This column appeared on Ziptone on Feb. 7, 2025
I want it all, and I want it now is a line from the famous song by Queen, released in 1989. It emphasizes the determination to want everything in life, preferably right away. That sounds familiar to many customer contact professionals in 2025. Customers want quick answers. Good solutions. No waiting times. And preferably 24/7 availability through their preferred channel.
At least, this is if you follow all the trend reports published by vendors within the customer contact industry. Coincidentally, the same vendors also have appropriate solutions to this problem, in the form of various AI solutions. But do we really want everything now? And should we really want it?
Nighttime musings
Imagine lying awake in the middle of the night because you worry about money. You brood and mull over whether you can still pay your mortgage. It’s 3 a.m., and you can’t call any financial advisor to put you out of your mental misery. Oh, the drama.
How great is it to be able to go directly to your AI advisor? Who can tell you immediately, without waiting times, circadian rhythms, or read-in time, how the financial flag is flying and thus takes away your worries? 24/7, a fast and accurate answer, at your service. Worry away and get some sleep.
But is that the case? Does such a sleepless night of brooding – no matter how annoying – perhaps have a function? One that AI, with its quick solutions, cannot take over?
Delayed gratification
In the Marshmallow experiment, a researcher leaves a child in a room with a marshmallow. When the researcher returns, and the marshmallow remains there, the child gets a second marshmallow. But if the first marshmallow is gone, the child won’t get a second one.
This famous experiment by Walter Mischel showed how difficult it can be to resist temptation. But what turned out? The ability to tolerate delayed rewards – delayed gratification – was a significant predictor of success. Children who were able to wait, thereby collecting double marshmallows, not only had better school performance later, but also more successful careers and built healthier relationships.
Opposed to delayed gratification is instant gratification: instant gratification of needs. This is especially linked to impulsivity, making ill-considered decisions and making poor choices. Indeed, chewing on problems for a while has a protective function: by thinking and planning carefully, you are more likely to get exactly what you need, or want. Is it possible that the arrow-like deployment of AI, is depriving us of something important?
Earn money while waiting
Perhaps the ultimate example of delayed gratification is the Birkin Bag. This iconic handbag by Hermès has a price tag of $9,000 to $30,000. To get your hands on one, loyal customers must get on an exclusive waiting list. It can take up to two years before you can hold your beloved bag in your arms. By the way, this waiting time has nothing to do with production time: it only takes 48 hours to produce a bag. That should be possible faster, you would think. Still, the wait pays off: with an average annual return of 14.2% on the second-hand market, the bag even surpasses the value development of gold.
So waiting can certainly pay off. The reverse is also true: not waiting can cost you something.
The cost of an instant response
In an episode of Gilmore Girls, the residents of Stars Hollow organize a knitting contest to raise money to renovate the local bridge. For weeks, the residents prepare for the knitting event. And then the moment arrives: knit away. After two hours, a generous donor – a new resident of Stars Hollow – who is touched by the residents’ effort for the bridge, decides to help. He donates the amount needed in one fell swoop. End of knitting contest. Everything that has been lived toward is swept off the table in one fell swoop because the goal has been achieved. A bittersweet result.
The generous giver was comparable to the instant response of AI. The result is there, but the process in this case proved more important and valuable, than the result to be achieved.
Waiting adds value
In the world of AI and customer contact, speed seems to be the holy grail. And yes, in emergencies, speed is crucial. No one wants to spend five minutes on hold at 112. But not all situations call for a 112 approach. Indeed, by making everything readily available, we risk losing something valuable. Just as the marshmallows, the Birkin Bag and the knitting contest teach us: waiting adds value. It gives space to get clear on what we really want or need. It increases appreciation and can even lead to better solutions or even 14.2% annualized returns.
While AI makes our customer contact ever faster and more efficient, above all, we must remember that there are times when it pays to feel the discomfort of waiting for a moment. Perhaps the real art is knowing when to respond immediately, and when it’s better to wait – if only to enjoy that second marshmallow at the bottom of your Birkin Bag.
