Is there any research out there that tracks how well companies are doing in customer service? I can't tell whether I'm getting old or whether the state of play has always been like this, but like the author I run into the following situation with alarming regularity:
Customer: I want to do X. (Note: very reasonable request)
Business: You can't do X.
Customer: Why?
Business: Reasons that I can't adequately disclose.
Its getting to a point where the business (or government agency) feels like its spending more time preventing you from doing reasonable thing rather than helping you. The authors case here is a good example. But is this new or has it always been this way?