More than one in 10 Britons give up complaining over poor service
More than one in ten Britons have stopped complaining about poor customer service because they believe it is not worth the effort, according to a survey of 2,000 UK adults. The findings point to widespread resignation: one in six said they now expect a bad experience, while some customers avoid complaining because they fear having to deal with a chatbot.
The survey found that people spend an average of 38.2 minutes on hold before giving up, and a quarter believe companies take complaints less seriously than they used to or have made the process harder. Four in ten women said they would complain, compared with half of men; email was the most popular way to raise a serious issue. The most common reasons were to solve a problem (46 per cent) or stop it happening again (35 per cent).
- More than one in ten Britons have given up complaining.
- Callers wait an average of 38.2 minutes on hold before quitting.
- Most complaints aim to fix a problem or prevent a repeat.
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Customer service complaints are a routine part of everyday life when something goes wrong with a purchase or service. When customers experience poor service, they typically contact the company to report the problem, seek compensation or a replacement, or prevent the issue happening again. These complaints matter because they provide companies with feedback about their service and give consumers a way to address problems.
Growing numbers of British people are now giving up on complaining about poor service, according to survey findings. They cite obstacles including long waits on the phone, complicated complaints procedures, and concerns about dealing with automated systems rather than speaking to a person. Some have also become resigned to expecting poor service as a normal part of their experience.
This change matters because it affects the relationship between consumers and businesses. When customers stop reporting problems, companies receive less feedback about their service, whilst consumers lose a direct way to seek redress when something fails. The trend suggests that how people interact with businesses over service quality is shifting.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Consumer advocates argue this survey reveals a systemic failure of corporate accountability. Long wait times, complex processes, and chatbot barriers have successfully deterred complaints, so poor service providers face diminished consequences. When over one in ten people have stopped complaining, companies lose crucial feedback and customers lose recourse, allowing service standards to deteriorate.
The case against
Organisations argue that complaint handling is genuinely expensive and triage systems like chatbots are economically necessary. The survey doesn't prove companies deliberately made processes harder; consumers may be making rational choices about time investment, a natural response rather than evidence of corporate obstruction. Not all complaints merit investigation, and requiring some effort appropriately allocates resources to genuine issues.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Britons are now too fed up to make a fuss: More than one in ten are so used to experiencing poor customer service they have given up complaining”.