AI use fuels frustration as Hong Kong customer service complaints top 2025 total

The public's discontent with Hong Kong businesses' customer service is on the rise, with consumer complaints already surpassing those from the entire year of 2025. The Consumer Council received 3,078 grievances regarding trader customer service between January and September, surpassing the 2,715 complaints logged for the entire previous year and the 2,173 complaints in 2024.

Common issues cited by customers include difficulty contacting customer service representatives, lack of professionalism, and delayed responses. The council highlighted that many complaints this year have exceeded the total of the entire previous year, indicating a disconnect between the quality of service provided by traders and consumers' expectations, leading to persistent disputes.

AI-driven systems have frequently fallen short in offering satisfactory assistance. A consumer struggled to modify an event ticket priced at HK$400 (US$51) due to a No 8 typhoon signal. After contacting the company the following day to request a date change, the consumer's complaint could not be processed by the company's AI customer service system.

Subsequent attempts to speak with a human representative via online chat and hotline went unanswered. During mediation, the company explained that the issue was not escalated to a human representative as the consumer had not explicitly requested a "human agent" or chosen the "specialist service" option during the online chat. The case was eventually resolved.

Another consumer discovered that his new broadband contract was more expensive than anticipated. Upon contacting the sales representative the next day, he received no response. He subsequently reached out to the company's customer service hotline, where staff informed him that only the salesperson could alter the contract and promised to arrange a callback.

However, the representative never followed through. The case was resolved with a refund after the council intervened. The council advised consumers to request a human customer service representative or contact the trader through alternative channels if an AI system was unable to provide adequate assistance.