Katya Karlova’s career turned from fashion modelling to becoming an Instagram influencer during the end of the Covid pandemic. She started posting photos of herself on the app to connect with other photographers, leading to more opportunities. As her following grew to over 250,000 people, she began to attract brand partnerships and was paid by companies like Secrets in Lace to promote their products in her videos. But the new updates from Meta weren’t in her favour..
Karlova even became a verified Instagram user, which indicated her status as a “notable and unique” account, according to Instagram’s help centre. However, her success could have been more lived.
When Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, began its cost-cutting measures in late 2022 and ramped up this year, Karlova’s Instagram account became collateral damage. As a result of the company’s two rounds of layoffs, which amounted to around 21,000 job cuts, Meta significantly reduced its customer service operations. This left influencers and businesses needing someone to contact regarding their accounts.
The impact of Meta’s cost-cutting measures on Karlova’s Instagram account was detrimental to her brand and left her profile open to scammers who stole her photos and created fraudulent charges. These fake accounts deceived unsuspecting users into sending money for adult content, further tarnishing Karlova’s reputation.
The cost-cutting measure of Meta have had a significant impact on customer service
Despite reporting these fake accounts to Instagram, the response time for their removal could have been faster, with new fraudsters appearing regularly. Karlova believed that becoming a verified user would provide her with a higher level of support, but unfortunately, her requests for help continued to go unanswered. She described the experience as feeling like her requests “literally go into the void.”
The impact of the layoffs at Meta is reflected in the decrease in customer service support, leaving influencers and businesses needing someone to contact about their accounts. According to former Meta employees and documents filed with the U.S. Department of Labor, many layoffs affected client support, customer experience, and community staff. The reduced team in these critical areas has led to long wait times for users seeking help and has left many feeling unsupported by the platform.
Karlova’s experience highlights the challenges influencers and businesses face on social media platforms and the need for better support from the companies that benefit from their presence.
CNBC has reported that Meta’s cost-cutting measures have significantly impacted customer service, leaving influencers, small businesses, and users without support for issues ranging from account lockouts to software bugs. The company’s pivot from rapid expansion to contraction has affected business areas that don’t generate revenue, highlighting the challenge of serving billions of users across Facebook and Instagram.
The firm earlier lost two-thirds of the value of their shares
Meta has acknowledged the need to improve customer service, with the vice president of governance stating in August that the company was working on solutions. However, former contractors, employees, and users have reported declining customer service since the job cuts began in November.
A Meta spokesperson declined to comment on the specific claims but provided examples of recent investments in customer service, such as a small test of a live chat support feature on Facebook and a support site for creators. Despite these efforts, users continue to report difficulties in receiving timely and effective support from the company.
Meta’s shares lost two-thirds of their value in 2022, while revenue declined for three consecutive quarters. The company’s ad business struggled while CEO Mark Zuckerberg shifted focus to the metaverse, a costly endeavour yet to generate significant revenue.
In response to the financial challenges, Zuckerberg declared 2023 as Meta’s “year of efficiency,” with plans to strengthen and streamline the organization. While this announcement relieved investors, it raised concerns about the impact on customer experience. With the company already cutting jobs and reducing support services, customers are worried about further declines in customer service quality.
