Customer experience vs customer service comes down to where you invest. New survey data shows people dread customer service so much that many would rather wait at the DMV or get a tooth pulled. The lesson is not to spend more on support, but to improve the underlying experience: use journey mapping to find and fix the issues that trigger those dreaded calls in the first place.

I don’t often run across survey data that makes me literally laugh out loud. But a recent — and somewhat cheeky — study commissioned by the CRM platform Insightly had me rolling in my desk chair.

Customer Dread Customer Service (And So Do Companies) 

Thirty-one percent of U.S. adults reported that they’d rather wait in line at the DMV than try to resolve an issue with a company or service. A shocking fourteen percent said they’d rather go through the ordeal of getting a tooth pulled. And a trip to the dentist only slightly beat out a month-long stay with the in-laws.

But issue resolution isn’t just a headache (or, ahem, a toothache) for customers. The people on the other side of the phone or chat also dread these conversations. When U.S. business decision makers were asked what they’d rather do than field a request from an angry customer, 44% said they’d prefer the tedious task of entering data in a spreadsheet. A whopping 15% said they’d rather sit next to a crying baby on a cross-country flight. And 29% said they’d rather do literally. anything. else.

Why Customer Experience Beats More Customer Service

So, what’s our path forward towards better customer service interactions?

The consumers in this study hit the nail on the head: 32% said that the most important thing a company can do to make them happier customers is to identify and resolve common issues. Interestingly, only 12% said that 24/7 availability was the answer to their customer service woes. These data points indicate that customer experience improvement initiatives may be a better investment than increasing ongoing support costs.

My advice: Supplement your Voice of the Customer program with journey mapping to get a holistic view of your customer experience and identify customers’ key pain points, needs, and expectations as they try to complete key tasks with your organization.