[jcc80]

If you understood how customer service business runs, you'd know that this is most definitely a systematic failure. I'm shocked how many people on HN seem to think that customer service reps act on their own volition.

There is no uniform customer service business or uniform training. Having worked in companies with support departments, there is a wide variance. Some are tightly scripted, others are given almost free reign and simply told to resolve issues quickly. edit: of course, password through email is big no-no.

[scrabble]

Password through anything is generally a no-no. Your service should have a way of accessing user accounts without their password.

[erddojo]

No. There are plenty of services where your pw is encrypted locally, so your service provider CAN'T access your account to fix something without your password.

Many of the cloud storage providers do this. You want your files recovered, you'll have to hand over your pw (or not have the problem fixed).