Your Call Is Important to Us

In this episode of 99% Invisible, Roman Mars interviews Chris Kahn, a reporter for The Atlantic, about the concept of "sludge" in customer service. Sludge refers to the intentional obstacles and frustrations companies create to discourage customers from pursuing claims or resolving issues. Kahn shares his personal experience with a malfunctioning car and the subsequent difficulties he faced with customer service. He also discusses insights from a source named Amas Tanuma, who revealed the tactics call centers use to create sludge, such as long hold times, poorly designed call routing systems, and policies that incentivize customer service representatives to prioritize efficiency over customer satisfaction. The conversation explores the history of sludge, its potential future with AI, and strategies for navigating it, including the concept of "admin night," where people gather to tackle administrative tasks together. The episode concludes with a discussion of Kahn's car saga and the broader implications of sludge in society.