Oxthink

Sometimes you just can’t get through to them; sometimes you just can’t make yourself understood.

Whatever you say, however you express it, you don’t get an acceptable response. It can be very annoying and exasperating.

If the computer says no, then no, it will stay. Computers do not respond to reasonableness, appeal or charm. They have no human feelings. Technology offers no flexibility, no understanding, no sympathy, no emotive compassion.

The computer will never say:

“Well, that would be the right thing to do.”

“That seems fair.”

“I can do that for you this time, but in the future….”

Computers are programmes. They obey rules. They are designed to follow set sequences and procedures. Nor can they be programmed to have human thoughts, judgements or feelings. They cannot bend the rules on the basis of justness, understanding or mitigating circumstances.

They have no empathy. They have to have things clear-cut – black and white, yes or no, right or wrong.

That’s why dealing with computers can be so frustrating. They lack the human touch.

And yet, they are now such an unavoidable part of our lives – call centres, reception desks, ordering systems, delivery networks.

How often through frustration, fatigue or resignation do we accept the computer’s ruling even though we know, deep down, that it is flawed – the feeling of not getting anywhere, the feeling that whatever we say just won’t make a difference, the feeling that nobody understands.

Sometimes it’s just too much hassle to argue.

And then there is the time element. Computers are supposed to speed up the handling of enquiries and requests. But how long do we spend on the phone waiting for the introductory message to end and for us to be put through to the right department?

“This call is being recorded for training purposes.”

“We are governed by the rules of the financial ombudsman.”

“For orders press one; for delivery options press two; for accounts press three; for all other enquiries press four.”

Do we really want or need to hear all this? Why does it have to take so long?

The proliferation of computers in business is primarily down to organisational laziness and the overarching desire to make cost savings.

With computers, an organisation knows where it stands. There is no human dimension, no humans doing their own thing. Computers eliminate any individuality, emotion or favouritism. They are also more reliable and less prone to making mistakes. Human error is no longer an issue.

And then there is the employment angle. Employing people is a burden. They have to be paid, they have to be granted employment rights, they have absences (holidays, sickness, maternity), and they leave to go and work elsewhere. It is a costly affair.

Computers do not have human frailties or demand particular rights and benefits. They make managing an organisation less of a problem.

The trouble is that this managerial easy-ride, along with abundant cost savings, can become too appealing, making it the main driver of organisational development. Organisations would rather place their trust in a computer than in the operator. They prefer to rely on the technology rather than the human element.

Too often, this is a mistaken approach.

They should be more prepared to invest in their computer operators. Rather than employing mindless script readers and screen zombies, they should recruit and train individuals who have a bit of common sense about them and can identify when they need to adopt a more human understanding of a consumer issue.

This is the key to what most organisations espouse as their aim – delivering on customer focus. Unfortunately, too many of them merely pay lip service to this goal. All too often, they believe that they are acting as such only because they keep telling themselves that they have this focus. In reality, though, they are more focused on what works for them than on what is good and right for the consumer.

Organisations must recognise that computers should be used primarily as facilitators. They should be used to better enable their operators to deliver the improved service that consumers want. Computers should be tools to upskill operators rather than devices that atrophy them.

Whether, in the future, artificial intelligence will mean that computers can match a human interface and deliver an enhanced consumer experience is uncertain.

Certainly, the more personal the experience, the greater the approval it will receive from consumers. That should be enough to drive an organisation’s operations.