9 ms·

I'm probably in the minority, but I do not want a "connection" with a business. I want transactional interactions that actually work. That is something that A

by flax 3mo ago

I'm probably in the minority, but I do not want a "connection" with a business. I want transactional interactions that actually work. That is something that AI is not giving us today. By design. Companies are not switching to AI customer service because it's better or cheaper for the same service. They are choosing to replace customer service with AI chat bots that simulate the customer service experience without actually providing the service part.

fidotron 3mo ago
> I want transactional interactions that actually work. One of the great lies of the modern world is that this actually happens.
ygouzerh 3mo ago
Definitely! One exemple is Grab, in all Southeast Asia: what people like is that the app is fluid, and will get you from A to B. There is no marketing like Uber did sometimes of like: "personal service, free water bottle", and it's still killing it. Of course, I personally always enjoy a chat with the driver, but many people I know prefer actually not talking.
- fxtentacle 3mo ago
  The grab app shows un-skippable ads. And some taxis even have ads "based on your interests" playing on a TV in front of your seat. I found their "no marketing" ;) to be almost too much.
- elevaet 3mo ago
  Or Gojek!
- ValentineC 3mo ago
  I choose Grab mainly because I always have installed for GrabPay payments. Sometimes I use Gojek (often unloaded because my phone doesn't have much storage) because it's cheaper. I avoid first-party taxi apps because they're shit and do dumb stuff like charge a 10% surcharge for credit card payments. They could get away with it 20 years ago, but I'm so glad Uber, Grab, and all the others are eating their lunch.
bluGill 3mo ago
I want a connection to quality products that last until they wear out (or are obsolete). Customer service is part of quality.
Terr_ 3mo ago
An "accountability sink" [0] where a major feature of the system or machien is to try to disclaim any responsibility and cast blame into the void. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Unaccountability_Machine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Unaccountability_Machine
Eridrus 3mo ago
I dunno, I talk to the Doordash bot, it gives me a refund for the failed delivery because it didn't score me as doing fraud, I don't care there was no human involved. It's certainly an upgrade over the menu-driven approach that has no room for deviation.
- pixl97 3mo ago
  Yea, on the same note I've had to call the cable company for internet outages a few times recently and the AI system handled the situation well. A few times it was neighborhood outages that it saw. One other time the system reset the modem configuration and the system came up, and one time it saw the interface on the modem was receiving errors and switched me over to a human to send a truck. It really was much better than most cable related tech calls I've had.
  - dghlsakjg 3mo ago
    The real issue is that you have to contact them at all. It's been at least 5 years since I last got in contact with my ISP/cable provider. It took a few minutes for them to reply to my email (15 minutes on new years eve after hours) because a real human always replies. They can provide good service because the product is good enough to not need a call centre's worth of employees to deal with a queue of angry customers.
    - pixl97 3mo ago
      The area I live in has tons of house construction and all but one of the calls was because of external construction issues in the end. Doesn't matter how good your product is when morons with backhoes exist.
kentm 3mo ago
> I'm probably in the minority, but I do not want a "connection" with a business. I want transactional interactions that actually work. Every time a business tries to make a "connection" its really just an avenue to exploit or manipulate me. I've never had them making a connection for my benefit (i.e. take a hit to their bottom line). I'm not asking for altruism but I am asking for them to drop the pretense and quit bullshitting me.
- drob518 3mo ago
  Then they’re doing it wrong. That’s a faux “connection” that just serves the business and not you. I would bet that if you experienced true connection, you’d love it, but you’ve been scammed by fraudsters so many times that you are suspicious of anything that doesn’t feel strictly transactional.
  - InvertedRhodium 3mo ago
    I’ll take “No true Scotsman” for $800 thank you Alex.
    - AdieuToLogic 3mo ago
      > I’ll take “No true Scotsman” for $800 thank you Alex. One valid use of "true" means "genuine", "loyal", and/or "faithful". Thus making the sentence fragment "if you experienced true connection" tantamount to "if you experienced genuine connection." There are many businesses I frequent where I have a "true connection" with the people representing same, from well-known national chains to sole proprietorships. Asserting the existence of the "no true Scotsman" fallacy in this context is inapplicable.
  - jay_kyburz 3mo ago
    Even the first story in the article sounds gross and creepy to me "The team became mini-concierges. Every guest walked in to find someone who knew them — not in a creepy, surveillance-state way, but in the way a good friend remembers what you’re going through." I'm not going through anything. I just want some dinner. And to be clear, the only reason they are doing this is strictly transactional. Good friends don't ask you to pay the bill at the end of dinner.
