Hey, Reader!
Like many Americans, I bought a new TV last week. And no, it wasn’t for a big Super Bowl party — it was because the ice storm in middle Tennessee two weeks ago caused a power surge that killed the TV in the living room.
PSA: Make sure you’re using a surge protector for your TVs… and, make sure it’s not expired, since surge protectors apparently go bad after three to five years… who knew?!
Anyway, my husband and I went to a retailer to look at the TVs. We knew the size of the TV we wanted, but that was it. The choices were overwhelming, so I did what I increasingly do when I’m overwhelmed or unsure — I recorded a quick video of all the TVs at the store and uploaded it into ChatGPT and said, “Please tell me which TV to buy.”
Five minutes later, without ever talking to a single store employee (scan-and-go for the win!), we were on our way home with the TV recommendation AI surfaced. Easy-peasy.
Every week, there’s a new think piece about AI and customer experience. AI tools were the subject of a bunch of Super Bowl ads. (Sidebar — can we talk about that Alexa+ one where Amazon illustrates all the ways their product could literally murder you? YIKES! Weird flex, but… you do you, Alexa.)
AI is already rapidly changing, and will continue to rapidly change the way customers make decisions before, during, and after purchase. And, of course, leaders are constantly making decisions about how to incorporate AI into their buyers’ journeys.
There is so much dueling noise claiming, “Customers HATE AI!” and “Customers LOVE AI!” Here’s the truth: Customers don’t love or hate AI. They love easy and hate hard.
It’s never been about the tool; it’s about how the tool is used. This is especially true when it comes to post-purchase experiences, since the promise of AI is so often tied to stories about customer service or service recovery.
Three of my own recent post-purchase experiences come to mind. These experiences perfectly illustrate the difference between AI done right, AI done poorly, and AI done intentionally.
Personal Creations | The AI Experience Customers Hope For
In December, I ordered four adorable Peanuts stockings from PersonalCreations,com.
Three were perfect, and the fourth had a weird printing flaw. It took less than two minutes for an AI chat agent to locate my order, confirm the mistake, verify with a photo I uploaded, and tell me a new stocking would be on the way in 24 hours — no need to return the flawed one.
It was an amazing experience! No friction at all, and much faster than speaking with a human. Win, win! I’ve ordered from the site since and will continue to.
1-800 Flowers | How You Make a Bad Experience Worse
A few days later, I went to 1-800-Flowers.com to report that a centerpiece arrangement I’d ordered for my mother-in-law showed up looking… shall we say, lackluster. It was more of a Charlie Brown Christmas tree than the real thing!
And, most insulting of all, there was a Home Depot tag still attached to what was supposed to be a florist-designed arrangement. Here’s the side-by-side of what I ordered in the app and what was delivered.
The chatbot experience on their site was slow and painful. For one thing, there was no way to upload a photo. The clunky, outdated AI-powered decision tree eventually routed me to a live agent.
That agent was so bad that I asked in the chat multiple times, “Are you AI?”
The second time she confirmed she was a human agent (after saying, “That’s great news!” when I told her my mother-in-law had found a Home Depot price tag on the arrangement), I asked her if she could transfer me to an AI agent. 😅
The issue was eventually resolved (after the agent tried several times to get me to accept a discount and an after-Christmas redelivery), but it was slow, frustrating, and annoying. Especially after I’d had such a quick, seamless experience just a few days before with another chatbot.
Minted | AI + Humans, Done Intentionally
An example of a fantastic AI-escalation-to-human experience comes courtesy of Minted.com.
I’ve used Minted for years to order booklet-style holiday cards. This year, Minted inadvertently mailed me the wrong cards. Instead of my New Year’s greetings, I received birth announcements from a family on Long Island. 🙃
I was happy to find out that not only did Minted offer 24/7 phone support, but also that the AI-powered system got me to a human in less than a minute. That agent quickly apologized for the error, refunded my entire order, (100% not necessary, especially since it was a $400 order, but appreciated!), and expedited new cards to be printed and overnight-shipped.
The magic of the call wasn’t that I reached a human, it was that AI knew when to get out of the way because of the issue I was calling about.
A few minutes later, I received an apology email from Minted talking about how important customer privacy is to them and what steps they’d be taking to ensure a mistake like this didn’t happen again.
While privacy was on my mind (I have no idea who received 150 of my family’s holiday card by mistake!), I hadn’t brought it up on the call. But, instead of shying away from that issue, they addressed it head on — and, in doing so, turned me into an even more loyal customer.
The Bottom Line
From buying a TV to fixing a delivery mistake, the pattern is the same: AI works when it removes friction… and fails when it adds it. Technology will change, but that truth will remain constant.
Later this year, I’ll be releasing a comprehensive, national study about CX and AI (you heard it here first!). But, in the meantime, I’d love to hear about your own experiences with AI — good, bad, and ugly — and how those experiences have impacted the way you think about the companies using them.
And, of course, if you’re looking for great partners to help with AI implementation, let me know that too and I’ll connect you with the best in the biz — companies like Glia and Hansen whose tools are creating happier team members, customers and leaders.
Before You Go...
I had the pleasure of guesting on two fantastic podcasts last week!
Check out my conversations on The Modern Customer Podcast with Blake Morgan and Unemployable with Jeff Dudan.
Lastly, a huge thank you to Global Gurus for honoring me as a World’s Top 30 Customer Experience Professional for 2026. I’m so grateful for the clients who’ve trusted me with their audiences and the peers who continue to raise the bar on what SUPER customer experience can look like.
There’s nothing more energizing to me than helping teams create experiences that turn customers into superfans. 🩵
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