are calling a customer service number for help, you probably won’t even get to talk to a U.S. citizen.
In order to cut costs as low as possible, thousands of companies have outsourced customer service to call centers in India and other developing nations.
Once in a while, you can find a customer service representative in one of these call centers that can communicate effectively and that has been properly trained.
But that is the exception to the rule.
In an attempt to cut costs even lower, some companies are now using AI chatbots to answer customer service calls…
Many companies now are turning to artificial intelligence to field complaints, steering customers to online chatbots before they can reach human staff. Companies say the technology helps solve simple problems faster and lets representatives spend more time working on more complex issues. But most National Rage Survey respondents gave AI chatbots ambiguous or modestly unfavorable ratings as tools for complaints.
If I have a problem that is big enough that I have to contact someone about it, I sure don’t want to interact with an AI chatbot.
I am sure that most of you wouldn’t want to do that either.
But this is the future.
Companies are going to automate whatever they can, because automation saves money.
Sadly, that even includes the banking industry.
I greatly value being able to walk into my local bank and deal with a real person.
But now hundreds of local bank branches are being permanently closed all over the United States…
If you’re still banking on access to your local branch, don’t count on it.
Major US banks have announced plans to shut 311 branches since late August — a pre-Christmas wipeout that puts 2025 on track to be the worst year ever for walk-in banking.
JPMorgan Chase led the pre-Christmas cull with 66 closures, followed by TD Bank’s 51, Citizens’ 18, and Bank of America’s 15. PNC, Wells Fargo and others made up the rest, according to federal filings.
1,043 local branches were shut down in 2024, and the grand total for 2025 will be somewhere around 1,400.
I have been ranting about the banks for a very long time, but the giants in the industry are not going to change their behavior no matter how loudly we object.
That is one reason why I recommend banking with a small or mid-size bank when possible.
Just like small and mid-size companies, small and mid-size banks are often more responsive to customer needs.
If enough of us start taking a stand, eventually the customer service culture in this country could start changing.
But for now the race to the bottom continues, and that is extremely unfortunate.
Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.
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