enraged_camel 3mo ago
>> I'm probably in the minority, but I do not want a "connection" with a business. I want transactional interactions that actually work. I do want a connection. Because connection is what ensures that the transactional interactions continue to work outside of the "happy path". Connection is what ensures that you can return those expensive headphones you bought because extended use makes your neck hurt, even though the return window has passed.
hintymad 3mo ago
Me neither. I just want a business to get my stuff done in a standard way. Clear pricing upfront and no haggling. No surprise. If I hire someone to take care my yard, then take care of the yard. The price is reasonable. The plants thrive. The lawn is green. The irrigation system just works and does not leak. Connection, what connection?
- coldtea 3mo ago
  Well, there's this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn2933vMylY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn2933vMylY
- turtlebits 3mo ago
  What is the standard way? There are details which requires having a conversation and a relationship. I certainly don't want a service to come early morning and wake up my kids or in the afternoon polluting the whole neighborhood with noise and fumes when I want to spend time outside.
dominotw 3mo ago
i dont know. I love basic humanity in my interactions. Thats why i eat at chick-fil-a and get coffee at starbucks. Not mcdonalds and dunkin donuts. Just make it pleasant and human.
newyankee 3mo ago
If I was getting 8 $ burritos with clearly marked ingredients and total automation end to end, I would gladly work with such a variant of Chipotle as well, even if it cuts workforce by 80% in such a scenario. Frivolous employment maximisation with words like human connection do not make sense for survival necessities. It works better with discretionary spending
xxpor 3mo ago
This is the difference between the people on this site broadly and everyone else broadly.
- deleted 3mo ago
  [deleted]
greenie_beans 3mo ago
i love connecting with a bookseller at a local independent bookstore. or a bartender. or a server. etc. such a more interesting life if you connect with people at the businesses in your community
- what 3mo ago
  > bartender, server You’re not connecting with them. They put on a smile and listen to you hoping for a tip.
  - dghlsakjg 3mo ago
    My wife is a bookseller. She doesn't get tips. She genuinely likes her customers... most of them anyways. Wouldn't like someone that thinks she's only doing it for money since she gets paid whether she's nice or not, but she would still be nice to them. Maybe some people really do take pride in their work. Worth trying sometime maybe?
  - greenie_beans 3mo ago
    they charge my $60 bar tab for $20 and get tipped $20. then the bar closes and we hang out at the bar drinking for free. you should only comment on things that you know about. sorry you don't have the same experience
pjdesno 3mo ago
Note that for the businesses mentioned in the article, the service is the product. I don't care about service at a gas station - I want to fill my tank, pay, and get out. It's different when I take it to the mechanic - it's a rather old car, and I appreciate them talking intelligently about what the options are and what repairs they would suggest.
thadt 3mo ago
> I do not want a "connection" with a business. That's because we don't make connections with businesses - we make connections with people. That one nice hair dresser. The pharmacist that goes out of her way to make sure my mom's medicines are right. A cashier that's just pleasant to talk with. Years ago I did most of my grocery shopping at Target. I cared almost nothing about Target the chain. Or Target the super store. I did care about Betty the checker and wanted to know how her grandkids were doing this week.
- fnord77 3mo ago
  this is the only worthwhile comment in this thread
  - stephenhuey 3mo ago
    We must turn back the tide on American microwave culture. Life isn't just about my time, my money...we share life with others, and life is so much better because of it.
QuantumGood 3mo ago
Every conceivable idea or option is eventually "optimized" for profit, and its possible maximum value form and meaning lost.
stickfigure 3mo ago
I invite you to watch this entertaining FortNine video about buying a motorcycle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fbr3JZAXDxA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fbr3JZAXDxA "How to Rip Off the Dealership - Bastard Negotiating Tactics" Without giving too much away, I liked this approach so much that when I bought my last motorcycle, I found a Kenco-equivalent in the Bay Area. It was a fantastic buying experience and I'm so glad I did. High dollar purchases are stressful and a human touch, from someone that is genuinely interested in not only this sale but the next one, really helps.
- dghlsakjg 3mo ago
  Plus, if you buy a bike from a place like that, and something goes wrong, you are almost guaranteed to have it made right without having to fight about it like at a big dealer.
rozumem 3mo ago
Depends on the company. Some companies have done a great job with their AI chat bots and I've been very impressed with the quality of service, even for queries which I consider quite complex.

