I appear to be waging a one-woman ’See Something, Say Something’ campaign where I write to companies to register my displeasure when they use AI to enshittify customer service.
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Are reviews on Trustpilot useful for letting companies know how we feel?
@leffe Good idea. I would think that would be a great place to let companies know how we feel about their use of AI 'customer service'. These days, if I shop around for, say, insurance quotes or a new broadband provider, I would like to know in advance if a given company has actual or AI-based customer service.
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@CiaraNi It is at least a two woman campaign.
I have also specifically dropped companies with whom I used to do regular biz, because they replaced their customer service with AI. And restaurants like Chuy's lost my business due to wanting customers to either use an app, or scan a qr code. You have table service. Just give me a damn menu! Maybe I'm old, but I hate these trends. AI customer service is neither.
@kimlockhartga @CiaraNi
One of my favorite restaurants hands you an old masonite clipboard where the clip has broken, but there's a magnet holding a piece of paper with the day's menu, and sometimes if you turn the paper over, there's often an older menu printed there.They can change things according to availability of ingredients, and even simply cross items off when they run out.
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@CiaraNi all the times i have had an AI support i ve felt it as a waste of time much worse than the previous answering machines with discrete options. As it just provides you with the FAQ info (in the best case) that i had always read before writing and it keeps you wasting your time till moving/forwarding the question to real support
@antoniovr Agreed. AI 'support' in much worse than even the previous automated solutions. As you say, it wastes so much of our time and patience before we battle through to an actual human staff member. Who then, often, solves the query in a matter of minutes. The entire exercise could have taken them and us mere minutes from start to finish.
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@CiaraNi It is at least a two woman campaign.
I have also specifically dropped companies with whom I used to do regular biz, because they replaced their customer service with AI. And restaurants like Chuy's lost my business due to wanting customers to either use an app, or scan a qr code. You have table service. Just give me a damn menu! Maybe I'm old, but I hate these trends. AI customer service is neither.
@kimlockhartga Hooray! Am delighted to know I'm not the only woman yelling at clouds
I won't use QR codes either. Agreed that AI customer service is not customer service. I have started to view the waste of time involved as the company showing pure contempt for their customers. -
@kimlockhartga @CiaraNi I've been in restaurants with the scan the QR code for the menu and the restaurant is too dimly lit for phone cameras to pick them up!
@urbanfoxe @kimlockhartga That's like a double-word score of enshittification. Ridiculous situation!
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@kimlockhartga @CiaraNi It's funny, the reactions to QR codes. My first reaction was &$%&@#&% kids. Then I started using then. The best part, in my opinion, is that they typically have the specials on that menu and I don't have to listen to a recitation of them. Plus I have the prices for them. However, because of our age, the servers usually ask "Would you prefer a paper menu?"
To the AI, I repeat, over and over again "Agent." Until I get a human. Fuck AI.
@RegGuy @kimlockhartga "To the AI, I repeat, over and over again "Agent." Until I get a human"
If I absolutely cannot get around using an AI chatbot at the start, I do this too. Hating the company and the AI techbros and me, every one of us, as I do it, annoyed at having to degrade myself through the exchange with a bloody machine.
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I was faced with an unpleasant AI customer service bot last week. It cost hours my time, but I know how to work the corporate structure and cost them money.
@dianea It's infuriating. Great if you can waste some of their time and money back on them - good for you!
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@kimlockhartga @CiaraNi
One of my favorite restaurants hands you an old masonite clipboard where the clip has broken, but there's a magnet holding a piece of paper with the day's menu, and sometimes if you turn the paper over, there's often an older menu printed there.They can change things according to availability of ingredients, and even simply cross items off when they run out.
@RealGene @kimlockhartga That sounds like an excellent restaurant. That's how to do it.
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@kimlockhartga @CiaraNi
One of my favorite restaurants hands you an old masonite clipboard where the clip has broken, but there's a magnet holding a piece of paper with the day's menu, and sometimes if you turn the paper over, there's often an older menu printed there.They can change things according to availability of ingredients, and even simply cross items off when they run out.
