Where Did The Human Moment Go?
A guest post by @RafeaelGallardo1 on human connection.
Technology is driving the failure of human connection. Customer service is a great example of this phenomenon, and frankly, it has been long overdue—we need to bring it back!
We are now told that "brick and mortar" (retail) is about connections; it is also about an experience. Yet, we all are aware of this lie. We know this because when we visit these so-called experiences, all we get are cold stares and cold shoulders. Where did the human moments go?
The Human Moment Defined
"An authentic psychological encounter that can happen only when two people share the same physical space."
— Edward Hallowell, MD, Psychiatrist.
If the human moment requires us to inhabit the same physical space, what happens when there is no physical space where humans are sharing a moment?
Dr. Hallowell has an answer:
"The absence of the human moment in an organization can wreak havoc. Good people leave. Those who remain are unhappy."
We acquired technology with the promise of a connected future. That promise was reinforced with the introduction of social media as our new public square for the development of ideas. However, almost 20 years after the release of the iPhone and social media, we are still waiting for those promises of connectivity more than ever.
This is what I want to discuss today. There is a wave of unhappiness across customer service. On one end, there is the antagonism built by consumers, where they see the customer service representative as an obstacle standing between them and their enjoyment. In most cases, their enjoyment is simply the act of transacting—what is known in psychoanalytic terms as the Big Other, what we perceive to steal our enjoyment.
Resilient customer service representatives reflect their resilience through aggression toward the consumer, as they perceive the consumer to be that which steals their enjoyment. This opposing position clashes, but both the representative and the consumer are wrong. It is not each other who steals one another's enjoyment; it is actually the mediator of their interaction that does.
Duty Over Joy
There was a time when the human moment was not only expected but necessary while transacting—a necessity mediated by humans through technology. Now, we find these interactions mediated by technology through humans.
Humans behind the kiosks, using the POS (point of sale system), have become slaves to the limited actions allowed by the technology that mediates their interaction with consumers.
The True Source of Frustration
In this battle of who stole whose enjoyment, both the representative and the customer forget who is truly taking their joy.
I propose that we look deeply at technology not as a tool used by humans to perform their tasks, but as a tool used by systems to justify their existence.
Isn’t it true that as a customer, you only get the choices that are available at the time you look?
And for the customer service representative, isn’t it true that the only way you can provide your labor is by following the systematic steps expected by the technology?
The worker is afraid of stepping out of the set of behaviors allowed by the system. Their duty, as they understand it, is to deliver enjoyment, and one mistake will trigger the impatience of the shoppers. The shoppers, without experience with point-of-sale systems, become aggravated at their lack of joy fulfillment.
The Loss of Human Connection
We have forgotten how to interact with one another. We have lived so long without genuine human moments that are not mediated through technology, that we are finding ourselves lacking more and more the skill of enjoying human moments. We see others as disturbances and even fear them.
Restoring The Human Moment
Restoring the human moment requires a conscious effort to break away from the technological, political, and economic systems that dictate our interactions.
Businesses must rethink the role of technology in customer service and strive to create spaces where real human connection can flourish.
This does not mean abandoning technology altogether, as that would be currently impossible, but rather redefining technology's role as a facilitator rather than a mediator.
Only by prioritizing authentic engagement can we reclaim the fundamental aspects of human moments that have been lost in the digital age.
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Sources:
Hallowell, Edward M. "The Human Moment at Work." Harvard Business Review, Jan. 1999, https://hbr.org/1999/01/the-human-moment-at-work.
 | A guest post by
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