{"id":9401,"date":"2026-10-26T17:04:41","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T00:04:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.consumercellular.com\/blog\/?p=9401"},"modified":"2026-10-26T17:04:43","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T00:04:43","slug":"ai-isnt-the-problem-bad-customer-service-is","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.consumercellular.com\/blog\/ai-isnt-the-problem-bad-customer-service-is\/","title":{"rendered":"AI Isn’t the Problem. Bad Customer Service is."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

You know the loop. You say “representative.” It asks you to describe the problem again. You press zero. It starts over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New research from Consumer Cellular suggests that loop costs companies more than patience. More than 8 in 10 people we surveyed said they’d consider leaving a company over an automated system that gave them no way to reach a human.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s not a complaint about technology. It’s a complaint about being stuck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What actually makes people leave<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We surveyed 482 people, Consumer Cellular customers and customers of other carriers, about automated service. The pattern held across both groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ninety-seven percent of our customers and 94% of prospects said there should always be an option to speak with a person. Sixty-two percent of customers said a frustrating bot makes them less likely to stay. Forty-seven percent have switched carriers, or seriously thought about it, after a bad automated experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s the part we found most telling. Only 9% would consider leaving over a bot that solved their problem but felt cold and robotic. More than 8 in 10 would leave over one that trapped them in a loop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People aren’t asking automation to be warm. They’re asking it to work and to get out of the way when it doesn’t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speed isn’t what you’re after<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We asked what matters most when you need help. Forty-three percent said getting the problem completely resolved. Another 43% said talking to a real, live person. Just 4% chose speed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, roughly three in five people said a chatbot resolves their issue less than 40% of the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our findings line up with the wider picture. In a 2026 Gartner survey of 3,566 customers, half said AI makes service interactions easier \u2014 and 87% said companies using it still have to provide access to a human agent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So why are we using AI at all?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“AI isn’t the problem. Bad customer service is,” said Ed Evans, CEO of Consumer Cellular. “We’re investing in AI to give our teams better information and remove friction, not to get customers off the phone as quickly as possible. Our goal is to make sure customers get the help they need and the best experience possible, whether that takes two minutes or twenty.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’re putting AI behind our representatives, not between you and them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What that looks like in practice<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seventy-seven percent of our customers said they were confident their carrier would fully resolve an issue the first time they reached out. Among people with other carriers, 44% said the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our average handle time is 11.6% longer than the industry benchmark. That one’s on purpose. We’d rather give you the time you need than rush you off the phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can read the complete findings and methodology at the [AI Customer Service Study]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if you ever need us, you can still reach a person. That hasn’t changed, and it isn’t going to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study was conducted on the Switchboard Hive Platform by Big Village among 482 adults 50 and older \u2014 217 Consumer Cellular customers and 265 customers of other carriers, fielded June 25 and July 2, 2026.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a9 2026 Consumer Cellular, Inc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You know the loop. You say “representative.” It asks you to describe the problem again. You press zero. It starts over. New research from Consumer Cellular suggests that loop costs companies more than patience. More than 8 in 10 people we surveyed said they’d consider leaving a company over an automated system that gave them […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":9402,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,14],"tags":[11],"class_list":["post-9401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-customer-service","category-the-consumer-cellular-advantage","tag-consumer-cellular"],"yoast_head":"\r\nAI Isn't the Problem. Bad Customer Service is. - Our Blog<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"97% of Consumer Cellular customers say there should always be a way to reach a person. 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