I hate IVRs and phone trees too. I probably want the interaction to be a self-service website, depending on the context (making a restaurant reservation, delivery order, etc... are absolutely good fits for this).

For actually resolving a customer service issue, sure I'd rather talk to a human. I do try to be nice to them, and it does, indeed often result in better service.

For getting an update on what's going on with the request I made three months ago, I want a website, or push notifications by email.