Customer Service Is A Human Sport—Even In The Age Of AI

Forbes

5 days ago

Jim Stevenson, CEO and Founder of Bletchley Group.
Customer service has never been more scrutinized or more automated. Chatbots field our queries, apps track our orders, and self‑service portals promise instant resolutions. Yet, for all the technological wizardry, one timeless truth endures: at the heart of every customer service request or purchase journey is a human looking for an efficient and memorable experience.
I was reminded of this on an otherwise ordinary Saturday evening at an Italian restaurant in Santa Monica. The pasta was sublime, the service attentive but not intrusive, and having debated and ultimately rejected the merits of tiramisu versus panna cotta, the bill arrived at an appropriately relaxed pace. So far, a great service. Then, ten minutes after arriving home, my friend realized her grandmother's heirloom ring, handed down through three generations, was missing.
Calling the restaurant while realizing it was probably closed, we expected the standard answer, 'Pop back tomorrow, we'll have a look.' Instead, we were invited straight back, arriving to discover at least three members of staff had abandoned their cleaning and till-counting duties and were searching in the restrooms, around the table and in the bins. They were prepared with a box of disposable gloves so we could join the search. We left ring‑less but raving that this restaurant has earned two lifelong advocates thanks to the staff's genuine concern and willingness to dive into the search (and trash) to look for a customer's ring.
Consider this experience while you digest a colder statistic: 78 per cent of UK customers now finish a service interaction frustrated—the highest level in a decade. Worldwide, more than half of consumers will defect after a single bad experience, and PwC reckons nearly a third will dump even a favorite brand after just one slip‑up. We have never had more technology promising to cosset customers, yet most of us now dread contacting 'support'. That contradiction is large enough to drive a chatbot through.
Automation, when misapplied, simply scales indifference. Swedish fintech Klarna trumpeted in 2024 that its AI assistant had absorbed the workload of 700 human agents; by May 2025, the CEO was rehiring people because service quality had 'dropped' and customers still 'need to speak to a real person'.
Yet technology is not the villain; misapplied technology is. Chewy, the online pet‑supply retailer, refunded a shopper after her dog died, advised her to donate the food, and then sent flowers signed by the agent who took the call. One compassionate gesture, amplified by social media, became brand equity that money cannot buy. Scaling the genuine compassion of sending flowers to a dog owner becomes cynical commercialism if not handled correctly, with authenticity and understanding.
Whether searching dustbins or sending bouquets, the same five human values do the heavy lifting:
• Empathy: Feel the customer's pain before you fix the process.
• Ownership: The first person, or bot, who spots a problem shepherds it to resolution.
• Speed: Responses must be quick and conclusive; velocity must lead to resolution.
• Visibility: Show the graft; a real‑time progress bar or progress emails beats silent purgatory.
• Culture: Celebrate staff who exceed the script; folklore outpaces policy binders.
You cannot code kindness, but you can design for it. Map emotional journeys, not just click paths. Let AI clear the low‑stakes questions but provide a 'Human, please.' button inside two taps for the high‑stakes ones. Consult your customer service team, as they have daily interactions with your customers and are familiar with the frustrations and expectations. Replace unhelpful generic updates 'Your request is being processed.' with helpful and personable ones like 'Hang tight—we're on it and will update you within ten minutes.'
Above all, broadcast hero stories internally; behavior follows narrative. Build a culture of excellence in customer service that permeates the DNA of your company. Employees will want to work for you, and customers will want to buy from you.
Here is the paradox: 80% of companies believed they delivered a "superior experience" to their customers, but their customers do not agree. The tools we built to get closer to customers can push them further away unless they amplify, rather than anesthetize, our humanity.
Before rubber‑stamping the next chatbot launch, ask a straightforward question: Would this experience make a customer believe we would dig through the bins for them at eleven o'clock on a Saturday night? If the answer is 'probably not', no algorithmic cleverness will keep them loyal.
Design your online and offline experiences with the same core values and excellence in mind to build customer loyalty and brand equity. Excellent customer service is, and always will be, a human sport. Technology is just the kit.
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