Nobody Wants to Call You Except When They Do: The Future of Voice in Customer Service

I read an article titled, “Customers don’t want to call you, and that’s good news,’ on the renewable energy world site. It states bluntly that utility customers are increasingly avoiding calls. They’d rather log into an app to check an outage map, pay their bill online, or receive a push notification than sit on hold with a call center.

This isn’t bad news at all.

It means utilities are finally catching up with what customers have wanted for years:

Frictionless and digital-first experiences.

Customers are helping themselves, instead of clogging phone lines with routine queries like:

• When will my power be back?
• Did my payment go through?

The phones are now reserved for the few things that actually need a human touch, like reporting a gas leak or resolving a complex billing dispute.

What about other industries?

Are customers ditching calls everywhere?

Or are there moments when picking up the phone trumps everything else?

How Do Other Industries Perform?

Retail and eCommerce

• Many customers now prefer to self-serve via websites, mobile apps, and chatbots for order tracking, returns, and FAQs.
• However, voice still plays a role in complex issues, such as a missing order, a billing dispute, or a complaint that escalates.

In some studies, over half of consumers report that when an issue is urgent, they prefer phone support over digital channels.

56% of customers report having to repeat themselves because channels are disconnected. For instance, when you start a chat and then escalate to a phone call, the agent doesn’t know the prior history.

In retail, voice is still used, especially when digital channels fail or for more sensitive, emotional, or customized issues.

Read our detailed blog on : How to effectively handle customer escalations

Banking and Financial Services

These tend to have more regulated and security-sensitive interactions. Many customers prefer voice when dealing with sensitive accounts, large transactions, identity verification, and fraud.

However, increasingly, banks offer mobile apps and web interfaces so that customers can perform most tasks, such as balance checks, transfers, and statements, without needing to call.

In banking industry, phone support remains a fallback for escalations or when identity verification is essential.

Telecom/Internet Service Providers

This industry sees a clear mix of different channels. For instance:

• Customers prefer self-service channels to check outages and to change plans.
• However, when service is down, many customers will pick up the phone to talk to a human because they feel the urgency and need real-time help.

Healthcare/Insurance

Many routine tasks, such as checking claim status and appointments, have moved to digital channels.

However, for emergencies, complex disputes, or when patients are upset or confused, voice or in-person conversations are often preferred.

When Calling Trumps Everything Else

Let me give you a few scenarios where calling absolutely trumps every other channel.

• When you have a gas leak, your Internet is down, or you have a security concern, calling is often the fastest and most reliable method.
• When discussing complaints, billing disputes, refunds, or contact changes, voice allows for dynamic back-and-forth, clarifications, tone, and empathy.
• When a customer is upset, frustrated, or emotional, speaking to a person can calm the situation, as human presence is comforting in many cultures.
• In a regulated industry like banking and telecom, a combination of voice and human interaction allows for secure verification and easily detects anomalies.
• When digital and self-service fail, the natural path of escalation is the voice channel and handing it off to a human to handle the customer’s issue.
• If you are discussing high-value transactions or contractual terms, customers would prefer verbal negotiation, clarification, and guidance over voice.

How Does Voice Compare with Other Digital Channels?

Here’s a table that pulls out the differences.

Why is calling losing ground, and why is that good news?

• Many customers, particularly younger ones, prefer self-service because it is faster, more convenient, and avoids the friction of phone calls. 62% of Millennials and 75% of Gen Z prefer self-service when possible.
• Calls are expensive in both the workforce and infrastructure. Automating routine tasks via bots, apps, and portals can reduce load on call centers.
• Digital channels can handle large volumes 24×7, whereas human staffing is limited.
• Many organizations struggle to maintain context across channels; customers become frustrated when they have to repeat themselves.
• Chatbots, AI, conversational agents, and digital tools are improving, making digital interactions more capable and natural.
• Digital channels tend to have lower cost per interaction, more predictable scaling, and easier monitoring/analytics.

The fact that customers don’t want to call is a signal that the self-service and digital infrastructure is maturing and being preferred, which can be leveraged to reduce costs and increase convenience.

Why You Should Continue to Invest in Voice?

Calling still matters in certain contexts:

• Don’t eliminate it; instead, optimize the calling experience. How about shorter wait times, skilled agents, smooth transfers, and continuity of context?
• Use voice for escalations, exceptions, and emergencies.
• Ensure integration between channels so that when a customer moves from digital to a call, the agent already has the necessary context, eliminating the need for repetition.
• Use hybrid models with a digital-first approach, then offer options such as “press 1 for agent” or “call me” when needed.

Utilities are just the latest proof that customers don’t want to call if they don’t have to. And that’s a positive sign.

Across industries, the same pattern holds. Customers often embrace digital channels for routine tasks but still expect to call as a safety net when life becomes urgent, messy, or emotional.

Don’t kill the phones. Elevate them.

Let digital handle the simple tasks, but ensure that when customers do call, they receive the speed, empathy, and competence they expect.

That’s when the phone call goes from being a dreaded cost center to a loyalty-building moment of truth.