HP is adding 15 minutes to phone support calls in an effort to force customers to use digital options, rather than waiting for a representative.

According to The Register, HP implemented the change on February 18 in five European countries, including France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, and the UK.

“We want to inform you of a change in the NL IVR (natural language IVR) in some countries and languages for Consumer Print and Consumer PC customers in EMEA, effective today,” HP says in a memo seen by The Register.

“Objective is to influence customers to increase their adoption of digital self-solve, as a faster way to address their support question. This involves inserting a message of high call volumes, to expect a delay in connecting to an agent and offering digital self-solve solutions as an alternative.

“To quickly resolve your issue, please visit our website support.hp.com to check out other support options or find helpful articles and assistant to get a guided help by visiting virtualagent.hpcloud.hp.com.”

HP tells customers it is “experiencing longer waiting times and we apologize for the inconvenience,” on the fifth, tenth, and thirteenth minute on hold.

It remains to be seen what the fallout will be, but it’s safe to say HP will likely face substantial blowback for the new initiative.