I’ve worked in tech for a while, and I’m no stranger to the challenges of product limitations or documentation gaps. I get it—companies have priorities, and not every feature will be perfectly built to my specifications. But lately, I’m noticing a disturbing trend across support teams: they often seem to lack practical knowledge about the very products they’re supposed to support.
Gone are the days of experienced support reps who could offer practical solutions, workarounds, or even advice based on what they’ve seen before. Instead, it feels like tech support today consists of entry-level candidates who type keywords into a "public resources" search bar, regurgitate the top result, and call it a day. Here are a few recent experiences that highlight this growing problem:
Example 1: HubSpot and Salesforce 2-Way Sync Issues
One of our clients was experiencing major issues with two-way syncing between HubSpot and Salesforce. For over a month, we were bounced back and forth between support teams from both companies, asking for insight into what could be causing data inconsistencies. Yet, despite countless emails and escalations, no one was able to offer a definitive answer—or even suggest next steps. The ticket was just passed around, and every conversation started with basic questions we’d already covered.
Example 2: Salesforce Account Engagement (SFAE) Implementation
Last summer, I implemented Salesforce Account Engagement (formerly Pardot) for a client. Documentation gaps were a recurring issue, with critical steps either missing or inaccurate. When I reached out to Salesforce support, I was repeatedly pointed to third-party resources, as if they were admitting their own resources were unreliable. I was left to piece together bits of outdated documentation and external advice, all while support bounced me between teams.
Then, while supporting a different company considering SFAE I voiced my concerns to the SF sales team about the issues I’d faced during the previous client’s implementation. Their response was typical sales optimism: “That won’t happen here.” But guess what? The same broken documentation and the same broken experience followed. It was as if no one in the organization had learned from previous user experiences. And it wasn’t like SF didn’t have 14 years since acquiring Pardot to get their act together in the first place. But I digress.
Example 3: Zoom Webinar and HubSpot Integration Woes
Earlier this year, I was tasked with integrating Zoom Webinar with HubSpot for seamless reporting and workflow automation. Basic, right? Well, it turns out there’s no way to field map data between the two systems, making reporting a nightmare. When I contacted HubSpot support, they told me, “this feature doesn’t exist, but you can upvote it on our forums!” and then directed me to Zoom documentation, suggesting it might offer a workaround.
The next day, I contacted Zoom only to be told, “Oh, that document actually refers to ‘webinar events,’ which is different from ‘Zoom Webinar’ as you’re using it.” When I asked for the correct documentation, the rep responded, “I don’t know. I can’t find anything.” He then deflected, saying, “Integrations are on HubSpot’s end, not ours.” I eventually used Zapier as a bandaid, but I’m disappointed that neither support team could offer any insights into this common integration challenge.
Example 4: The Meta Black Hole From Hell and Back
As a marketing consultant who also rolls up her sleeves and fulfills the digital marketing work of an agency, I’m often asked to manage Meta campaigns. And if you’ve read this far you can probably guess where this is going…
Two years ago I was locked out of my facebook account and have yet to be able to log back in on my desktop. In the last two years I have sent countless emails to various support teams, clicked on every ‘contact us’ link I can find and read all of the supporting documentation they have created to replace customer support. For almost a year I was unable to submit my driver's ID for confirmation, and now, despite finally being able to submit my ID and video verification, it was denied, again and again with no way to appeal or talk to someone.
The Real Problem: Support Without Service
None of these are obscure issues. I KNOW I’m not the only one who’s experienced these challenges. These are common use cases. So why does it seem that tech support teams are ill-equipped to offer real help?
I’m not expecting perfection, but I do expect a few basic things from support teams:
Knowledge of Workarounds: If a feature doesn’t exist, what do others in my situation do? How have other users addressed similar issues? The absence of a feature is frustrating, but even more so when support has no suggestions on how to work around it.
Clear and Accurate Documentation: If documentation is outdated, incomplete, or unclear, support should at least be aware of these gaps. If they’re relying on third-party resources to fill these gaps, that says a lot about the quality of the official resources.
Ownership and Accountability: Sending users in circles between teams or, even worse, between companies, without anyone willing to take ownership, doesn’t help anyone. A true support experience should involve someone taking responsibility for finding a resolution, even if it means collaborating with the other company.
It feels like today’s support teams are increasingly staffed by entry-level reps who haven’t had real, hands-on experience with the product they’re supporting. It’s as if these teams aren’t expected to know the product beyond what’s in the public-facing knowledge base.
A Call for Change
As companies continue to invest in marketing automation, CRM, and other digital tools, seamless support is more crucial than ever. I’ve worked on both sides of this industry—I know that not every feature will align perfectly with every use case. But at the very least, support teams should be empowered to support their customers with meaningful guidance and practical solutions.
To my peers and colleagues: are you seeing similar trends with tech support? How do you get around the issue when support lacks real knowledge? I’d love to hear your thoughts and any workarounds you’ve found.
