How artificial intelligence is revamping customer call centers

[@Sj27m]

The call center operators you interviewed all spoke good English which is almost never the case in my experience.

[@Sj27m]

@@luke5100 I work construction. Lazy people work in call centers and in software development. And racist people go around accusing everyone else of being racist.

[@glow1815]

You know the management will pick their tops call center reps for this interview right lol. They're not not going to pick the ones with bad attitude or with bad communications. And they told them what and what not to say. The ones you spoke with are the OutSource ones yes you spoke with "Kumar" lol

[@JS-vl5gd]

@@Sj27m You seem to have a certain type of superiority complex, and like to project a lot onto others. Saying that software developers are lazy is extremely ignorant. That job isn't easy at all. Get over yourself.

[@voidreaperexpert]

​@@Sj27mbut you're still poor

[@timallison8560]

the common issues i run into when calling in with a customer service issue are extremely long wait times, short customer service hours, and a lack of empowerment for the frontline workers.

[@boxingandbulldogs6341]

This story would have been a better representation of the call center experience for Americans if Pogue had flown to India or the Philippines.

[@Me97202]

It’s not “labor shortage,” it corporate greed.

[@nghtwtchmn129]

Oftentimes labor shortages can be alleviated with better pay, benefits, and working conditions, but that would make too much sense.

[@alanhoeffler9629]

I worked customer service for 10 years full time. When I stopped, my high blood pressure went down. Nuff said.

[@Nicksonian]

I would expect the average call center worker to last 18 days, rather than 18 months.

[@felixthecat2786]

I'm amazed I lasted a little over a year at my last call center job. The customers take their frustration out on the workers and the managers don't want to deal with angry, frustrated customers. At some point, you just get tired of being verbally abused by customers and neglected by your managers. Call center agents are stuck between a rock and a hard place. We would love to help you, but don't have the authority or sometimes there is no solution on our end. I used to work for a travel company and deal with booking flights. We were often dealing with the airlines and their bad polices/lack of flights. People would literally become enraged and start screaming at us over things we just had no control over or things that didn't exist. I had a lady scream at me for an hour because she couldn't get a direct flight from Atlanta to Ho Chi Minh City. It just....didn't exist. What do you do in that situation?

[@se777en73120]

I worked in call centers for 4 years. It was soul-killing abuse.

[@glow1815]

​@@felixthecat2786I'm surprise you let that caller yelled at you for an hr. I do Call Center as well no way anybody is going to yell at me for that long. We have a policy if there's no understanding on callers end after we explained everything we can end the call. But we must let them know first. And callers acct get close if they are abusesive to us. Our managements don't take that kind of behavior lightly. I've seen they closed callers accounts.

[@derekrequiem4359]

Real story, I was in a training class for a call center job, and one of the guys there told me he was literally just there for the paycheck for training! 🤣 After the week of training, he was gone!

[@MrCperone87]

This is purely about corporate greed and reducing as many jobs as possible. I love how they always push automation and say "This allows our employees to focus on the more important things". AI will be a huge job killer in the coming years.

[@steveconn]

Teaching, counseling and a few bank tellers might be the only jobs left.

[@jovialbivouacker99]

@@steveconn Teaching is not a job that most people want anymore. Especially with all of the pressures hoisted on the profession by politicians; Republicans mostly!

[@lemonadestand4386]

Honestly, I prefer AI as my first contact as I can usually resolve a lot of my customer service issues without human intervention. For example, my grocery store has an AI chat option where I can report produce or other issues after an order and get an immediate refund. Before, I'd have to write out an entire email or contact form and wait for a response. Also, explaining things to people can be anxiety-provoking for me in ways that are not in written or spoken AI chats. AI customer service follows strict rules and gives limited options/resolutions for issues it can handle, and then the humans can come in and do what they do best. I've never had an AI go off on me, but literally have had customer service go off on me in email and denigrate me. I'll take robot over dumb a$$.

[@felixthecat2786]

Honestly, a lot of people are leaving these customer service jobs because they are sick of getting screamed at for things they have no control over. This way, the customers can scream at the AI and we don't have to deal with them anymore.

