Has AI broken customer service?
Has AI broken customer service? Are the robots causing all of to rage throw our phones out the window? (just me??)
Seriously though, have we gone to far? How many companies have replaced all the humans with AI, only to create an experience so frustrating it actively loses customers?
This morning ASICS helped themselves to £100 from my account with no warning... so, as you would when faced with a ridiculous situation, I called them.
The message on the phone told me 'they had no one available due to exceptional circumstances'... (a quick google tells me this is definitely not exceptional and I'm starting to understand their 2* Trustpilot reviews).
So off I go to their online chat. This is of course an AI agent, and can't help me.
So, on to the next option: 'email us' is what the button says. I head to the contact form. Which has a hilarious 250 character limit. FFS.
It's almost impressive just how many barriers there are to being helpful and creating a good customer experience. Instead I'm down £100, no explanation, no human to speak to, and one customer who 100% won't be buying ASICS again (much to her teenagers disappointment!)
Moral of the LinkedIn story - be more human. We can add agents to take some of the friction away - the "where's my order?" or the "how do I create a return" - but absolutely don't erase the people entirely.