> Did we really let customer service get so bad that people think this will be an improvement?

Yes.

One of the things that I learned, early in my career, is that the best customer service, is good product design, obviating the need for customer service. That’s something within my control.

For many companies, post-sale customer service is a money sink. I remember being told that the margins on a product were so thin, that a single call from a user would wipe out the profit.

But I was also never given support to produce a decent UX, because that was expensive.

Damned if you do[n’t].