The Customer No-Service Economy

For years, many consumers pushed back against the idea of doing everything through a computer, website, or app. People didn't want technology replacing every human interaction. They wanted the ability to talk to a real person when they had a question, a problem, or simply needed help.

Lately, I've found myself doing something I never expected: given the choice, I often prefer dealing with an app rather than a person.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not one of those people who "doesn't like people." Quite the opposite. Some of the most rewarding experiences of my career have come from building relationships with customers, colleagues, and business partners.

The problem is that poor customer service has become common enough that I've started changing my behavior to avoid it.

Every time I interact with someone in a customer-facing role, I'm rolling the dice. Will I encounter someone who is professional, helpful, and genuinely interested in solving my problem? Or will I get someone who acts like I've interrupted their day by becoming a customer?

Given the choice, I increasingly select the app, kiosk, or website. Not because I prefer technology, but because I know what I'm going to get. The experience may not be exceptional, but it's unlikely to be rude, dismissive, indifferent, or openly hostile.

That raises an interesting question:

What does it say about the business environment when customers who once demanded human interaction now increasingly prefer an app?

For years, consumers resisted the idea of doing everything through a computer, website, or app. They wanted the ability to talk to a real person. Today, I wonder if some companies should be more concerned about the opposite: customers voluntarily choosing technology because they've grown tired of poor customer service.

In many industries, products have become commoditized. Competitors can often match pricing, features, and capabilities. One of the few remaining ways to differentiate a business is through the customer experience.

Yet many companies continue to place people in customer-facing roles who either lack the interpersonal skills necessary for the job or simply don't want to be there. Customers notice. More importantly, they remember.

As a customer, I don't expect perfection. I don't need someone to become my best friend. I do expect basic professionalism, courtesy, and a willingness to help. Unfortunately, those qualities seem less common today than they once were.

This is not merely an employee issue. It's a leadership issue.

Someone hired that employee.

Someone trained that employee.

Someone decided that level of customer service was acceptable.

If customers increasingly prefer interacting with technology, perhaps the problem isn't technology at all. Perhaps businesses have lowered their standards for customer-facing roles.

History has demonstrated that technology eliminates some jobs and creates others. I don't expect AI to be any different. The people and companies that thrive will be those that adapt.

The real risk isn't that technology is becoming more capable. It's that some customer-facing roles are delivering so little value that customers increasingly see technology as the better option.

The irony is that some of the jobs most vulnerable to replacement may be those where employees fail to deliver the very qualities that make humans valuable in the first place: empathy, judgment, professionalism, and genuine customer care.

The future may belong to companies that successfully combine the efficiency of technology with the strengths of great people.

In the meantime, business leaders should ask themselves a simple question:

If your customers increasingly prefer an app over one of your employees, why?