[@se777en73120]

@@steveconnwe will always need nurses

[@tbernstein]

i worked in call centers for a good chunk of my customer service career. AI cannot solve the problems with call centers The last call center I worked in was during covid, and the supply chain crisis. We provided updates on special orders for big box retailers, we talked to store employees who were mostly nice to us, but we had nothing to offer them, we had few updates and if we offered a call back it most likely wasn't going to happen. I would take 100 calls a day and maybe resolve 10. When those people get AI first they are going to go nuts.

[@brianm6965]

If you really want to help with customer service, create products/services that rarely require calling customer service.

[@MrAlbert-p3z]

I put in 12 years of my life working at the telephone company. The stories these customer service representatives are talking about in the video are real. Most of that also happened to me. From what I can tell, and I think I speak for most humans, when we call customer service we want to talk to a real human in our native language, not a machine. What "Grace" is doing is basically acting like a filter. Grace is handling what she can and handing off the calls she cannot handle to a real human. While it may be true that Grace is handling millions of calls all at once, that's only because CSRs are being let go since Grace can handle all the password resets. Complicated calls are handed off to real humans, where we wind up waiting because of the layoffs of real humans. At the end of the day, as we saw in this video, the customer will still be on hold. In essence, nothing has improved other than the pockets of the executives.

[@SkilledTadpole]

AI enabled to handle technical requests is absolutely preferable to waiting on hold for humans who are no more capable and likely less informed on the product than a bot could be. The reason most people prefer talking to a human representative is because bots have been algorithmic, with very limited functionality, for a very long while.

[@MrAlbert-p3z]

@@SkilledTadpole After 12 years of doing the same job believe when I tell you I could do the job with my eyes closed. Either way you will be on hold A.I. or Human as you saw on the video.

[@glow1815]

Accurate

[@JS-vl5gd]

You're not speaking on my behalf. When I call customer service of a company, I want to solve some sort of problem. The resolution of a problem is what I'm looking for. Talking to another human, not necessarily, especially if the wait times are long.

[@Redmanticore]

well, i wouldnt say _nothing_ is improved with the implementation of AI into customer service. i contacted internet bot of my local finnish bank osuuspankki, in the middle of a night local time, and it closed my credit card immediately as i requested it, and sent a new one, because i had lost my card. business was done in less than a minute. old times i would've had to wait and keep a human awake in the middle of a night, maybe wait for an hour, who might've not even talked proper finnish, adding frustration to already stressful situation. finnish is one of the hardest languages in the world.

[@tobechukwuolumba7337]

Corporate greed is the problem because companies like Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T are trying to make matters worse; in addition, artificial intelligence hurts customers who were involved in customer service.

[@rebelwithacause2229]

I want to speak to a real live human being. Good grief.

[@JS-vl5gd]

The day that you start talking with a chatbot who solves your problem, you're going to think that you were interacting with an amazing person.

[@toots810usa6]

Many call center employees are over 50 and disabled, and those are the only jobs they can do. I know because I am now 59 and have only been able to work in call centers for the last 5 years. 2020 changed all that, and now a year ago 3 call centers in my city closed down eliminating about 1500 jobs for people like me. If I couldn't live with my son right now, I would be homeless. I'm a cancer survivor 8 years out, but most days I wonder what the point of fighting was because this is NO quality of life.

[@DavidRussellM]

Sorry to hear your having a rough time. Your resilience is inspiring, I think 2024 is going to be one for the record books (in a positive way)! =)

[@KathySolorzano-qe4di]

I find myself screaming.." Talk to A Person!"...🤐

[@velmex12]

As mentioned, allowing all the mergers means less completion and less incentives to for providing good service.

[@EthosSupport]

David Pogue really bringing all the CS nightmare encounters to life, this hits hard 🔥

[@hummersd]

Grace’s “um’s” need work though; it’s not a natural “um” intonation in context, which should be programmable within AI. If it doesn’t sound right, there’s no point to adding them in.

[@Roll587]

Adding um's and ah's to an AI is deeply creepy.

[@sh550]

It would be even creepier if "um" was offered as a reply in 5 to 10 different ways, so it's not as repetitive. 😄

[@MrAlbert-p3z]

Very true. At the telephone company we were told not to do that. Hold on now they're eating their words and making the A.I.'s do that....talk about stupid telco policies.

