#customerservice

Centrica is reducing its workforce by 1,300 employees over two years as part of a digital transformation. The company attributes these cuts primarily to a shift in customer behavior towards digital channels, not AI. While unions express concern about AI replacing jobs, Centrica's CEO states that changing customer preferences are the main driver. The company plans to increase roles focused on digital services while scaling back phone-based positions. This announcement coincides with increased profits in Centrica's retail division.

London, England

https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/british-gas-owners-ai-drive-leaves-1300-call-centre-workers-without-jobs-1810750

I asked someone at the sc aquarium if their blackbaud payment software works well and he said it breaks when they need it most.

Make sure to keep working hard though. Do good. More like do bad worse.

All to line the pockets of Mike G.

I was recently laid off and have had nothing but issues with my account. The problem is, you can’t approach fidelity for help online. On r** for example, the mods will falsely flag comments and posts as spam, downvote you 100 times, why is this an okay practice? Lots of customers leaving, going to Vanguard etc. Loss of customers only leads to may layoffs. But most companies currently don’t seem to care about the American people. Sad times.

Anyone else psyched to be at the front lines of angry students and parents when rush hits? It’s so unbelievably stupid to allow orders for items we do not have and not tell the students we have to source these items somehow and it will take weeks. Oh and we can’t cancel items. And can’t cancel orders. But customer service is so so important!!!

Verizon is discontinuing its customer support forum, a platform that has been active for 18 years. This decision follows recent significant layoffs within the company. The carrier is increasingly integrating artificial intelligence into its operations to streamline services. Customers can still access support through the My Verizon App and the company's website. The forum will officially cease operations on August 18th.

New York, New York

https://www.thestreet.com/retail/verizon-community-forum-shuts-down-after-layoffs

Ten percent of customer service operations division gone.

Have anyone heard anything about life? Service to be exact? We have been told an AI system is being pushed to agents offices. Unsure if anyone has heard what’s going on over there.

Level one support was outsourced several years ago. Now level two support is outsourced to India. They laid off 30 technical people who knew what they were doing. It is a total nightmare if you have a problem. No one can understand a word they are saying. My system has been down 3 days and I don't know what to do. All management says is keep calling until you get someone you can understand.

The reported win comes ahead of Cognizant’s second-quarter earnings, scheduled to be announced on July 29th.

Cognizant technology is expected to automate medical billing, claims processing and customer service operations.

I am so tired of this AI cr-p. Customers hate the customer service reps that are outside of the US and they make that clear every day! But now AI is covering up their voices. Their pitch changes every few moments and their voice goes fast then slow and changes from male to female and back. Outsourced reps spend minutes circling between saying “oh, by the way…., with this one”, and multiple phrases that make no sense over and over again. All our customers want is to have a comfortable conversation with someone they CAN relate to, someone that IS familiar and close to home. The company needs to respect customers and their needs by only offering native home speakers in the customer’s home language. If you are a global company then you have the ability to do that. There are plenty of US employees that don’t need to be RIFed and would love to have the position. Just like we send a lot of Spanish calls to MX, those customers should speak with someone that has no “gr---o” accent so it’s more comfortable for them. AI can detect the accent and place them with the correct dialect.

Rogers is reportedly laying off front-line customer service representatives, adding to recent job cuts in its media division. The company has not confirmed the number of affected employees, but reports suggest hundreds may be terminated. Rogers stated it is investing in digital tools to improve customer service speed. Some laid-off workers claim their jobs are being moved to Morocco. This follows similar cuts by other major Canadian telecommunications companies.

Toronto, Ontario

https://www.cbc.ca/news/gopublic/rogers-customer-service-layoffs-9.7272931

Is it true that they just let go all of customer care on the 4th floor of Lehi?

On the dreaded 7/16, will Customer Service / tech on the front line and or Case Mgmt be impacted?? Please share any details if known..

Why is it when I call Cencora I’m speaking to someone in India? I can barely understand what they are saying. What happened to this company?

More and more tenured reps are leaving or being muscled out and what's left behind are new blood reps who don't even know how to hold a conversation on the phone and transfer every call to tier 2 lines. No interest in learning or helping the client. Just working as Transfer Specialists now.

Today I got an email of a mandatory meeting, there is a new partnership for customer service, and if you check the news it's Hexaware, which is a company that is known for replacing staff for AI. I'm not surprised due to hiring issues but makes sense why no one has been replaced yet.

