Gartner (Sept 2019, 8,398 customers) — company website preferred by 12% / search engine by 4% for issue resolution; phone leads at 44%

Claim: In a survey of 8,398 customers, the company website was a preferred issue-resolution channel for 12% and a search engine for 4% (phone led at 44%).

Source: Gartner press release, September 25, 2019.

Confidence: Verified — independent, primary press release.

Why this matters for Candid: Honest channel-share data. The numbers caution against overselling "everyone self-serves now" — phone is still dominant for resolution preference even though Gartner (Aug 2024) — only 14% of customer service and support issues are fully resolved in self-service; only 36% for "very simple" issues shows 73% of customers TRY self-service at some point. Use to keep the catalogue case sober.