[@MAB-y7o]

I don’t believe this at all. Most of the people you get at call centers are overseas and they have a script, of way too many words, they have to read from, they are script polite but rarely solve the problem. It’s brain numbing.

[@felixthecat2786]

That is a stereotype. It depends on the company. Born and raised in the US (east coast) and I've worked at call centers for years. There are plenty of Americans working at these call centers. Don't make assumptions because you're going to come across as an asshole that no one wants to help.

[@ybunnygurl]

Amazon has a script they read if you're a lucky and get an American call center they're able to figure out what you're talking about and give you the answer you need. But if you get someone in India who doesn't know what you're talking about or the script as I'll just talk to you in circles. I recently experienced that with health insurance that I have The person on the customer service line didn't speak English well enough or understand the American health insurance system to understand what I was asking. I basically told her I don't think you can help me I'm going to have to call back and see if I can get a different agent. When I called back I got someone and I asked if I could be transferred to a manager and I was transferred to someone who spoke English well, and understood how health insurance works.

[@glow1815]

Yes depends on the company like T-Mobile for example their customer service are outsource in India and the Philippine. They're are the worst. Not my company I work for we're base in the USA, we don't even hired people oversea nor service our Healthcare products out side of USA. And we all speak fluent English and understand what callers requested lol. Jokes aside most big corporations customer service are no longer in the USA.

[@patrickchan2503]

if they read of a script... AI can defo do that job for them

[@ropro9817]

NEWS FLASH: A fake bot is _NOT_ going to help. That will just enrage us even more as customers.

[@michaelfoxbrass]

Whether my call’s being handled by a bot or human, if there’s no way the “agent” can resolve the issue presented, it’s super-frustrating. The majority of my complaints on call center customer care lately are due to understaffing/endless hold times. So it’s really frustrating when I do get to an agent, if they lack authority to resolve my issue. Even worse is being in queue for a long while only to find out my call wasn’t initially routed to the correct department. If AI could be applied to remediate that, it sounds like a winner.

[@pumpkinpie7254]

Wish this video were longer because this is a frustrating issue.

[@Ginab3001]

The secret to get a person..hit whatever button that says you are a new customer😄

[@glow1815]

Than you get transfer to another rep, sorry i don't handle new customer please hold lol

[@lgbet6w58g4]

A factor not mentioned is that most of customer service here in America has been farmed-out to India and the Philippines. Good luck trying to understand them with their heavy accents. ( No fault of theirs ). Also insurances companies are the WORST to deal with.

[@glow1815]

TMOBILE is the WORST

[@stevechance150]

If you work remotely (work from home) AI is coming for your job as fast as it can, because the CEO's second beach estate is not going to pay for itself!!

[@MrAlbert-p3z]

yup yup it's all about the money honey!

[@glow1815]

Nah not the company I work for unfortunately

[@semipenguin]

Customer: Hi. I have a problem with KZbin insisting on showing me four minute commercials on an eight minute segment. Is there a way you can show me shorter commercials so that it won’t cause me to skip it, and cause content creators to lose out? AI CSR: Yes. We can help you with that. Please pay us $18 a month for commercial free viewing. Customer: 😕

[@MrAlbert-p3z]

I'm using the Brave browser. I never get commercials other than the youtubers own adverts.

[@glow1815]

😂😂😂😂

[@derekrequiem4359]

Me: Yes. We can help you with that. Have you heard of the addon "uBlock Origin"?

[@derekrequiem4359]

Me: Yes. We can help you with that. Have you heard of the addon "uBluck Orygin"? (True story: I had to misspell it intentionally because KZbin removed by comment. 🤣🤣🤣 Gotta love censorship!)

[@derekrequiem4359]

Me: Yes. We can help you with that. Have you heard of the addon "uBluck Orygin"?

[@millionairemindset2024]

It's not actually the call center agents that we, the customers, would like to talk to. It's the management or officials of the company we're complaining. Unfortunately, those companies passed on the responsibility of facing their frustrated customers to another service provider, which in this case, the call center companies. So, all those rants are actually directed to the company or to their officials/management. You, as agents, took the bitter pill by choice, of facing all those frustrated customers. So, you should be prepared to hear all those curses from them. Again, it's not you that we, the customers, would like to talk to, but the management of the company or their officials, you just willingly allowed yourselves to take the blows.

