Spill the Tea | Badge of the Month | May 2026

Hello all,

I’m not a huge fan of AI and incorporate it with caution on projects,  assignments, and communication.  One of the top things that bugs me is how it and other programs translate into English.  I’ve tried it twice just to see what it would do and the results would have made my high school French teacher laugh.  I’m supposed to be heading to Europe this fall but I’ll be packing my Larousse from college and a camera with film and leaving the tech out of it.

Great topic this month!!!

TEA - you are talking my language today!  Peppermint tea, Green tea, or Steeped Tea (Tim Hortons - Canada)  

I have some strong opinions on how we respond to homeowner/customer inquiries:

“I’m sorry you feel that way” should be retired. It’s a distancing phrase that subtly blames the customer’s reaction instead of acknowledging the experience we created. The best service recoveries I’ve seen come from specific apologies + an action plan: “I’m sorry you felt ignored when we didn’t call back as planned — here’s what I’m doing today, and what you can expect next.” Customers don’t need perfect empathy scripts — they want clarity, ownership, and next steps.

What are other thoughts on this one?  Great post for May month!

My hottest take relates to AI and is as follows:

The companies that go all-in on AI to eliminate as many human employees as possible will ultimately fail in the long run. Customers know that it’s an action taken purely to benefit the company/its shareholders and will not see a tangible benefit themselves (prices aren’t going to go down and the experiences aren’t getting any better, just more intrusive). Pair this with the harm they see being done around them as thousands of friends and family are systematically laid off with fewer and fewer career prospects and you have a pretty clear path to customer rejection of these companies. The organizations that understand and deliver on their obligations to employees and the communities they operate in by keeping human employees will flourish instead.

The AI Take:
Like nearly every major technological revolution before it, AI is often framed as a force that will devastate the workforce. History suggests otherwise—initial panic tends to outpace reality. Instead, the productivity gains AI delivers will quickly become embedded in baseline expectations, raising the standard of output. The result isn’t less work, but a more efficient society capable of producing significantly more.

Full disclosure:  I copied my initial response into ChatGPT and asked it to make me look smarter!

The AI Tea:

AI really helps a lot to reduce the time required to perform an assigned task, even if you are not that knowledgeable in a certain field.

Concern- As this AI technology continues to advance, there may be instance where made-up information is being generated as facts and the usual public audience are not able to spot them as AI-generated content that easily.

100%. Apologies without an action plan can often sound dismissive or empty. Personally, I always appreciate it when customer reps follow up with next steps as it demonstrates genuine concern and a proactive attitute to resolve my problem.

Great point! I think companies that invest in their employees and enable them to use AI to support their jobs—rather than replace them—will win in the long run.

I agree with your sentiment. AI still needs a human factor to chime in. I use it daily and while it helps with tasks and emails, the human touch and read on what it gives you - always needs review. Having said that customers are starting to use it to write emails - so being tech savvy is getting more important. 

We really said "let's ask 20 questions" and then showed up to the meeting like "anyway, here's the NPS."

Those other 19 questions are GRIEVING. They trained for this. They showed up. They were answered by real humans who took time out of their day — and we just... left them in the dataset like leftovers nobody wants to eat.

At this point the survey isn't a research tool, it's a trauma dumping ground with a single survivor.

If NPS is all we care about, I have great news: it's ONE question. We can literally just ask that. Revolutionary concept, I know. Hot take here - ask less, use what you ask. Therapy for the abandoned questions is not covered under our benefits plan.