Is customer experience getting worse?

Technology can enhance CX, but the human element is still critical 

It’s 8:55 p.m. on Friday, and the latest episode of your current streaming obsession is being released at 9:00 p.m. You turn on the TV, navigate to the app, and ... nothing. You start troubleshooting – reloading the app, rebooting your router. Still nothing.  

What are you dreading more in this moment – missing the episode or calling your internet service provider? That’s probably a close call.  

A Harvard Business Review article entitled “Understanding Customer Experience” bemoans  “automated telephone systems in which harried customers navigate a maze-like menu in search of a real-life human being.” Similarly, a frustrated customer of the nation’s largest internet service provider posted on the company’s community forum, “How Can I Speak To A Human Being In Customer Service? I have now tried unsuccessfully to be connected to a live human being for 45 minutes on your abomination of a customer help line.” 

That article was published in 2007. The customer posted on the forum earlier this year.

While this is just one example from one industry, overall, it seems that nearly two decades later, not much has been done to improve customer experience (CX). In fact, by some measures, customer experience has actually gotten worse.  

Customer experience trends in the U.S. 

Customer experience in the U.S., as measured by Forrester’s CX Index study, has been declining for the past three years and is now at its lowest point since 2016. The 2024 study looked at data from more than 98,000 consumers and considered more than 220 brands across over a dozen sectors. 

Although companies have more data about their customers and more access to technology than ever before, they’re not always using those resources for good. And by good, I mean using it to help the customer, not just the company. As companies look for ways to cut costs, customers often end up paying the price – and doing the work (self-checkout, anyone?).  

“Somebody is paying more, but then they’re not seeing the benefit of paying more,” Forrester principal analyst Pete Jacques told The Wall Street Journal. “They’re not getting a better experience that they think should accompany that higher price.” 

Balancing technology and human interaction in CX 

While the future will almost certainly see some combination of AI and human-based customer service, many customers are not yet sold on AI chatbots replacing human customer service representatives and self-checkout lanes replacing cashiers.  

Technology-based customer service solutions lack the ability to empathize and understand customers’ thoughts, emotions and mindsets in the way that humans can. They have limited problem-solving and strategic thinking capabilities, which may be needed to address more complex issues or apply judgment to a situation. And technology can’t build long-term relationships with customers. 

Even as AI continues to advance, it won’t be able to fully replace the benefits of having human interaction in CX. Companies need to find ways to better leverage technology to generate efficiencies while retaining a human touch to enhance the customer experience.