[@ampdesign]

Grace took our jobs

[@patriciafeeley7997]

I tell everyone I finally reach that I am recording the call, since they are recording me

[@MrAlbert-p3z]

😁nice. let them know your recording them but not for security or training purposes but just incase you need to clone their voice for later.😜

[@andersonsystem2]

I rather deal with Ai as long as it’s smart and can handle your situation quickly.

[@jojopuppyfish]

Meta: Facebook's company is using AI for Whatsapp in India to handle customer Service. Paypal uses AI to handle one of my issue. AI will help customer service.

[@BlakeMichelleMorgan]

Good customer service is the best marketing that money can't buy. Companies are very short-term, and are missing the mark!

[@CustomerServiceHell]

100%! 🙌

[@pandaslayer]

having worked in a call center, all of these customers look like the people who just scream at you, and think you're personally responsible for all of their issues. Worst job I've ever had. You don't get paid enough, and you get treated like garbage by your managers and the customers.

[@milhouse14]

Isn't 99% of customer service jobs outsourced abroad? I mean, i could count in one hand the very few times i talked to someone on phone without an Indian or foreign accent.

[@Native722]

Some people just need the money so they just work the job for years. Due to AI, jobs will be disappearing.

[@richardmasters2045]

When I worried in customer service the customer would call in angry cussing and by the end of the call we’d be laughing together. In fact I was offered several jobs while on the phone. It’s called having a pleasant personality

[@catlady4765]

I work at a connection center for over 4 yrs..its very hard many days, yet rewarding. When you call me, you do get a breathing person here in the USA! The hardest part is when people do scream as they arent getting their way, getting a prescription quickly enough etc. I just ask all of you reading this comment, just remember there is a person on the other end who has feelings just like you. I love the people i do help & thank me for being kind. Customer service in many ways is a thing of the past..i just want my patients to know i do care and help the best way i know how. Lastly, think about it before you spout off if you were sitting there trying to help you and someone just kept cussing you. I dont think AI is the answer as we all need the human touch!

[@MrAlbert-p3z]

Here here. You are so right. CSR work is a thankless job. I'm sure you've heard many horrible things being yelled at you. I even got in your face racial slurrs. "Are you black?" "You sound black" and even physical threats. The customer said "you got my address come to my house and we'll "fix" this right now". I have learned not to take it personally. I would usually still give them a 25-50 dollar credit even if they were rude to me. Just to show them I am human too.

[@SarahMichelle777]

I just want someone who speaks english that i can understand. I always try hard to be nice but its very frustrating

[@ebybeehoney]

I have to call insurance regularly and i try to remember that the person on the other side is not in charge of the situation. They are just trying to work. The auto lines are horrible. They lead me in circles and are no help.

[@jenniferliggett6385]

The insurance companies are losing money due to severe weather-related losses and the uptick in crime due to socioeconomic conditions. Their aim is to protect their profits by preventing your claim from being paid, if possible. This was always the case, but is more so now. There was a head of a major insurance company whose motto was "Delay, Deny, and Defend." Whenever you pick an insurance company, don't look at the rates. Look at the JD Power Awards for claims handling, the reviews, and research historical actions taken from the state's DOI.

[@glow1815]

Very few like yourself understood. Most are just mean sometimes evil

[@glow1815]

Very few like yourself understood. Most are just mean sometimes evil

[@michaelvaladez6570]

Greed..it will still be a put off on the customer..one more reason to save the bottom line..! Save money saves time for who ?..Terrible !

[@lgbet6w58g4]

Just got off the phone with BC/BS health insurance and New York Life AARP life insurance and had excellent customer service with live humans who I could understand and solved my issues. They must have seen your segment on CBS Sunday Morning.

[@MrAlbert-p3z]

are you sure it was a live human?😂

[@murphy6569]

6:47 Human empathy/connection is still needed to take calls 📞

[@PYTU]

Not true I'm looking for resolution not to vent. I try to make them laugh and have off topic conversations. Yes I have yelled when you not telling me the true or know you can't really help and waste my time.

