KQED's Forum Forum From the Archives: Is Customer Service a Bad Model?
Dec 22, 2025
Chris Colin, a journalist for The Atlantic, dives into the nightmare of modern customer service, coining the term 'sludge' for frustrating interactions designed to deter rather than assist. He shares his own frustrating experience with car warranty issues, highlighting the scripted empathy and disconnection that plague call centers. Listeners share their own horror stories, revealing a pattern of poor service across industries. Colin emphasizes the unequal burden of sludge on marginalized communities and suggests communal tactics for tackling bureaucracy.
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Episode notes
Car Cut Out Sparks Sludge Odyssey
- Chris Colin's Ford Escape shut off while driving and left him momentarily unable to steer or brake.
- Multiple garages and dealerships couldn't replicate the issue, kicking off weeks of baffling calls and transfers.
Metrics Create Perverse Customer Incentives
- Call-center metrics like average handle time and credits create incentives that push reps to shorten or dodge calls.
- Those incentives produce predictable poor outcomes without anyone explicitly ordering 'bad service.'
Ticket Buyer Mistakes AI For Human
- A caller who bought StubHub tickets suspected an AI because the agent repeated questions in a robotic cadence.
- The caller eventually confirmed one interaction was AI and accepted imperfect resolution by attending the show.