"Your call is very important to us." Is it, really?

Customer service has become a huge problem in this country. Just ask … literally anyone. But why is customer service so bad? 

First of all, labor shortage. Especially since the pandemic, it's hard to find people to fill these jobs. The average call-center worker quits after 18 months.

Then there's consolidation. Corporate mergers of airlines, banks, telecom companies and cable companies mean less competition, so they have less incentive to fix the problems.