[flax]

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.

[kentm]

> 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]

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]

I’ll take “No true Scotsman” for $800 thank you Alex.

[jay_kyburz]

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 transnational. Good friends don't ask you to pay the bill at the end of dinner.

[jay_kyburz]

I thought of an example of how this should work.

My parents used to go to the same restaurant every Friday night, for many many years. A little chit chat at the register each visit, it doesn't take long before you actually enjoy seeing that person. I began to suspect they continued going just so they had an excuse to see their friends.

You can't engineer these relationships, but you can encourage your staff to be open to a little chit chat. Make sure your team has the time and energy to be friendly. Your team has to be happy, and its needs to show.

I have no problem with the idea that you are going fill your place with good vibes so people actually want to go and hang out there!

[sublinear]

Unless you can give a specific example of a "true connection", I don't think they would.

To "go beyond their expectations" requires understanding what they expected to begin with. They just told you that they want a transaction, not a sales pitch or series of intrusions. Things are considered trivial when they do not fit that person's lifestyle. Doing a whole lot of "yes and", rough personality profiling, or goal guessing isn't going to cut it either.

Many people just want to be left the hell alone. Many people have even shouted from the rooftops they'd pay absurd money to be left the hell alone. I guess nobody wants to make money, nor provide a "true connection".

[danaris]

I mean, I feel like that's what kentm is saying.

Businesses say they're trying to build "connection", but all they care about is getting customers to spend more and remain loyal to them. They don't care about connecting, which is why they will always fail.

[netsharc]

You remind me of a hotel stay in Asia I had. After 10 minutes in the room, I get a WhatsApp message: "Welcome Mr. netsharc. How do you find the room?" (it was more verbose than this). It's from a business account which is the hotel (it's part of an international chain). I wanted to reply "Fine, but I don't want to talk to a bot. Leave me the hell alone." but thought it would upset the person on the other side since the country runs on politeness.

I imagine if I did reply like that there'd be some profuse apologizing, to which I'd think "Yeah, yeah, whatever, just leave me alone.".

All the businesses asking for a rating after I interacted with them also piss me off. Or worse, apps. I give them a bad rating on the play store with the text that the low score is due to the "Spam begging for app store ratings."

[ValentineC]

> All the businesses asking for a rating after I interacted with them also piss me off.

Singapore Airlines automatically emails passengers after a flight asking for a Net Promoter Score rating [1].

I have a feeling those ratings are mostly unseen, and cabin crew have chimed in that those ratings are unlikely to affect their promotions in any way.

What does help with their career is qualitative feedback written in through their feedback form.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_promoter_score

[hintymad]

Me neither. I just want a business to get my stuff done in a standard way. 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?

[turtlebits]

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.

[coldtea]

Well, there's this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn2933vMylY

[Terr_]

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

[greenie_beans]

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

[newyankee]

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

[ygouzerh]

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.

[ValentineC]

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.

[fxtentacle]

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]

Or Gojek!

[xxpor]

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

[bluGill]

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

[Eridrus]

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]

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.

[fidotron]

> I want transactional interactions that actually work.

One of the great lies of the modern world is that this actually happens.

[enraged_camel]

>> 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.

[dominotw]

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.