When calling customer service isn’t an option

Companies save money by cutting call options. But at what cost? When I embarked on a story on what happens when companies don’t offer a call option for customer service issues, I did not expect to wind up attempting to troubleshoot three individual people’s problems with the businesses that had wronged them. But that’s exactly what happened. When I reached out to Facebook, Uber, and Tidal about their lack of customer service numbers, their comms teams asked the names of the specific people I had heard from about issues with the companies to see if they could work things out. Impact journalism, I guess, but not exactly the impact I was looking for. Practically everyone has had a customer service issue that’s driven them a little up a wall, and increasingly, people find themselves with no option to speak with an actual human being. Companies cut costs by axing the option to talk to a person, but that decision comes at a cost to consumers and, frankly, companies as well. That’s the subject of my latest story for the Goods: [The disappearing human voice in customer service](. —[Emily Stewart](, senior correspondent   When you can’t speak to the manager — or anyone [an image of different colored phone receivers]( J Studios/Getty Images There’s been a breach of the Jonny Boston’s International Facebook page. Jonathan Kiper, the New Hampshire restaurant’s owner, is no longer able to access his personal Facebook account or, in turn, the page for his business, where he once kept customers updated about specials and deals. He’s tried to get back in, going through the online process to report his account as compromised multiple times and sending in a picture of his driver’s license to prove he’s, well, himself. But thus far, his efforts have been to no avail. He always gets tripped up at the last verification step — the one where Facebook sends a test code — because it appears the hacker has changed the account’s phone number. It’s actually two phone numbers that are at the heart of Kiper’s problem: the hacker’s and Facebook’s, or rather, Facebook’s lack thereof. There’s no working customer service line that Kiper can find to call and explain what’s going on, so he’s out of luck. “There is a business number for Facebook you can call, but it just tells you they have no customer service and to use the website,” he says. Not exactly, you know, helpful when the website option doesn’t work. Facebook is not an outlier here. Plenty of companies make it impossible or at the very least very difficult for consumers to call. Frontier Airlines announced in November it was axing phone-based customer service. You can get through to Amazon if you absolutely have to, but you’ve got to go through multiple steps to find a little button to get them to call you. In the age of the internet, and with companies constantly looking to cut costs, businesses big and small are cutting off the option for consumers to get on the phone and talk to an actual human being to resolve their problems. It’s not great for anyone involved. [When there’s no option to pick up the phone, at some point it obviously creates all kinds of havoc in customers’ lives,”](said Ryan Buell, a Harvard Business School professor who specializes in customer service interactions. “It can lead customers to behave in inefficient and counterproductive ways.” It can lead companies to act in weird ways, too. When I was reporting for this story, three of the companies I contacted to ask about the specific experiences of individual customers responded asking for those customers’ information so they could try to get their problems fixed. Having a journalist as a go-between to unlock your Facebook account is not exactly a replicable tactic. [Read the full story »](  [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( The glories of dining out alone Solo dining is one of life’s great pleasures — and privileges. [Read the full story »](   How this couple runs a small business while raising six kids Nia and Brandy bought a used school bus for $4,000 to start their mobile spa in 2016. Here’s where they are now. [Read the full story »](   Support our work We aim to explain what we buy, why we buy it, and why it matters. Support our mission by making a gift today. [Give](   More good stuff to read today - [How to negotiate over practically anything]( - [The problem with Ticketmaster, explained not by Taylor Swift]( - [Jeff Bezos wants the world to know he's a philanthropist]( - [Past Lives is already one of the year's best films]( - [Peacock's The Traitors should be your new reality TV obsession](  [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Manage your [email preferences]( or [unsubscribe](param=goods). If you value Vox’s unique explanatory journalism, support our work with a one-time or recurring [contribution](. View our [Privacy Policy]( and our [Terms of Service](. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Floor 12, Washington, DC 20036. Copyright © 2023. All rights reserved.