Poor customer service will speed-up AI adoption 

On a series of recent trips, I’ve been appalled at the plummeting level of customer service skills from major brands, and the blatant lies regularly being told to customers. 

Some will say that customer service “needs to be like this so we can keep the lead-in prices low” – and that’s the problem. It’s a pointless price anyway if a) we always end up paying more or b) we receive really appalling service and are lied to by your employees.

The travel and tourism industry is often playing catch up. Within a few years many service jobs will be lost to AI because people simply don’t have the skills to interact with customers in the right way, using the right language and deliver the service level they expect.

AI systems are developing interactive, intelligent and flexible solutions which, even now, are replacing poorly trained people doing repetitive tasks.

Based on these experiences below, a machine should and could do at least 90% of what these individuals are doing – without lying, by calmly explaining facts and policies, by apologising and issuing immediate refunds, and the machine might actually do better at selling revenue streams because unlike people it would be unable to invent casual and convenient lies, and would merely have to explain value.

Brands are sleepwalking into a transition they can’t imagine – and while they wait they’re allowing greed and laziness to master interactions – instead of investing in giving people ethical and appropriate skills that will keep them in their jobs for longer.

Below are some recent examples where I’ve received shocking customer service levels:

1. Major car hire brand at Dublin Airport: ‘Your car hire deposit insurance cover isn’t recognised by us - so buy our insurance instead, for more, and ask for a refund of the policy you bought at the time of booking.’ -  the inference is that my policy - sold by a major car hire broker, isn’t valid. It is. The fact they don’t ‘recognise’ it doesn’t mean it’s invalid. When I got annoyed at this obvious lie, the operative threatened to cancel my car hire and refused to give me his full name so I can complain. I can only assume that this company are lying as a matter of policy? That he is being put under pressure to increase insurance sales and they don’t mind him lying to customers? ‘If anyone gets annoyed threaten to cancel their booking.’ We know that car hire companies are desperate to sell additional insurance at pick-up otherwise there would be little reason to employ people at the desks - we could just get the keys and car info from a machine. I don’t object to them selling it - just the way they do it - making the customers feel like idiots. Why must so many car-hire transactions begin with the customer feeling nervous or unsure and they then drive off with a bad taste in the mouth, feeling slightly conned?
2. Different Major Car Hire Brand – Seville, Spain: When returning a car I’m informed that the deposit (900 euros) will be returned ‘in a few weeks.’ Why? My bills and my mortgage are paid in seconds, a debit card or credit card refund takes seconds, so what’s the problem? We’re not idiots - we know that our money is being used whilst it’s in the hire companies accounts.
3. Major Hotel Brand - Cologne: ‘We need to take a 50-euro card payment against your room in case you use services in the hotel.’ ‘We won’t, we’re only here for the night’ ’We still need to take the payment just in case… everyone’s doing it’. Wow.  No, they’re not. I’ve stayed in 80+ hotels this year - they don’t all do it. You’re lying to disloyally ask us not to blame you for a policy you don’t believe in, but don’t really care about. Someone’s told you to take 50 euros per booking and your hotel brand will judge when to pay it back if it isn’t spent.
4. Düsseldorf Airport - Speedy boarding call is announced: I join a single queue. There’s no separate queue for speedy and normal boarding - so no speedy-ness for me and my row 2 seat now has my bag down at row 20. What was the point of paying for it? I mentioned the absurdity of this situation to the lady at the gate - she said ‘Well, I announced it’ - so what did you expect me to do? Push past people without Speedy Boarding to get on early? On the plane we’re informed ‘whilst we guarantee that your bag is on the flight we don’t guarantee it will be above your head’. Oh, what a lovely conditional nuance you’ve pulled out of the hat there! If we are paying more for convenience, we should be refunded when we don’t get that convenience or are inconvenienced – surely?