Sir, – I am trying to finish several jobs today on a renovation project and need to call about seven different people. It might be Friday, but I can assure you this is no exception; every day is the same. Nobody answers their phones any more.
It has become almost impossible to speak to a real human being when dealing with companies or public services. Phones ring endlessly, answered only by recordings claiming our call is “very important” before directing us to websites full of FAQs or chatbots that cannot understand the problem.
No-reply emails have become the norm, shutting off yet another avenue for genuine communication. One simple conversation with a real person could prevent minutes turning into hours, and hours into days, just to get a straightforward answer.
The reasons are clear – cost-cutting, staffing shortages, efficiency targets, and the belief that chatbots can “scale” better than people. Yet the result is frustration and exclusion.
READ MORE
We are told we have more ways than ever to contact companies, yet every path seems designed to avoid human contact entirely. Even automated systems are becoming overcomplicated, forcing people to navigate endless menus or fill out forms that may never be read by a human.
This obsession with automation may save businesses money, but it comes at the expense of basic human connection and customer dignity. Repeated poor experiences drive people away permanently. When did it become acceptable for entire organisations to hide behind automated messages and digital walls, leaving people without any meaningful way to resolve even simple issues?
A society that stops talking to its people risks losing more than efficiency; it risks losing trust, loyalty and common decency. I am exhausted today and utterly frustrated. – Yours, etc,
SHEILA HOBBS,
Kinawley,
Co Fermanagh.