by flax 3mo ago

fidotron 3mo ago

> I want transactional interactions that actually work. One of the great lies of the modern world is that this actually happens.

ygouzerh 3mo ago

Definitely! One exemple is Grab, in all Southeast Asia: what people like is that the app is fluid, and will get you from A to B. There is no marketing like Uber did sometimes of like: "personal service, free water bottle", and it's still killing it. Of course, I personally always enjoy a chat with the driver, but many people I know prefer actually not talking.

fxtentacle 3mo ago
The grab app shows un-skippable ads. And some taxis even have ads "based on your interests" playing on a TV in front of your seat. I found their "no marketing" ;) to be almost too much.
elevaet 3mo ago
Or Gojek!
ValentineC 3mo ago
I choose Grab mainly because I always have installed for GrabPay payments. Sometimes I use Gojek (often unloaded because my phone doesn't have much storage) because it's cheaper. I avoid first-party taxi apps because they're shit and do dumb stuff like charge a 10% surcharge for credit card payments. They could get away with it 20 years ago, but I'm so glad Uber, Grab, and all the others are eating their lunch.

bluGill 3mo ago

I want a connection to quality products that last until they wear out (or are obsolete). Customer service is part of quality.

Terr_ 3mo ago

An "accountability sink" [0] where a major feature of the system or machien is to try to disclaim any responsibility and cast blame into the void. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Unaccountability_Machine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Unaccountability_Machine

Eridrus 3mo ago

I dunno, I talk to the Doordash bot, it gives me a refund for the failed delivery because it didn't score me as doing fraud, I don't care there was no human involved. It's certainly an upgrade over the menu-driven approach that has no room for deviation.

pixl97 3mo ago
Yea, on the same note I've had to call the cable company for internet outages a few times recently and the AI system handled the situation well. A few times it was neighborhood outages that it saw. One other time the system reset the modem configuration and the system came up, and one time it saw the interface on the modem was receiving errors and switched me over to a human to send a truck. It really was much better than most cable related tech calls I've had.
- dghlsakjg 3mo ago
  The real issue is that you have to contact them at all. It's been at least 5 years since I last got in contact with my ISP/cable provider. It took a few minutes for them to reply to my email (15 minutes on new years eve after hours) because a real human always replies. They can provide good service because the product is good enough to not need a call centre's worth of employees to deal with a queue of angry customers.
  - pixl97 3mo ago
    The area I live in has tons of house construction and all but one of the calls was because of external construction issues in the end. Doesn't matter how good your product is when morons with backhoes exist.

kentm 3mo ago

> I'm probably in the minority, but I do not want a "connection" with a business. I want transactional interactions that actually work. Every time a business tries to make a "connection" its really just an avenue to exploit or manipulate me. I've never had them making a connection for my benefit (i.e. take a hit to their bottom line). I'm not asking for altruism but I am asking for them to drop the pretense and quit bullshitting me.

drob518 3mo ago
Then they’re doing it wrong. That’s a faux “connection” that just serves the business and not you. I would bet that if you experienced true connection, you’d love it, but you’ve been scammed by fraudsters so many times that you are suspicious of anything that doesn’t feel strictly transactional.
- InvertedRhodium 3mo ago
  I’ll take “No true Scotsman” for $800 thank you Alex.
  - AdieuToLogic 3mo ago
    > I’ll take “No true Scotsman” for $800 thank you Alex. One valid use of "true" means "genuine", "loyal", and/or "faithful". Thus making the sentence fragment "if you experienced true connection" tantamount to "if you experienced genuine connection." There are many businesses I frequent where I have a "true connection" with the people representing same, from well-known national chains to sole proprietorships. Asserting the existence of the "no true Scotsman" fallacy in this context is inapplicable.
- jay_kyburz 3mo ago
  Even the first story in the article sounds gross and creepy to me "The team became mini-concierges. Every guest walked in to find someone who knew them — not in a creepy, surveillance-state way, but in the way a good friend remembers what you’re going through." I'm not going through anything. I just want some dinner. And to be clear, the only reason they are doing this is strictly transactional. Good friends don't ask you to pay the bill at the end of dinner.

