As one of the top social networking sites globally, Instagram has been able to connect billions of users around the world with photos, stories, and videos. However, the platform fails to deliver on an important front: customer service. If you have ever had a problem or needed help with your account, it is almost certain that you would have felt frustrated enough to know that the support came from Instagram itself. Access to live chat is nonexistent and emails go unheeded; it is nothing short of a madhouse and often proves damaging to the app's support system, rendering the experience downright helpless for many. Let's take the plunge and discuss the main reasons that make this platform's customer care leave something to be desired.


1) Only Blue Tick or Verified Badge Users Have Access to Live Chat:


One of the most blatant issues in Instagram's support system is that live chatting is only available to verified users. It creates a great gulf between the average Instagram user and the celebrities or influencers with the blue checkmark. It hardly makes sense- real-time assistance should be available to all.


An average Instagram user has a problem with his account-whether locked out, suffering a glitch, or an inappropriate comment- there is no option other than having to browse the unhelpful help center or waiting for months without any direct line of support. Add that to the fact that when in a problem, you're not talking to someone live; it's more frustrating.


There are verified users- most of whom are celebrities or influencers with millions of followers-who have the luxury of live chat whenever they need it. This creates a cast system, relegating most of the users to feeling neglected and unheard.


2) Email Addresses Given in the Help Center Never Get a Reply:


The major flaw in Instagram's customer support system is that it does not respond to emails. The help center has provided a number of email addresses for users to reach out to, but sending email to Instagram is nevertheless an effort in futility.


Most of the users send their mails to the addresses mentioned and wait for replies, though, in most cases, they receive no responses after waiting for several weeks or months. For a platform that boasts millions of active users, it is indeed dumb that Instagram cannot even have a simple way of addressing concerns through email.


Without reason, it adds to the frustrations of what is a simple process. The company tells its users to contact support through a certain method, but when they do, the company does not even acknowledge receipt of the contact. Rather than resolving issues, the email support service from Instagram has complicated the process further.


3) The Help Center is Unorganized and Hard to Navigate:


When you go to the Help Center at Instagram for some help, you will see a flood of support articles, FAQs, and links that hardly guide you to actually solving the problem at hand. The Help Center is insufferable to navigate, with poorly organized topics and unnecessary information that often may not even be related to the particular problem that you are facing. When searching for a specific solution, you typically find irrelevant information that makes you feel like you are chasing butterflies in a badly structured content corridor.


Some issues, such as account bans or hacked accounts, remain ridiculously and explicitly manipulated within the solutions. Several users have claimed that the help articles are somewhat generic in nature and offer no solutions to the actual problems. This leaves users feeling frustrated and more often than not, they start that feeling they are spinning their wheels instead of working on the real issue through that time.


Call For Change:


Despite being an exceptionally successful platform with a great number of users, Instagram proves to have really poor customer support. The disheartening circumstances include the company offering a live chat option only to verified users, total abandonment of users who send countless emails, and an incredibly exciting Help Center bringing users from all around the world. With Customer Service rapidly becoming more important, Instagram has to change its approach for regarding user issues.


To Improve, Instagram needs to open up live chat option for all users; ensure prompt response to email inquiries; and revamp the Help Center to be more user-friendly and efficient. Meanwhile, as long as these things are not radically changed, Instagram would be stuck with a bad reputation of not being user friendly, frustrating users with limited support when it is truly needed.