I noticed some changes in the Customer Service area. I think that the main guy that came from Cigna, a VP in Customer Service, is no longer with HCSC. Is this a one off thing? Or is the trend now to replace leadership coming from Cigna with HCSC leadership?

July 1 (Reuters) - Cigna (CI.N), opens new tab said on Wednesday its health services unit Evernorth has launched a new AI-powered ​specialty pharmacy program to reduce the time ‌it takes to process prescriptions and improve customer service.
The program, called Pharmacy Forward, is supported by a $100 million ​investment through 2028, the health insurer said.

Here are more ​details:
The company is launching the AI program first through ⁠its specialty pharmacy, Accredo.
The program uses AI to ​integrate clinical data and insights, generate summaries to free ​up more time for clinicians to focus on patient care.
'Pharmacy Forward' is expected to reduce clinician documentation time by ​up to 50%, the company said.
The program ​uses AI to improve prior authorization requests, halving the time it takes ‌for ⁠patients to receive their medication after Accredo receives a prescription, the company said.
Health insurers are increasingly adopting artificial intelligence tools to streamline documentation processes, reduce ​administrative burdens ​and lower ⁠costs.
Accredo is also expanding capacity, staffing, and capabilities at many of its ​nearly 40 care facilities, Cigna said.
The program ​is ⁠expected to generate about $400 million in value by the end of 2028, with Evernorth expecting to extend ⁠many ​of these capabilities to its ​other pharmacy operations in the coming years, it said.

https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/cigna-invests-100-million-new-ai-powered-specialty-pharmacy-program-2026-07-01/

The People Office Support Centre is a perfect example of technology replacing service without improving the employee experience.

Tickets get passed between multiple people, questions go unanswered, and then the ticket is closed. I recently waited 30 days for a response to a benefits and retirement query and still did not get an answer.

We used to have local contacts you could call or meet with to resolve issues. Now we’re expected to search AI articles, raise a ticket, and wait in silence. It’s “computer says no” dressed up as transformation.

If this is part of Bob’s AI strategy, it isn’t working. AI should support people, not replace them. Bring back accessible human HR support that takes ownership and actually helps employees.

Our team of what's left after layoffs was reorganized under someone who doesn't know anything about our work. Its like Customer Service manager direct reporting high level IT folks. What in the world? Who decides reorgs? Health Solutions is horrible

I'll just say it.
These stores could change their flow upside down and inside out...it still wont change your sh**ty, nonexistent Selling Culture. Macys only solution to falling sales are floor moves. Change that!
Especially considering the flow and assortment at most Dillards have remained consistent for decades. Thats department store excels at customer service, those associates literally greet me at the door. The insanity of floor moves every quarter has got to stop!! Who isnt getting their job right the first time?!

PNC Bank's acquisition of FirstBank led to widespread customer issues. Former FirstBank customers reported long lines at branches and long phone wait times. Some customers experienced strange problems, including access to other people's bank accounts. One customer found her debit card registered to an old, incorrect address. PNC Bank is investigating these matters and deploying additional customer support resources.

Denver, Colorado

https://www.9news.com/article/money/consumer/steve-on-your-side/former-firstbank-customers-issues-long-waits-pnc-transition/73-59c03a40-a873-46a0-b58b-7ab5e784f42f

I'm so tired of being punished every time I take a little extra time to help a customer. We're not working in a manufacturing factory. We're not working on a conveyor belt. I need to be able to interact with people without worrying that it's going to cause problems with my manager.

Verizon's IVRU is determined to refer you to a chatbot or a VZ agent via text FIRST, only before they actually allow you to speak to someone in person. I guess this is Dan's solution to better customer service, the customer is number 1

Belk is the only department store to still be operating like it’s Covid 2020. Stores have not improved since the pandemic in terms of staffing levels and services for customers. We are stuck in Covid business model.

We need better access for elderly and crippled customers

Rivian laid off hundreds of workers this week. This action affected less than 2% of its total workforce. The cuts were concentrated in service and customer-facing teams. These layoffs occurred just one week after the R2 SUV began deliveries. The company stated it is restructuring to profitably scale its business.

https://electrek.co/2026/06/16/rivian-layoffs-r2-launch-profitability/

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZnNlmlOeKo/

I work in customer service and will be starting a new role in authorizations. I wonder if I'm safe.

Centene Corporation is offering voluntary buyouts to most employees. This move aims to cut costs after losing members across key plans. The health insurance giant serves over 26 million members nationwide. Layoffs may occur if insufficient employees accept the buyout offers. Workforce reductions could impact customer service and claims processing.

