Apple wants to ditch customer support on social media

Almost all companies globally provide their customers with support on social media or online chatbots. However, Apple is reportedly going in the opposite direction and wants to eliminate customer support on its social media accounts and Support Community.

As reported by MacRumors, citing sources familiar with the matter, Apple will soon stop supporting its customers through X (Twitter), YouTube, and Support Community. Thus, you’ll no longer be able to receive any kind of online support from these channels.

The change takes effect October 1, 2023, and starts with the @AppleSupport handle on X. One of the sources told the outlet that Apple customers will no longer receive any human response from this account. Instead, they receive automated messages that guide them toward other ways of contacting the company for support.

Apple to eliminate online customer support on social platforms and its Support Community

The decision also extends to the Apple Support channel on YouTube. Apple already responded to the technical questions in the comments of each video. However, from October 1 onwards, no technical assistance will be provided to customers on that channel.

The tech giant also decided to remove the paid Community Specialist role from the Support Community. The Apple Support Community is an online forum where users can receive help from experts in the company’s products and services.

The question that now pops up is how Apple wants to support its customers technically. Well, the company has offered the affected employees to move to a phone-based support role. This means you must pick up the phone and call the company instead of writing your issue online. To justify the decision, Apple reportedly argued that customers prefer phone-based support.

The sources familiar with the matter said Apple’s decision caused anger and frustration among the affected employees. The company only allows employees with a medical exemption to remain on chat-based support roles.

Employees who can’t work in the phone-based support roles should leave the company. The transition could be completed by November, and employees receive training to provide phone support.