Support calls are something that many consumers dread. From long wait times and irritating menu choices to members of support that can't or won't help you, or hang up on you after you have waited for tens of minutes or more.

HP Inc has reportedly found another way to make the life of its customers miserable. The company added a 15 minute waiting time for all telephone support calls, reports The Register.

Update: HP appears to have stopped adding the artificial delay due to "customer feedback".

The details:

• All support calls to HP's consumer hotline have a wait time of at least 15 minutes.
• The wait time applies even if support members are available.

The change is live already in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, and Italy, with more countries expected to be added to the list in the future.

HP informs customers about the waiting time at the beginning of the call and during the call repeatedly. Customers are also informed that they may be able to get help online as well.

HP wants to drive customers to self-help solutions that do not require active involvement of company employees.

Internal staff memos confirm that the waiting time is set to 15 minutes for each customers, regardless of how busy telephone support lines are. The Register reports that HP says that it is tracking customer experience metrics.

It is an attempt to cut costs by making the experience of customers miserable. This is not the first time that HP is implementing changes that are negative for its customers.

Just in the past couple of years, HP has restricted functionality of printers, blocked use of third-party ink cartridges repeatedly, and introduced renting services that often are not in the best interest of consumers.

HP's money-saving strategy could backfire

While HP hopes that it is going to save money, as more and more customers may give up on trying to reach the company via the hotline, it is possible that the strategy could backfire.

Customers may not be pleased to wait for at least 15 minutes, but when they realize that the wait time is artificially added, they might consider leaving bad reviews or purchasing printers or computers from other companies with better hotlines in the future.

With AI booming, it is probably only a matter of time before members of support will be replaced by AI personas.

What is your take on this? When was the last time you had to contact support via telephone? Feel free to leave a comment down below.