There needs to be a catchy name for this type of interaction. I loathe it as well and it's annoyingly common. Companies that rely on this behavior should be called out repeatedly.

Willful misunderstanding? Confusion redirect? Defray to diffuse?

The technique seems super common now, and I’ve been expecting to run into it in some communications training, but haven’t yet.

I feel like there’s some crisis PR tactics this fits into that involves “Never disagree, redirect and ignore.” It diffuses criticism and makes it hard to argue.

It seems related to when I see a complaint on a review site that’s been responded to with “I’m the manager, please call me.” It doesn’t resolve the issue, but it shows that someone is doing something, so it diffuses pile on because it stops complaints of ignoring customers.

There is already a name for this type of interaction. It's called sales.

I have found that this is because our explanations handle the rational aspects of belief without tackling the emotional aspects.

I could explain more but honestly James Clear has done a far better job here: https://jamesclear.com/why-facts-dont-change-minds