Pardon my episode of “This Grinds My Gears” but what’s happening with service in so many industries is frustrating, and more expensive than it should be by way of time wasted and sheer frustration. Technology is awesome and I’ve embraced much of it with open arms and admit, I love technology! I share this addiction with many of you. However, the media says, “…Artificial Intelligence is something we all need to get into before it’s too late” and over the last few years we’ve seen some amazing things come to light and I admit some of it scary, like deep fakes giving way to disinformation you know, with the Smith – Mundt Modernization Act of 2012 being signed and what that does but I digress. 

When it comes to service and support AI is a complete pain in the @$$! There, I said it! Sorry, NOT SORRY!

It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in, you’re going to need some help with something along the way. At Exodus, we deal with some fairly high tech equipment, software and systems to produce the newsletters, help clients with content and keeping the mail running on time. From printing presses, to layout  software tools, mail, and bindery equipment and we need assistance maintaining these devices and platforms. This holds true in our home lives too.

We all spend hard-earned money and invest time on products and/or services and when you try to reach those who can offer insights, we’re found screaming “representative!” into the phone or chatting with an Artificial Intelligence Chat-Bot. My very favorite is institutions that say, for a quicker response, go to our website and the gears really grind when I hear that one.

I may be preaching to the choir here but there’s nothing more frustrating than feeling powerless when needing assistance or insights now. A problem that could be solved with a 2-minute phone call becomes a three-day email exchange with someone filling the gap between a web page form and a chat bot. And that’s if you can reach anyone at all outside of the bot.

To borrow inspiration from one of our clients’ writings, Nancy Brenckman illustrates the sentiment perfectly in her May 2024 newsletter issue. Here’s an excerpt that says it all. “…Like myself, whose best day is sometimes not having to create a new username or password.”  

This illustrates in a few words exactly how many of us feel about technology on regular basis and has become the new normal. It’s out of control!

The antithesis of this is that Nancy is a very insightful and successful Loan Officer in the Denver and surrounding areas with quite a storied history. I know this because I’ve spoken with her many occasions since she’s been a client Exodus and there’s no chat bot that can do that. 

If we’re not led like sheep to a free-trial, loaded with upsells, requiring another username and password, then we’re made to feel beholden to some support policy that doesn’t have our best interest at heart. Rather than weave this into a transition about how we don’t do any of that here at Exodus I won’t, I’ll just say it in plain English!

We don’t do any of that here at Exodus Marketing! No algorithms, no AI chat bots, just people doing real work to help you generate referrals from other real people who do real work, have real families, real friends that they refer to you because of the real work you’ve done for them.

That’s the goal! All of this artificial intelligence is just that, artificial! I love progress and technology, I’m addicted to all the infinite scroll model platforms like X (Formally Twitter) and Facebook. Even Google has done away with pages and just scrolls on indefinitely.  I have so many Lutron WiFi light switches, it’s ridiculous and even though Alexa can listen to my life, there’s nothing I enjoy more than saying “Alexa, Kitchen Main light on” or “Alexa, whats the weather today?” and get a full weather rundown. However, SAAS (Software As A Service) is really blowing it in my book. Support is horrible and it doesn’t seem to be getting better with the advent of AI, it’s only getting worse.

The irony of it all is, the newsletter, outperforms all digital marketing efforts combined and here’s why. The past client isn’t in a state of urgency to refer you to anyone. They’ll do it for someone they know, like, trust, and feel a connection with (for more on that, see my last installment, Politics and Referrals) 

I believe replacing humans for repetitive tasks can and does work however, AI lacks the humanity to care about our concerns and the solutions we’re searching for and certainly lacks empathy and real world understanding. Communication is key and AI It will never solve problems in ways you can for your clients, or us for you. Believe me when I tell you, the newsletter is the only way to maintain your relationships with past clients, especially when there’s no buyer’s journey. And there’s no replacement for human interaction. Schedule a call and I’ll show you what I mean.

Rant over…

– Keith out.