51.7% of Companies Lack Customer Harassment Countermeasures; 52.3% of Consumers Who Experienced Business Errors Abandon Valid Complaints Due to Fear of Being Labeled as Harassers. Two Surveys Reveal Challenges in Employee Experience (EX) and Voice of Customer (VoC) Ahead of October 2026 Obligation

Channel Corporation (Headquarters: Chiyoda City, Tokyo; CEO: Jae Young Choi), provider of ChannelTalk—an AI agent for customer understanding adopted by over 230,000 companies globally—has conducted two awareness surveys targeting 497 frontline service staff and 514 general consumers nationwide, ahead of the planned mandatory customer harassment prevention measures starting October 2026.

The survey results revealed that insufficient customer harassment ("cushara") countermeasures are damaging Employee Experience (EX), while consumers are refraining from making legitimate complaints due to the fear of being perceived as harassers, resulting in the loss of Voice of Customer (VoC) data.

In response, the company has released a free eBook titled "Customer Harassment Prevention Research Report," summarizing detailed survey findings and key points for compliance with the October 2026 mandate. ▼ Download the "Customer Harassment Prevention Research Report" (Free): https://lp-001.channel.io/resources/ebook/customer_harassment_2026

Survey Summary Survey ① (497 Employees): EX Damaged by Lack of Cushara Countermeasures at Worksite

51.7% of companies do not implement customer harassment countermeasures

Lack of measures leads to reduced motivation, turnover intentions, and overall EX deterioration

Employees expect AI chat to reduce psychological burden and allow focus on high-value customer interactions

Approximately 60% of non-face-to-face service staff believe over 40% of their workload could be reduced by AI

Respondents were asked about their company's implemented customer harassment countermeasures, based on initiatives recommended by Tokyo's Customer Harassment Prevention Promotion Program. The most common response was "none (51.7%)," revealing that a majority of frontline teams are handling customer interactions without any formal safeguards. Among implemented measures, "announcing basic policies internally and externally (27.4%)" and "creating and disseminating a cushara response manual (24.9%)" ranked highest, while technical and environmental measures such as recording systems or AI tools remained below 10%.

The survey then explored expectations regarding operational changes if an "AI chat system (with first-line response and complaint filtering functions)" were introduced. The top response was "reduced frequency of directly receiving emotional complaints, leading to less psychological stress (28%)." This indicates frontline staff view AI not just as an automation tool, but as a crucial "emotional shield" protecting them from abusive complaints.

Furthermore, 21.4% of email and inquiry form staff (about twice the overall average) and 10.7% of call center and customer service staff (also about twice the average) responded that "first-line responses would be reduced, allowing more focused, careful attention to truly important customers." This shows that non-face-to-face service roles have particularly high and concrete expectations for AI-driven service enhancement and core task concentration.

Survey ② (514 General Consumers): Consumers Also Unable to Voice Legitimate Concerns

52.3% of those who experienced business errors abandoned valid complaints due to fear of being labeled as harassers

Top reason for not speaking up: anxiety over negative reactions or being snapped at

65.2% expressed willingness to use an AI-mediated system

Consumers expect AI to help avoid emotional confrontations

Respondents were asked whether they had ever refrained from complaints or refund requests (i.e., "suffered in silence") despite clear business errors, due to fear of being labeled as "cushara" or "troublesome customers." Combined responses of "frequently (7.8%)", "occasionally (17.1%)", and "once or twice (10.5%)" showed that 35.4% of all respondents (about 1 in 3) had silently accepted clear business errors such as order mistakes, incorrect billing, or damaged goods. When recalculating based only on those who had actually encountered errors (348 respondents), excluding those who claimed "never experienced a business error (27%)", a striking 52.3% had experienced suffering in silence.

The survey then asked whether respondents would use a system where AI acts as a mediator, conveying their legitimate concerns to the business on their behalf, if direct communication felt uncomfortable. Despite high psychological barriers to direct communication, 65.2% expressed interest: "definitely want to use (22.6%)" and "would use depending on the severity or product value (42.6%)."

Dual Challenges in Employee Experience (EX) and Voice of Customer (VoC)

The two surveys reveal that the current customer harassment issue cannot be fully understood as merely a problem of handling malicious complaints.

On the employee side, insufficient safeguards increase psychological stress and turnover risk, damaging EX. On the consumer side, the fear of being labeled as a harasser causes people to withhold legitimate feedback that could help improve business operations, resulting in lost VoC. Thus, companies today face simultaneous deterioration of EX and loss of VoC.

The upcoming mandatory customer harassment prevention measures in October 2026 represent a pivotal opportunity to address this dual loss. Moving forward, it will be crucial to establish systems that protect employees while ensuring legitimate customer voices reach the company.

One key approach is "AI-mediated communication," where AI intermediates emotional exchanges, organizes facts and requests, and delivers them to the company. By reducing direct emotional confrontations between individuals, this approach can alleviate employee stress while recovering previously buried customer insights to drive business improvement and service enhancement.

Channel Corporation provides ChannelTalk, an AI agent for customer understanding adopted by over 230,000 companies globally. Since its founding, the company has supported better relationships between businesses and customers, centered on "customer understanding." Now, more than ever, the company believes the priority is not "reducing customer interactions," but rather achieving communication where "facts, not emotions, are conveyed."

Going forward, Channel Corporation will continue to provide new AI-powered communication frameworks through ChannelTalk, aiming to realize sustainable customer communication that protects both Employee Experience (EX) and Voice of Customer (VoC).

Free Release of eBook "Customer Harassment Prevention Research Report"

The eBook compiles detailed data from the two surveys introduced in this release, along with practical guidance for complying with the October 2026 customer harassment prevention mandate: "Customer Harassment Prevention Research Report — Decoding the 'Silent Opportunity Loss' through Two Original Surveys, and CX /