99% Invisible Your Call Is Important to Us
139 snips
Oct 28, 2025 
Chris Collin, a journalist known for his work in The Atlantic, shares eye-opening insights into customer service challenges. He reveals how intentional design creates 'sludge'—friction meant to keep consumers from their entitlements. From frustrating experiences with Ford's customer service to the metrics that shape call center interactions, Collin explains the tactics that deter customers. He also discusses the consequences of sludge in public programs and warns about AI amplifying these issues, urging organizations to conduct sludge audits for improvement.
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Car Suddenly Shuts Off On Bayshore Boulevard
- Chris Collin's Ford Escape shut off while driving, locking steering and brakes and creating a life-threatening moment.
- The SUV miraculously stopped and launched a months-long warranty and customer service ordeal.
Warranty Call Turns Into Months Of Sludge
- Chris called Ford expecting warranty help and encountered repeated transfers, long holds, and dropped calls.
- His experience turned into a months-long "cretinous ordeal" of customer service sludge.
Sludge: Friction That Blocks Entitlement
- "Sludge" is the term for frictions that deter people from getting what they're owed through bureaucracy and complexity.
- It differs from explicit policy by being subtler, procedural, and designed to slow or block claims.
