Economic Daily: Can a billion-dollar subsidy buy back the "vanished manual customer service"?

Instant retail subsidies of billions are flying everywhere, but when you encounter a real problem, you may not even be able to find a customer service representative who can speak "human language". According to data from the State Administration for Market Regulation, in 2024, there were nearly 7,000 complaints related to "smart customer service" in e-commerce after-sales service, a year-on-year increase of 56.3%. Consumers generally reflect that "smart customer service" often gives irrelevant responses and it is difficult to contact human customer service, resulting in low communication efficiency and seriously affecting the consumer experience. Relying on self-discipline of companies is far from enough to solve these problems. The current chaos of smart customer service is partly attributable to the lagging regulation and industry standards. It is hoped that relevant departments can promptly introduce norms for the application of smart customer service, clarify response standards for transferring to human services, user informed consent protection, and other specific details to regulate companies' abuse of technological advantages and neglect of user rights. At the end of the day, if efficiency does not serve people, no matter how high the volume of orders, loyalty cannot be built, and no matter how intelligent the algorithm, trust cannot be established. The outcome of the battle of food delivery ultimately depends on human attitudes. After all, every "disappeared cake" may result in a negative review; and every "disappeared customer service representative" may lead to the permanent loss of a user.