Customer service is dead! And I am FIRED UP!

September 20, 2025

It shouldn’t be this hard to cancel a service! It took me FIVE hours on hold to do it! I called to cancel a security service, as calling is the ONLY WAY to cancel. What happened next, I wouldn’t believe if it didn’t happen to me. Immediately placed on hold and waited almost 45 minutes. Customer service asked questions and said they had to put me on hold. Another 45+ minutes went by, and another customer service agent asked questions and said they had to put me on hold.

This happened five times. I ended up with a sales agent who wanted me to continue the service and tried to sell me. I was so irate and irritated at this point. Eventually, he transferred me to customer service, who again put me on hold. I filed with the Better Business Bureau. So this topic today hits close to home.

Have you noticed how difficult it has become to receive GOOD customer service recently? I’m not talking about the over-the-top, “Would you like to try our rewards card today?” kind of fake enthusiasm. I mean real service — human-to-human help, respect, and accountability. It’s dying. Scratch that — it’s almost dead.

Everywhere you turn, companies are doing everything they can to avoid talking to you. You may have to click through 47 automated menus to obtain a phone number. Then, you wait on hold for 30 minutes — if you’re lucky — only to talk to someone who barely knows what the company even sells. That’s not service, gentlemen. That’s corporate evasion.

Let me give you a quick example — I ordered a grooming product (not naming names yet) that arrived destroyed, looking like it had been run over by a dump truck. I reached out to the company… and guess what? No phone number. No live chat. Just a stupid email form with a 5-7 day response time. SEVEN DAYS to even acknowledge the issue?! Get out of here.

This isn’t just an inconvenience — it’s a strategy. Companies know that if they make it hard enough, most people will give up. They want you frustrated. They want you tired. They want you to say, “Screw it,” and walk away — which saves them money. That’s not bad service — that’s manipulation.

And don’t even get me started on subscriptions. These days, you sign up for one little free trial, and boom — now you’re locked in to $9.99/month for eternity. Oh, you want to cancel? Good luck. The cancel button is hidden deeper than Jimmy Hoffa. I swear some of these sites make it feel like you’re defusing a bomb just to unsubscribe.

It didn’t used to be this way, guys. Back in the day, you walked into a store, looked someone in the eye, and they gave a damn about your experience. If something broke, they made it right — immediately. Now? You’re just another ticket number. Another email in the queue. Another anonymous wallet.

Look, I get it. Technology changed the game. AI, automation, outsourcing — it’s all designed to “scale” things. But here’s the truth: somewhere along the line, companies stopped seeing you as a customer and started seeing you as a cost. The fewer questions you ask, the more money they make. That’s the cold, hard reality.

And it’s not just shady companies doing this. Even the big boys — the brands we USED to trust — are cutting corners on customer support. They’re replacing real people with bots that don’t understand context. They’re outsourcing help desks to people with zero training and zero authority. It’s lazy. It’s greedy. And it’s hurting you.

So what can you do about it? First — speak up. Leave reviews. Post your experiences. Call companies out on social media (trust me, they hate bad press more than bad emails). If a brand screws you over, don’t let it slide. Because if we don’t push back, this garbage becomes the new normal.

Second — support companies that still value people. They’re out there (think Pete & Pedro!). The small businesses. The brands that answer their emails. The ones that actually listen when you speak. These are the companies that deserve your money — not the ones hiding behind “policy” and red tape.

Finally — be aware. Don’t let yourself get sucked into the “it’s only $10” trap. Ten bucks here, fifteen there — it adds up. Companies are banking on the fact that you won’t notice or won’t care. But the more you stay sharp and demand better, the more pressure we put on them to clean up their act.

You deserve better. You work hard for your money. You should never feel like a criminal just for asking for what you paid for. Customer service might be dying, but we don’t have to go down without a fight. Stay strong, stay sharp, and never let them walk all over you.

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