A simple insurance claim turned into an ordeal after a minor’s parked car was struck by an uninsured driver. What should have been a straightforward call for assistance instead became a maze of automated prompts, long holds, and repetitive transfers. The parent seeking help only wanted to confirm if the minor would be allowed to drive a rental car during repairs—an answer no automated menu could provide. Yet reaching a live agent proved difficult at every turn.
To Henry Haun, a Vice President of Patient Experience with over twenty years in contact center operations, this scenario is all too familiar. “This isn’t an isolated bad experience—it’s a pattern,” says Haun. “When companies strip away the human layer of service, they don’t just frustrate customers; they signal that the relationship ends at the point of sale.”
This scenario reflects a growing and troubling reality: customer service, once a point of pride for many companies, has steadily deteriorated. The decline hasn’t happened overnight. It’s the result of years of prioritizing efficiency and cost-cutting over genuine human interaction. As corporations adopted self-service systems and automation, they often overlooked the customer experience. What was meant to improve convenience has instead led to friction for customers and burnout for employees.
Cost reduction initiatives have been a major factor. Many companies now funnel callers toward self-service tools that rarely handle real or complex problems effectively. Studies in 2025 revealed that 77% to 83% of callers expect to reach a human immediately, yet connecting with a live representative often feels nearly impossible.
Ironically, organizations spend vast marketing budgets to acquire new customers, only to alienate the ones they already have. Consumers can easily reach a person when making a purchase, but once they become customers, they’re often relegated to endless automated loops—a phenomenon some call the “penalty hold.” It raises an uncomfortable question: do companies truly value their customers, or merely their wallets?
Artificial intelligence sits at the center of this tension. The technology itself isn’t the enemy; the problem is how it’s being used. When AI replaces people purely to cut costs, compassion disappears, and the customer experience suffers. But when used thoughtfully—to assist agents, streamline routine tasks, or accelerate simple interactions—AI can enhance both efficiency and satisfaction. Ultimately, it comes down to intent: are companies using technology to help people, or to replace them? Haun confirms the data is clear: customers want resolution, not just speed. “AI deployed correctly frees agents to do work that requires judgment and empathy but when the goal is simply to avoid the call altogether, technology becomes a barrier, not a bridge.”
Another overlooked contributor to poor service is turnover. Contact centers lose experienced employees at alarming rates—an industry average of 30% to 45%, with some sectors reaching as high as 60%, according to Insignia Resources (2025). This means that when customers finally reach an agent, there’s a fair chance they’re speaking with someone new to the job, still learning the systems, and unfamiliar with the nuances that seasoned representatives rely on to resolve complex issues quickly.
Customer service may not be dead, but it is certainly struggling for survival. The solution, however, isn’t as complicated as it might seem. Companies can shift focus toward measuring what truly matters—resolutions, not just speed. They can make it easier for people to reach a human being when needed. And they can let technology shoulder repetitive tasks while allowing humans to handle the thinking, empathy, and decision-making that technology can’t replicate.
At its core, restoring customer service to health requires one thing: treating both customers and agents like they genuinely matter. It’s a principle Henry Haun has built his career around. “When organizations truly prioritize their people both customers and employees, better service naturally follows.”