St. Louis, Missouri

https://www.newsweek.com/centene-layoffs-2026-medicaid-medicare-insurance-obamacare-coverage-12076026

Anyone know the plan for VCG Ops? Based on some reorg emails it seems like retail and CS OPS have been officially combined under the same umbrella creating even more redundencies or were taking a second stab at OPOO

The purge continues. 1/2 customer service social media team that supports customers vis social media channel were laid off and outsourced to Bangalore, India. Long time manager dating back to TSG included in layoffs. Hearing remaining half going after they train their replacements in India.

Verizon Replacing Its Customer Service Personnel With AI Has Turned Live Chat Queries Into Low-Quality ChatGPT-Like Replies, Enraging Customers.

Verizon Replacing Its Customer Service Personnel With AI Has Turned Live Chat Queries Into Low-Quality ChatGPT-Like Replies, Enraging Customers -- Omar Sohail
Jun 5, 2026 at 11:52am EDT.

Companies will eventually replace humans carrying out what they believe to be menial tasks with AI, and U.S. carriers are no exception, with their Live Chat department now being handled with chatbots that are providing less-than-useful replies to customers. In fact, a regular user of ChatGPT likely noticed that Verizon’s own service is providing similar low-quality responses, tarnishing the company’s reputation while also impacting the experience for millions.

Knowing the technical mistakes that AI can make, Verizon should only completely replace its Live Chat service after properly training its models.

The AI’s responses being similar to ChatGPT’s were noticed by Redditor “Hot_Saguaro,” who says that Verizon wasn’t even hiding the fact that the chatbot was providing technical answers similar to OpenAI’s service. After attempting to ask why her iPad wasn’t connecting to the internet, a Verizon representative said it’s because her service address is still her old address. She immediately countered, saying that another customer living in the same block was facing the same problem.

Verizon CEO Dan Schulman has previously stated that the company will focus more on customer service to boost the experience than shell out promotions, but it appears that the Chief Executive’s efforts have fallen short.

As expected in the Reddit thread, people were not thrilled with Verizon’s direction of replacing humans with AI, with a former employee saying that “one of our selling points was that we didn’t offshore call centers. It’s gone so downhill from when I used to work there.” It’s only appropriate that Verizon holds off on completely replacing its Live Chat with AI until it has properly trained its model to handle customer queries properly.

Simply integrating its service with ChatGPT won’t win the company any awards, especially when AI can make a boatload of technical mistakes that will be pointed out by users who are even slightly knowledgeable about carriers and their network’s functionality.

https://wccftech.com/verizon-replacing-humans-with-ai-for-live-chat-is-lowering-response-quality/

Be prepared - the customer doesn't care about you or your family.

https://youtu.be/IbiKFm5_was

Key takeaways include:
• Workforce Disruption: Schulman acknowledges that Al will inevitably displace a large percentage of traditional customer service roles, particularly those handling routine, repetitive tasks like password resets or billing inquiries (1:10 - 1:29).
• Human-Al Collaboration: Rather than full automation, he envisions a hybrid approach where Al and human agents work in tandem to resolve more complex customer issues, ultimately improving service quality (1:32 - 2:09).
• Future Technological Outlook: Schulman emphasizes that Fortune 100 companies must embrace the ongoing technological revolution. He predicts that society will reach AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) within the next two to four years, followed by breakthroughs in quantum computing and humanoid robotics shortly thereafter (2:17 - 2:57).
• Corporate Responsibility: He stresses that as these advancements unfold, corporate leaders and society as a whole must be prepared and accept the responsibility that comes with managing these powerful technoloaies (3:00 - 3:13).

Saturday morning. Want to order soccer cleats and vomero 18 for upcoming Gifts. After selecting filters or on the product picture, keep getting page not found error!! Across the board...!
What a sh-t experience! Imagine how people who are not nike employees will react. Flagship website is broken!
Hey I'll just take my business elsewhere! Is it too much to ask for 100% up time for Nikes front end to the world...? Common VA, RA, EH, things are falling apart before our eyes. Wake up and do your job.

We have had our system down since Friday. Nobody knows what they are doing to try and fix it. Customers are going to be so pi---d off when we have to stop shipping because we cant process anything. This sh-tshow is before all the layoffs as well. I have literally been sitting here doing absolutely nothing for 2 days while secretly chuckling inside because I feel like this is karma