The 3 Biggest Customer Journey Fails of 2025 (So Far)—And How to Avoid Them

Brian Pia
Apr 4
4 min read

Frustrated woman crying for help because of a bad experience

Ah, 2025—a time of AI breakthroughs, self-driving taxis, and still waiting for a customer service rep to pick up the phone. Despite all the technology at our disposal, some companies continue to set new records in frustrating their customers.

From healthcare providers ghosting their patients to retailers making returns harder than getting a refund from an airline, we’ve seen some real head-scratchers this year. The worst part? These mistakes were 100% avoidable.

Let’s break down three of the biggest customer journey fails of 2025 (so far), how they could have been prevented, and what you can do to ensure your business doesn’t make the next list.

1. The Healthcare Provider That Ghosted Its Own Patients

The Blunder:

Imagine scheduling an important doctor’s appointment… only to find out your clinic has been absorbed by a healthcare giant that apparently forgot to inform anyone.

That’s exactly what happened when a major healthcare provider took over several local medical practices and promptly failed to communicate the changes.

The result?

Appointments mysteriously disappeared
Wait times doubled or tripled
Customer service vanished into the abyss

Patients were left in the dark, trying to figure out if their doctors had gone into early retirement or if the entire medical system had been hacked by robots.

The Fallout:

Unsurprisingly, people were furious. Complaints flooded social media. Some patients had urgent medical needs and were left scrambling to find care elsewhere.

To add insult to injury, when people did get through to customer service, they were either met with unhelpful answers or no answers at all.

And guess what? The company’s reputation took a major hit. No one trusts a healthcare provider that treats appointments like a game of hide and seek.

How to Avoid This:

✅ Communicate early and often – If you’re making changes that affect customers, tell them. Loudly. Clearly. Repeatedly.

✅ Train customer service – If people are calling with questions, they should get answers, not just, “Uh… we’re not sure.”

✅ Remember: Healthcare is personal – When people feel abandoned by their doctor, they don’t just get mad… they never come back.

Bottom line: If your patients start wondering if their doctor is in the witness protection program, you’ve done something very, very wrong.

2. The Retailer That Turned Returns Into a Customer Service Horror Movie

The Blunder:

A leading fast-fashion retailer decided to shorten its return window from 28 days to 14 without telling anyone.

Customers only found out when they tried to return items and were met with, “Sorry, you missed the deadline!”—which is the retail equivalent of slamming a door in someone’s face.

Oh, and they also added return fees. Because why not make people pay to fix a problem they didn’t cause?

The Fallout:

Social media exploded.

Customers: “Wait… since when is the return window 14 days??”

Brand: “Oh… we thought you wouldn’t notice.”

Spoiler alert: They noticed.

Customers felt tricked, which led to mass complaints, viral TikToks dragging the company, and people swearing off the brand entirely. Nothing says “we love our customers” like quietly making their lives harder and hoping they won’t notice.

How to Avoid This:

✅ Be upfront about policy changes – Don’t sneak in new rules like it’s a hidden fee on a phone bill.

✅ Make returns easy, not impossible – If people can return an Amazon package with less effort than shopping with you, you’re doing it wrong.

✅ Want fewer returns? Make better products.

Bottom line: If your return policy feels like a game of Gotcha!, don’t be surprised when customers say Bye!

3. The Supermarket That Forgot Carts Are Kind of Important

The Blunder:

A major grocery chain ran out of shopping carts at one of its busiest locations.

Yes, you read that right. A grocery store—a place where people literally need carts to shop—had no carts available.

Shoppers were forced to either:

Carry everything by hand (which works great if you're buying a single apple)
Use baskets (if they could find one)
Bring their own carts (yes, BYOC is apparently a thing now)

The Fallout:

At first, customers assumed it was just bad timing. But then… it kept happening.

People started posting videos of empty cart stations while balancing bags of flour, milk, and frozen pizzas in their arms. Some even joked that finding a cart had become a scavenger hunt.

It was a mess. Customers left frustrated, abandoned their shopping trips, or went to competitors—because no one wants to do accidental weightlifting at the grocery store.

How to Avoid This:

✅ Step 1: Have carts.

✅ Step 2: Maintain carts.

✅ Step 3: If customers have to bring their own carts… you’ve FAILED.

Bottom line: If people are leaving your store because they can’t physically carry their groceries, you might want to rethink your logistics strategy.

The Takeaway: Make Life EASY for Your Customers

Here’s a radical thought: Customers should not have to work hard to give you their money.

And yet, these three companies managed to:

🚫 Abandon patients

🚫 Trick shoppers

🚫 Remove the literal tools people need to shop

The good news? Avoiding these mistakes is NOT rocket science.

Lessons for the Rest of Us to Avoid Making it to the Biggest Customer Journey Fails 2025 List:

✅ Communicate Changes Clearly – If something big is changing, tell people. Customers should NOT have to play detective.

✅ Make Things Easy, Not Harder – If your return policy requires a magnifying glass to understand, you’ve already lost.

✅ Use Common Sense – If you run a grocery store, don’t run out of carts. If you run a hospital, don’t ignore patients. See? Easy.

What’s the Worst Customer Experience You’ve Had?

