We're exhausted with automated support

[Free]

Parloa Consumer Patience Index 2026

Learn how 1,001 U.S. consumers feel about automated support—from IVR systems and wait times to how conveying a feeling of empathy impacts brand loyalty.

go.parloa.com

We surveyed 1,001 consumers about their frustrations, their patience thresholds, and their expectations for automated support. What we found was a population exhausted by broken automation and ready to act on its frustration.

 

[Rose Karuna]

55% admitted to crying, yelling at loved ones or breaking a device out of frustration. Yep. I used to keep "backup mice" for my husband. I have to say that I would absolutely fall into the "I'm SO done with this vendor category", when they fail to respond to issues and I get put into some circular AI bullshit that never leads me to anyone real.

 

[GoblinCampFollower]

I've posted about this before, but a lot of companies have totally stopped pretending to even give a rat's ass about what customers think. They are all about appeasing investors. EVERYONE hates the automated support bots for a lot of clear reasons covered and not covered in the article, but I have no confidence they will go away.

I can't just talk to my pharmacy for example, I have to argue with the totally useless bot to let me talk to the pharmacist first. The bot tries to claim it can do things that it actually can't do at all... That's just the example that I deal with the most often.

 

[Sid]

The older system with callcenter employees reading down their scripts wasn't that much better. One was talking to a wall back then also.

 

[Noodles]

I've posted about this before, but a lot of companies have totally stopped pretending to even give a rat's ass about what customers think. They are all about appeasing investors. EVERYONE hates the automated support bots for a lot of clear reasons covered and not covered in the article, but I have no confidence they will go away.

The people buying shit are no longer the customer and have not been for a while. The customer is the investor. The company, its assets, the people buying shit, those are the products. As one goes, so does everything else.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

I can't just talk to my pharmacy for example, I have to argue with the totally useless bot to let me talk to the pharmacist first. The bot tries to claim it can do things that it actually can't do at all... That's just the example that I deal with the most often.

Yeah, I picked up meds for my daughter the other day and the pharmasist asked about something Inwas not sure about and he said just to have her call.

Like, ok buddy, you can't call anymore, it goes to an automated system or at best a shitty call center in another country.

 

[Noodles]

People are not tired of AI call centers.

They are tired of LITERALLY EVERYTHING just becoming shittier and shittier, including AI call systems.

The AI ones are the worst, because they are just trained on the same "Q&A/FAQ" page as online.

So you go to the support website, it suggests a solution, it is not helpful. "Still need help, contact us." Contact (chat, email, call). Its a bot. It literally just repeates the same useless bull shit from the website.

THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE NEXT STEP WHEN THE UNHELPFUL PAGE WAS NOT HELPFUL.

 

[Free]

The older system with callcenter employees reading down their scripts wasn't that much better. One was talking to a wall back then also.

Having been part of that wall for a time, I'll have you know the wall was often listening and sympathetic to your issues. Don't blame the wall for having no real power to resolve any of your problems.

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Once i discovered that phone bots respond to yelled 'GET ME A FUCKING HUMAN' by putting me forward to a human, that's all I say to phone bots now.

 

[GoblinCampFollower]

Once i discovered that phone bots respond to yelled 'GET ME A FUCKING HUMAN' by putting me forward to a human, that's all I say to phone bots now.

I almost commented on that... I'm honestly pretty sure that dropping F-bombs causes them to give up and take you to a human faster.