Is online customer service usually poor?

I found a good article from an unsatisfied Barclays customer: Why do banks suck so badly at online customer service?

He wrote a long article about online support via email. Please find below Chris Lake’s conclusion:
“So, to sum up:
1. I started out online.
2. I selected ‘email me a reply’.
3. Barclays ignored that and sent me a reply by post.
4. And then told me I had to to telephone them if I wasn’t happy.
This is a four-channel customer communication mess, folks.

And the morals of this sadsack story are about keeping it simple, about managing customer expectations, about encouraging communication (and thus satisfaction), about not throwing any curve balls, and about allowing the customer to exercise a little control (especially if you offer them control).”

There were only 4 comments, but they are as interesting as Chris’s post: other customers faced the same problem with Barclays, HSBC and Cahoot online. On the other hand, they seem very pleased with Direct Line and Smile.