Last week this article catched my attention. It shared the news that Google and The Wendy’s Company are working together to create a live chatbot with AI so that it can take orders at the drive-thru, and eventually replace order-taker staff.
The article goes on about how it’s being trained,and how good it is expected to be. But the key here is the definition of what they want to replace. It does not say “our friendly staff”, or “our sympathetic team members”. It says order-takers.
And if you are facing customers, that is what is going to define whether you will keep your job in the near future, or you’ll hand it over to a machine. The human touch.
Robots or software can be extremely efficient. They don’t get sick, don’t have a bad day. There is obviously not random human error. If well programmed, they run perfectly.
But perfect sometimes is not what customers want or need. Customers sometimes need someone to listen empathically to them. Human warmth. Authenticity.
Technology and the development of processes and quality (as remarked by the great Xavier Marcet here) puts us at a crossroads: it’s fundamental, but can not leave behind the human touch.
Going back to the order-takers, there is another important point here. The software is developed for that only purpose: to take orders. Many humans understand that is their role, and that’s solely what they do. But there are others -sadly the exception- that take one step further. And engage in a conversation. Show that they care. And more often than not, end up generating more revenue and better feedback from customers. That reverts on better reviews, higher percentage of repeating and loyal customers, which again means more revenue.
It’s unlikely that the software -at least for the time being- will be able to do that. So what we are talking about here is that the AI will start replacing employees who can not be bothered to engage. Who are unwilling to empathize with their customers. And that’s fair enough. Maybe if that is your attitude, you deserve to be replaced. Because that software will do that only task better than you.
However, if you show your caring side. If you truly purport yourself as someone willing to help and add value, to listen and to guide your customers, then you are a great asset and your role is safe for now.
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