How do people in the US describe customer service in 2026? ‘Debilitating, depressing, enraging. Ugh’

We asked people in the US about their customer service battles and hundreds responded on the financial and emotional costs

Guardian readers from across the US wrote in to tell us about their battles with big companies, and the time, expense and emotional toll exacted by businesses they say are prioritizing the bottom line over all else.

The top takeaway: people really, really don't like AI customer service.