I had a large drapery installation in Orlando this week. I knew it was going to take at least two days to complete.
Usually in a situation like this, I don’t reserve a hotel in advance. I’m old school. I prefer to drive around first, see what’s nearby: restaurants, convenience stores, and then walk in hoping to find a room.
I spotted one with a relatively empty parking lot. Promising. Parked and walked in.
Asked if they had anything available. They did. The clerk asked for the usual: credit card and driver’s license.
Started typing. Five minutes in, she stopped, picked up the phone, and called the manager. “The system is not letting me check this gentleman in.”
What the manager said back still bothers me: “Tell him to book online. It’s easier.”
I’m standing right there. Card in my hand. A real person in front of me. And the answer to take my money was… go find us on a website.
The Growing Friction in Modern Customer Service
Consequently, even though I was tired after a 14-hour installation day, I tried. Pulled out my phone. Found the hotel I was standing inside of and went through the BS.
Selecting a date, selecting the room type, and finally the payment. Or so I thought. However, the next step was “you need to create an account first”… I lost it.
I reached my hand over the counter and asked for my card back. “I’m done.”
The clerk said, “I’m sorry.”
I said, “I’m sorry too.” And I walked out.
Drove four blocks. Spotted another hotel. Pulled in, went inside, asked if they had a room.
Yes. The price was 30% higher. I didn’t care. I asked, half-snarky, “Can you take my money now, or should I book online first?”
I put my card on the counter and said, “Please take my money.”
Why Price Doesn’t Matter When Friction is Too High
Here’s the thing that’s been sitting with me since.
That first hotel didn’t lose me on price. They didn’t lose me in the process.
They lost me the second a paying customer, begging to buy, is forced to climb a wall, do a cartwheel, and sing the Japanese national anthem.
Big CEOs, boards of directors, and Wall Street have been doing this on purpose for decades.
Outsourcing the phones. Outsourcing the email. Outsourcing customer service — in exchange for a bigger bottom line.
For a higher stock price. For the chance of being acquired by a venture capital fund.
Now we’re entering the AI era and calling it the next evolution. And don’t get me wrong!
I’m the first to jump into new tech and new gadgets to make life and business more interesting and more productive.
The Friction Economy: Where Efficiency Kills Retention
But here’s what nobody is seeing: every step we pull one more human out of the deal, companies hope consumers won’t notice. Furthermore, they assume technology can completely replace connection.
They do notice.
“I paid 30% more because someone was willing to actually take it. Not for the room. For the yes. For the person who didn’t make me feel like an interruption.”
A QR code at a restaurant so I can read the menu on my phone? Bad idea. A supermarket where I scan, bag, and pay all by myself?
Stupid. Stopping me from paying for a hotel room because I have to create an account first? Absurd!
Tired of tech replacing human connection?
If you are sick of modern businesses choosing digital friction over real relationships, and you want a raw look at the unvarnished truths of building a life and legacy on your own terms, grab my book Nobody Told Me That on Amazon.
The Hidden Risk of Removing the Human Touch
As much as I love AI for brainstorming ideas, organizing my companies, and finding good things to do while traveling, removing the human touch from the experience is how you lose sales without ever knowing why.
You know the old saying, less is more? In the world of customer service, less is just less.
That’s the whole business. That’s the part you can’t outsource.
In fact, going out of your way to make a customer feel special — seen, heard, taken care of — is what keeps you in business longer. It’s what makes you recession-proof.
Never Build a Barrier Between You and Your Client
In my book, Nobody Told Me That, I share 20 years of stories, and almost every one comes back to the same lesson: never build a barrier between you and your client.
Wall Street calls it streamline. Main Street calls it humanless.
Either way, it’s friction. One more screen, one more QR code, one more “create an account first” is just another brick between you and the person standing right in front of you, card in hand, ready to say yes.
Ultimately, you need to take the brick down. Take their money now and say thank you.
Because somebody four blocks away always will.
Let’s Keep the Conversation Going
So let me ask you — when was the last time you walked away from a purchase simply because a company made it too hard to give them your money?
Email here. I read everything.
Warmly,
P.S. — My book, Nobody Told Me That, comes out September 9. It’s 20 years of stories like this one — the walls I almost built, and the ones I’m grateful I didn’t. Want a head start? Grab the free sample chapter here
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If the story of the Orlando hotel lockout and the hidden cost of “humanless” customer service hit home, you’ll love my weekly podcast No Strings Attached—short, honest episodes on business, customer relationships, and the gritty reality of staying human in a digital world.
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