Issues Calling Apple Support

Does anyone else have a great deal of difficulty calling Apple Support and using their automated system? The automated system is not well designed, which is ironic for a computer company. The automated system cannot seem to understand what I am saying when I call in. I have to repeat myself many, many times. I am speaking in a normal to loud voice and I don't have a particular regional accent. Then, worst of worst, instead of Apple connecting my device serial numbers to my user name or phone number or e-mail address, Apple requires me to provide a long, complicated serial number each time I call. The system NEVER gets the number correctly. Then I have to repeat over and over. By the time I get to a representative, after holding 20 minutes, I am totally frustrated. I wish I didn't own any Apple products. For some reason, Apple makes it overly complicated to get support. I wish I didn't need support as often as I do. I think it may be a marketing ploy by Apple to force consumers to purchase new products every 1.5 years. Does anyone else have an issue with calling Apple Support and having difficulty with the automated voice system and with the extremely long hold times?