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@kimlockhartga @RealGene That sounds like such an elegant way to do it.
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@RealGene @kimlockhartga That sounds like an excellent restaurant. That's how to do it.
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@RegGuy @kimlockhartga "To the AI, I repeat, over and over again "Agent." Until I get a human"
If I absolutely cannot get around using an AI chatbot at the start, I do this too. Hating the company and the AI techbros and me, every one of us, as I do it, annoyed at having to degrade myself through the exchange with a bloody machine.
@CiaraNi @kimlockhartga Indeed. I also hate those systems that "assume" to know why I called. "Your balance is ..., the next payment is due on..., your minimum payment is..." No you moron computer, I need to do something you can't do and I know you have a website that can handle most things I need. It can't handle this and neither can you. So give me a &%$@$& human!"
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@kimlockhartga @RealGene That sounds like such an elegant way to do it.
@CiaraNi @RealGene It was significantly ahead of its time, and a little caught up with nouvelle cuisine, but I learned everything I needed to know about wine for the rest of my career. It was valuable experience.
As far as restaurants with menus that change in tandem with seasonably available ingredients, I cannot recommend Aria highly enough, if you ever get to Atlanta. Best restaurant I've ever been to, hands down.
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@CiaraNi @kimlockhartga Indeed. I also hate those systems that "assume" to know why I called. "Your balance is ..., the next payment is due on..., your minimum payment is..." No you moron computer, I need to do something you can't do and I know you have a website that can handle most things I need. It can't handle this and neither can you. So give me a &%$@$& human!"
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@CiaraNi @kimlockhartga Indeed. I also hate those systems that "assume" to know why I called. "Your balance is ..., the next payment is due on..., your minimum payment is..." No you moron computer, I need to do something you can't do and I know you have a website that can handle most things I need. It can't handle this and neither can you. So give me a &%$@$& human!"
@RegGuy @kimlockhartga Same here. I recognise this entire situation. The automated voice trying to send me to Double You Double You Double You Website drives me bananas. I wouldn't be bloody ringing in the first place if their website could provide the answer.
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@CiaraNi @RealGene It was significantly ahead of its time, and a little caught up with nouvelle cuisine, but I learned everything I needed to know about wine for the rest of my career. It was valuable experience.
As far as restaurants with menus that change in tandem with seasonably available ingredients, I cannot recommend Aria highly enough, if you ever get to Atlanta. Best restaurant I've ever been to, hands down.
@kimlockhartga @RealGene That sounds wonderful. Even the name fits the elegance.
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@kimlockhartga @CiaraNi @RealGene My restaurant would be a food truck. If I didn't like my customers I would just drive off. Probably just drive home and order from myself. Now that's customer service.
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@RegGuy @kimlockhartga Same here. I recognise this entire situation. The automated voice trying to send me to Double You Double You Double You Website drives me bananas. I wouldn't be bloody ringing in the first place if their website could provide the answer.
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@kimlockhartga @CiaraNi @RealGene My restaurant would be a food truck. If I didn't like my customers I would just drive off. Probably just drive home and order from myself. Now that's customer service.
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This grumpy thought is brought to you by the fact that I have 3 mails to write after abysmal AI customer experiences this week. On the plus side though, I had a quick & good experience with hands-on human help at my insurance company. I didn’t even have to battle through a phone tree or ’we have a website!' messages to speak to the human in the first place. I want to say something when I see something good, too. To compliment their corporate choices. So I will write a mail of praise to them too.
@CiaraNi Which reminds me of something. About a year ago I needed to sign the electricity bills to me. It wasn't possible to do that on their web service. It wasn't possible to reach a human. And it wasn't possible to get through their AI chatbot. So the only way possible was to change the provider, which was easy and straightforward process. As you can just go to the new provider website, provide all the necessary data, and they handle closing the contract with the previous provider. I thought it was the end of the story.
They - the former operator - have called me a month or two ago. Like, the human has called me. At first they have asked why I have quit. But later in the conversation it became obvious they do not care. It was only an opening line to convince me to get back to them. Which they have utterly failed.