[@Phostings1]

I understand the sentalment of those young ladies and gentlemen, but AI is the future. AI is like having a buddy with you that is always ready to help. Its the assistance, the best friend, the listener. When times are hard, and you have no one to talk to, or can't remember the conversion steps of a measurement, AI can assist you. I understand the human aspect of those who are concern, but AI doesn't have feelings or bias(if its regulated carefully) and will always be that mentor ready to improve your life. Don't be afraid of AI. We all will get used to it and before you know it, it will be another fad that will eventually be a normal part of how we live our lives in the next century and beyond.

[@patriciafeeley7997]

Chewy has great customer service

[@michaelfoxbrass]

Chew’s awesome. They’ve built an online brand on high-touch service. But as soon as Amazon comes at them HARD as a competitor, their sales margins will begin to shrink, and they’ll have to make expense/personnel cuts - and there goes customer service.

[@jadetiger88888]

Please, we need a real human being to talk to

[@kburkes4245]

Sounds good BUT I am sure companies like this because they can save on personnel costs. Meaning job loss. No mention of that in your piece?

[@DavidPogue]

Well, at the moment, we have opposite problem: not ENOUGH people willing to take the call-center jobs. AI bots like Grace are intended to answer calls right away (instead of making you sit on hold), and to hand calls off to the understaffed humans only if necessary.

[@gurpreetpanesar395]

my gut feeling says there is going to be a very bad times coming up for call centre employees and with AI spreading so fast human to human interaction is going to vanish..

[@babasheeny3634]

They’re actually in Orlando??? Usually if Yur lucky enough to talk to a REAL person, they’re in Panama or somewhere else.

[@steveconn]

AAA is the worst in this regard, endless bots (I actually like the added 'uhs,' gives it a warmth. If only they could stop asking the location of Sarah Connors).

[@stache1954]

AAA went down the tubes years ago.

[@steveconn]

You have to yell you're filing a lawsuit before you get an actual human lol

[@kayalcorn9569]

Dude!! Put your phone on speaker and get stuff done on that hour long wait.

[@lemonadestand4386]

The service animal "tiger" issue is an easy question. Is it a dog or a miniature horse? If not, it's not a service animal and can't be treated as such. Now if an airline offers the ability to bring on an emotional support animal, that's another question to which a list of animals could be given to AI. I doubt a tiger will be on that list.

[@dn2oj]

Due to angry irrational customers there will no longer be customer service agents as they don’t want to stay in the jobs. It will all soon be AI and the customers will be worse off.

[@17thRodeo]

BOYCOTT ANY COMPANY THAT DOESN'T LET YOU SPEAK TO A HUMAN IN NORTH AMERICA IN A TIMELY FASHION

[@JS-vl5gd]

I have a couple of relatives who work in customer call centers. I've told them that AI is going to take over their jobs, but they tell me that such a thing is unlikely to happen, without having watched a video like this. Actually, I think a huge number of jobs are going to be taken over by AI. I'm already 60 and trying to change careers for the remainder of my time before I retire at around 70 to 72, but I'll be counting on my social security check a lot.

[@gunpowdergurlz9434]

They just want to appear that they offer customer service. They have no power and are unable to do anything other than running your cc card. Try calling customer service for a product before you buy their product.

[@dennislaplant95]

I'm all for shorter wait times and more empathetic representatives, but rather than using AI, how about hiring more real people at a decent wage? Then properly train and support them so they'll actually care about doing their job and want to stay. If all these companies replace people with AI, who's going to have the money to buy the products they sell?

[@MrAlbert-p3z]

Exactly! No job, no money, no buying! Corporations opting to fatten their pockets with A.I. labor means no work for humans which means no buying anything for us little people.

[@john_dee1431]

And so the same bully companies that don’t invest in customer service will now all of a sudden invest in quality AI? Likely.

[@i.k.8868]

This will be hell on earth.

[@Seekthetruth3000]

In this case, a real person is much better than a machine/AI.

[@MrAlbert-p3z]

booking my flight I had a question and guess who was there to help me....A.I.....what a joke...

[@jeanmellano5235]

Ads preceding clip are TOO long

[@DavidYosephSchreiber]

Customer service representatives need a year of business experience before they are put on the phones.

