On the surface, everything looks great: NPS is up, CSAT scores are climbing, and first-contact resolution is trending in the right direction.
But customers are still leaving.
That disconnect is one of the most dangerous realities facing CX teams right now. Because when metrics improve while trust erodes, leaders don’t see the problem until it’s already too late.
In our Customer Support Survey of 600 U.S. consumers conducted in October 2025, customers told us that many of the experiences measured as “successful” on dashboards still felt frustrating, dismissive, or unresolved in real life.
The problem with CX metrics today is that they often lie by omission.
When good numbers hide bad experiences
Traditional CX metrics were designed to measure moments; not relationships.
CSAT captures a feeling at a single point in time.
NPS reflects intent, not behavior.
AHT rewards speed, not resolution.
When these metrics become targets instead of signals, teams start optimizing for the score rather than the customer.
Industry analysts have warned about this for years. MarTech notes that tying performance goals directly to survey scores can backfire, demotivate teams, and harm the customer experience. Calabrio points out that CSAT is often mistaken for the full CX picture, even though it represents only one interaction.
Our survey data reinforces this gap:
75% of customers said they’ve had a fast response that still left them frustrated.
That interaction may still earn a positive CSAT score, but it doesn’t build trust. And it certainly doesn’t drive loyalty.
The metric worship problem
Metrics become dangerous when they stop being indicators and start being incentives.
When teams are rewarded for:
- Deflection rates
- Short handle times
- Bot containment
- Speed above all else
Behavior changes. Agents rush, bots block escalation, and complex issues get bounced or buried.
From the customer’s perspective, it feels like the company is checking boxes instead of solving problems.
Nearly 90% of customers in our survey said they’re unlikely to remain loyal to a company that eliminates human support. Yet many organizations celebrated cost savings tied to automation without measuring the downstream impact on churn, repeat contacts, or lifetime value.
The numbers looked good. The relationships didn’t.
Why cost savings can be the most misleading metric
During the AI hype cycle, many CX teams counted automation-driven savings as a win. Lower staffing costs. Higher deflection. Reduced average handle time.
But those gains often masked deeper losses.
Unresolved issues lead to repeat contacts. Frustration leads to channel switching. Erosion of trust leads to silent churn.
When customers leave quietly, the dashboard doesn’t flash red. But revenue eventually does.
Treating cost savings as a standalone success metric ignores the long-term value destruction that poor CX creates. Efficiency only matters if customers stay.
Measure what customers actually experience
The organizations pulling ahead in 2026 are rethinking how they measure success.
They still track operational metrics. But they pair them with signals that reflect real customer outcomes:
- Time to true resolution
- Repeat contact rates
- Escalation frequency
- Retention and churn
- Unsolicited feedback from reviews and complaints
They look beyond surveys to understand what customers actually do after an interaction.
Because metrics don’t create experience. They describe it. And only if you’re looking at the right ones.
What changes in 2026
The next era of CX measurement is about outcomes, not optics.
Leading teams are:
- Treating metrics as diagnostics, not trophies
- Aligning incentives with resolution and trust
- Measuring loyalty behavior, not just stated intent
- Connecting CX data directly to revenue and retention
The question shifts from “Did we respond fast?” to “Did we solve the problem and strengthen the relationship?” That shift changes everything.
Download the full 2026 trends report
This blog draws from Glance’s Customer Experience 2026 Trends Report, based on a survey of 600 U.S. consumers.
The full report explores:
- Why traditional CX metrics are failing leaders
- How AI distorted measurement priorities
- What customers actually value in support interactions
- How to reset CX strategy around trust, resolution, and outcomes
Download the full report to see the data and insights shaping CX in 2026.
It means metrics like CSAT, NPS, or AHT can improve even while customer trust, satisfaction, and loyalty decline. These metrics often miss unresolved issues and emotional outcomes.
CSAT and NPS measure isolated moments, not the full customer journey. Customers may give a positive score even if their issue wasn’t fully resolved.
AI often improves speed and deflection metrics, but can increase frustration if issues remain unresolved. Our survey found 34% of customers say AI made support harder.
Teams should prioritize time to resolution, repeat contact rates, escalation patterns, retention, and churn alongside traditional metrics.
Yes. Automation-driven savings may hide long-term losses from churn, reduced lifetime value, and damaged trust.
All data cited comes from Glance’s Customer Support Survey of 600 U.S. consumers conducted in October 2025, featured in the 2026 trends report.
