Calling the Box phone number for customer service isn't a great experience, as Box clearly wants customers to go to their website instead of asking for support over the phone. When I called Box's number, the automated system asked if I was a new or existing customer. I said I was a new customer and was directed to a menu where I could choose sales, billing or product support.

Upon selecting product support, I was brought to a recorded message where I was told that the best way to get help was by going to Box's website and opening up a ticket with the support team. I was expecting to be transferred to the support team, but the only option I was given was to contact the receptionist before the message began to repeat.

With no other option available, I hit 1 to get transferred to the receptionist, and a male voice introduced himself as Shane. Shane asked how he could help, and I told him I needed access to a file I had been sent. At that point, Shane said I would need to contact product support, and I told him I had tried to do exactly that but had been sent to him instead.

Shane said he would walk me through the process and asked me to head to Box's support website. When I did, he directed me to the support menu and told me to click on the last option, contact support. When I did, I found no phone number, no contact information, nothing. There was only a sign-in prompt to open an online ticket.

I asked Shane if that was the only way I could contact the support team, and he confirmed that it was. With nothing else really to be done from my perspective, I thanked him for his time and assistance, and he wished me a pleasant day.

While I found Shane perfectly pleasant to deal with, I found the customer service experience from Box sorely lacking. The company presents no options for anyone looking to gain product support by speaking to a live person over the phone, which is often a preferred method of assistance.

I understand that Box is a cloud solutions-based company and likely wants to emphasize newer technology in its customer service department, but if that's the case, there shouldn't be an option for product support over the phone on the menu at all.

Overall, I found the automated menu to be a time waster, and it would have been much more efficient had Box told customers to visit the support site if they didn't want customers calling for product support.