[@janetucker5963]

AI is taking away jobs….. corporate greed is the problem.

[@kelleyspears1218]

Human agents represent their businesses better than AI

[@CaliforniaDreamer-z5z]

"UNDERFUNDED"? @#%$!! The interviewees all mentioned talking to "patients". If we had universal health care in the US we could cut out all the insurance BS. The increase in taxes would be less than what insurance companies charge.

[@Wizardof]

Good. Just ask the AI in a certain way to get what you want. Our Customer Is Always Right groups will bend this AI to our will.

[@cowbaby]

Most of the calls I make are first answered by a robot. Grace seems like a better robot.

[@IntriguedLioness]

For those who criticize the wait time, phoning instead of chat or email is the least efficient way to reach customer service, known fact. But, if you choose not to chat and want to talk.... a voice prompt that can key in and route your issue to the best department is a good thing. People hear Ai and freak out yeti in some form or another has been around for years. I rarely have customer service issues but if I do 90% I deal with in chat, and of the 10% I learned certain keywords to use and get redirected. If not, there is the age-old "agent agent agent" which will usually get you a human.😂

[@MichaelAndersonShow]

There is no labor shortage!

[@MrProy33]

I have to say "speak with a human being" a lot now. I don't talk to robots.

[@user-vc2nl4vh9c]

David, put your phone on speaker, you'll get a crick in the neck trying to hold it with your head or your hand will go numb!

[@DavidPogue]

Oh, trust me... when I wasn't talking to the camera, I put the phone down on speaker! (And yes, that was a REAL 55-minute call!)

[@Golgibaby]

It is abusive from both ends.

[@MrAlbert-p3z]

CSR's are not trained to be abusive. It starts with the abusive customers then it becomes a choice of the CSR.

[@normandeaunewswire]

The worst must be HealthFirst. Most of the time their English was hard to understand

[@Loissupes]

So the AI virtual assistant company was founded by two men and yet the AI they created has a female name and voice? Cause women are typically seen as service workers.

[@NECCF]

This left us feeling amazed, hopeful and concerned about the future of customer interactions. It's incredible to witness technology stepping in to streamline processes and defuse tensions in customer service call centers.

[@LeeSmith-f4f]

That's crap. Once they have your money they don't care.

[@SarahAnnSays]

This is the most boomer story CBS Sunday Morning has ever produced 😂

[@dellrugby]

Sunday Morning has a Boomer Only Policy. ( I was born in 63 so take it from me. )

[@ninabishop8634]

America doesn't produce anything. Well, very little. We are a service country so the customer service in the US should be superior to all others but it's not. PAY PEOPLE MORE and they will come to work for you. TREAT EMPLOYEES LIKE YOU CARE ABOUT THEM and they will work for you. For GOD'S sake, no matter the company, get some trained professionals, who are REAL PEOPLE, to do customer service work and actually serve your customers! Nothing screams "I don't care about you" louder than being connected to a computer bot. I don't want to talk to a freakin' bot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's why customers are mad when you get them. Customers waited forever, because companies don't want to pay employees and treat employees like they don't matter, and by the time a customer waits, is connected with a bot and is hung up on, they are furious. Hire real people for employee staff, treat them well, train them well, and service America! Have some pride in your companies for crying out loud.

[@Recuper8]

Bye bye human jobs 😊

[@chrisstengren8995]

When life becomes the chipelle show pop copy clip….

[@leanordials8008]

Labor shortage, hahahaaa. Thay don't want to pay anyone.

[@kjjohnson24]

So “revamping” is what we’re calling the purging more people of their jobs by greedy capitalists? I’d much rather talk to a real person (even with a heavy Indian accent) than a useless AI bot…

[@colestone14]

I don’t like it. I want a real person within 5 minutes

[@nightowl1654]

This is not the solution to this problem that greedy corporations dont want to fix by actually paying a fair wage 😂

[@Vinny-xs4xm]

PLEASE NO!!!!! AI - IS Not American!!!

[@carlosarriaga7428]

That was the dumbest thing I ever heard

[@interpol9871]

AI is worst, I love to speak with human live agent not machine aritifical intelligence

[@cwj144]

Comcast. Take note