enraged_camel 3mo ago

>> I'm probably in the minority, but I do not want a "connection" with a business. I want transactional interactions that actually work. I do want a connection. Because connection is what ensures that the transactional interactions continue to work outside of the "happy path". Connection is what ensures that you can return those expensive headphones you bought because extended use makes your neck hurt, even though the return window has passed.

hintymad 3mo ago

Me neither. I just want a business to get my stuff done in a standard way. Clear pricing upfront and no haggling. No surprise. If I hire someone to take care my yard, then take care of the yard. The price is reasonable. The plants thrive. The lawn is green. The irrigation system just works and does not leak. Connection, what connection?

coldtea 3mo ago
Well, there's this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn2933vMylY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn2933vMylY
turtlebits 3mo ago
What is the standard way? There are details which requires having a conversation and a relationship. I certainly don't want a service to come early morning and wake up my kids or in the afternoon polluting the whole neighborhood with noise and fumes when I want to spend time outside.

dominotw 3mo ago

i dont know. I love basic humanity in my interactions. Thats why i eat at chick-fil-a and get coffee at starbucks. Not mcdonalds and dunkin donuts. Just make it pleasant and human.

newyankee 3mo ago

If I was getting 8 $ burritos with clearly marked ingredients and total automation end to end, I would gladly work with such a variant of Chipotle as well, even if it cuts workforce by 80% in such a scenario. Frivolous employment maximisation with words like human connection do not make sense for survival necessities. It works better with discretionary spending

xxpor 3mo ago

This is the difference between the people on this site broadly and everyone else broadly.

deleted 3mo ago
[deleted]

greenie_beans 3mo ago

i love connecting with a bookseller at a local independent bookstore. or a bartender. or a server. etc. such a more interesting life if you connect with people at the businesses in your community

what 3mo ago
> bartender, server You’re not connecting with them. They put on a smile and listen to you hoping for a tip.
- dghlsakjg 3mo ago
  My wife is a bookseller. She doesn't get tips. She genuinely likes her customers... most of them anyways. Wouldn't like someone that thinks she's only doing it for money since she gets paid whether she's nice or not, but she would still be nice to them. Maybe some people really do take pride in their work. Worth trying sometime maybe?
- greenie_beans 3mo ago
  they charge my $60 bar tab for $20 and get tipped $20. then the bar closes and we hang out at the bar drinking for free. you should only comment on things that you know about. sorry you don't have the same experience

pjdesno 3mo ago

Note that for the businesses mentioned in the article, the service is the product. I don't care about service at a gas station - I want to fill my tank, pay, and get out. It's different when I take it to the mechanic - it's a rather old car, and I appreciate them talking intelligently about what the options are and what repairs they would suggest.

thadt 3mo ago

> I do not want a "connection" with a business. That's because we don't make connections with businesses - we make connections with people. That one nice hair dresser. The pharmacist that goes out of her way to make sure my mom's medicines are right. A cashier that's just pleasant to talk with. Years ago I did most of my grocery shopping at Target. I cared almost nothing about Target the chain. Or Target the super store. I did care about Betty the checker and wanted to know how her grandkids were doing this week.

fnord77 3mo ago
this is the only worthwhile comment in this thread
- stephenhuey 3mo ago
  We must turn back the tide on American microwave culture. Life isn't just about my time, my money...we share life with others, and life is so much better because of it.

QuantumGood 3mo ago

Every conceivable idea or option is eventually "optimized" for profit, and its possible maximum value form and meaning lost.

stickfigure 3mo ago

I invite you to watch this entertaining FortNine video about buying a motorcycle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fbr3JZAXDxA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fbr3JZAXDxA "How to Rip Off the Dealership - Bastard Negotiating Tactics" Without giving too much away, I liked this approach so much that when I bought my last motorcycle, I found a Kenco-equivalent in the Bay Area. It was a fantastic buying experience and I'm so glad I did. High dollar purchases are stressful and a human touch, from someone that is genuinely interested in not only this sale but the next one, really helps.

dghlsakjg 3mo ago
Plus, if you buy a bike from a place like that, and something goes wrong, you are almost guaranteed to have it made right without having to fight about it like at a big dealer.

rozumem 3mo ago

Depends on the company. Some companies have done a great job with their AI chat bots and I've been very impressed with the quality of service, even for queries which I consider quite complex.