Drop it in the comments—I love a good business horror story. 😂

If you want to make sure your business never ends up on the biggest customer journey fails 2025 list, let’s talk.

Because making customers happy? That’s the easiest win in the world.

SCHEDULE A CALL

Ah, 2025—a time of AI breakthroughs, self-driving taxis, and still waiting for a customer service rep to pick up the phone. Despite all the technology at our disposal, some companies continue to set new records in frustrating their customers.

From healthcare providers ghosting their patients to retailers making returns harder than getting a refund from an airline, we’ve seen some real head-scratchers this year. The worst part? These mistakes were 100% avoidable.

Let’s break down three of the biggest customer journey fails of 2025 (so far), how they could have been prevented, and what you can do to ensure your business doesn’t make the next list.

1. The Healthcare Provider That Ghosted Its Own Patients

The Blunder:

Imagine scheduling an important doctor’s appointment… only to find out your clinic has been absorbed by a healthcare giant that apparently forgot to inform anyone.

That’s exactly what happened when a major healthcare provider took over several local medical practices and promptly failed to communicate the changes.

The result?

Appointments mysteriously disappeared

Wait times doubled or tripled

Customer service vanished into the abyss

Patients were left in the dark, trying to figure out if their doctors had gone into early retirement or if the entire medical system had been hacked by robots.

The Fallout:

Unsurprisingly, people were furious. Complaints flooded social media. Some patients had urgent medical needs and were left scrambling to find care elsewhere.

To add insult to injury, when people did get through to customer service, they were either met with unhelpful answers or no answers at all.

And guess what? The company’s reputation took a major hit. No one trusts a healthcare provider that treats appointments like a game of hide and seek.

How to Avoid This:

✅ Communicate early and often – If you’re making changes that affect customers, tell them. Loudly. Clearly. Repeatedly.

✅ Train customer service – If people are calling with questions, they should get answers, not just, “Uh… we’re not sure.”

✅ Remember: Healthcare is personal – When people feel abandoned by their doctor, they don’t just get mad… they never come back.

Bottom line: If your patients start wondering if their doctor is in the witness protection program, you’ve done something very, very wrong.

2. The Retailer That Turned Returns Into a Customer Service Horror Movie

The Blunder:

A leading fast-fashion retailer decided to shorten its return window from 28 days to 14 without telling anyone.

Customers only found out when they tried to return items and were met with, “Sorry, you missed the deadline!”—which is the retail equivalent of slamming a door in someone’s face.

Oh, and they also added return fees. Because why not make people pay to fix a problem they didn’t cause?

The Fallout:

Social media exploded.

Customers: “Wait… since when is the return window 14 days??”

Brand: “Oh… we thought you wouldn’t notice.”

Spoiler alert: They noticed.

Customers felt tricked, which led to mass complaints, viral TikToks dragging the company, and people swearing off the brand entirely. Nothing says “we love our customers” like quietly making their lives harder and hoping they won’t notice.

How to Avoid This:

✅ Be upfront about policy changes – Don’t sneak in new rules like it’s a hidden fee on a phone bill.

✅ Make returns easy, not impossible – If people can return an Amazon package with less effort than shopping with you, you’re doing it wrong.

✅ Want fewer returns? Make better products.

Bottom line: If your return policy feels like a game of Gotcha!, don’t be surprised when customers say Bye!

3. The Supermarket That Forgot Carts Are Kind of Important

The Blunder:

A major grocery chain ran out of shopping carts at one of its busiest locations.

Yes, you read that right. A grocery store—a place where people literally need carts to shop—had no carts available.

Shoppers were forced to either:

Carry everything by hand (which works great if you're buying a single apple)

Use baskets (if they could find one)

Bring their own carts (yes, BYOC is apparently a thing now)

The Fallout:

At first, customers assumed it was just bad timing. But then… it kept happening.

People started posting videos of empty cart stations while balancing bags of flour, milk, and frozen pizzas in their arms. Some even joked that finding a cart had become a scavenger hunt.

It was a mess. Customers left frustrated, abandoned their shopping trips, or went to competitors—because no one wants to do accidental weightlifting at the grocery store.

How to Avoid This:

✅ Step 1: Have carts.

✅ Step 2: Maintain carts.

✅ Step 3: If customers have to bring their own carts… you’ve FAILED.

Bottom line: If people are leaving your store because they can’t physically carry their groceries, you might want to rethink your logistics strategy.

The Takeaway: Make Life EASY for Your Customers

Here’s a radical thought: Customers should not have to work hard to give you their money.

And yet, these three companies managed to:

🚫 Abandon patients

🚫 Trick shoppers

🚫 Remove the literal tools people need to shop

The good news? Avoiding these mistakes is NOT rocket science.

Lessons for the Rest of Us to Avoid Making it to the Biggest Customer Journey Fails 2025 List:

✅ Communicate Changes Clearly – If something big is changing, tell people. Customers should NOT have to play detective.

✅ Make Things Easy, Not Harder – If your return policy requires a magnifying glass to understand, you’ve already lost.

✅ Use Common Sense – If you run a grocery store, don’t run out of carts. If you run a hospital, don’t ignore patients. See? Easy.

What’s the Worst Customer Experience You’ve Had?

Drop it in the comments—I love a good business horror story. 😂

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