Customer Service? Yes, it C...
I'm a Gen-X'er and loyal brand customer for just about everything I buy, and I'm not ...
Customer Service? Yes, it Counts and Tello Has Employees Who Get It!
I'm a Gen-X'er and loyal brand customer for just about everything I buy, and I'm not that savvy technologically. Also, I distrust marketing and dislike being marketed to. I was late to the cell phone craze, purchasing an older model, cheap Motorola flip phone (year???) from Tracfone, holding onto it well into smartphone years through about 2012, and then taking the leap to smartphones by purchasing an Apple iPhone SE, also through Tracfone.
I've used the Tracfone service for over a decade for my flip phones, and later for my current iOS smartphone. Tracfone service is harder and harder to get, so this June 2026, I did some research and decided to take a risk to try out a new-to-me organization, Tello, that offers low-cost, premium coverage and service for smartphones. I anticipated that switching phone providers was going to be complicated, anxiety-inducing, and time-consuming. Taking a deep breath, and left to figure this out on my own, I jumped in to initiate a migration of my phone's Tracfone service to Tello while summoning the Gods of Preservation to retain my old phone number. Immediately, I encountered roadblocks.
Before losing my head, I found a Tello phone number and, holding onto my sanity, called. I expected to get routed into the dreaded, AI-assisted, press-a-number, hell-line. My call, by the second ring, was answered by a man with a calm, friendly voice. Alexander Montano's welcoming presence--honestly, gave me pause. Is this a real person, I wondered. His professionalism...yes... it's really clever, but is it a sneaky AI-bot ruse to gather detailed data about me? Will he soon push me off to a deeper, AI-run, data-collection hell-pool?
No, the phone connection was clear, Alexander was real, and his tone was quick, supportive, and exhibited a comfortable and authentic professionalism. As he listened to my concerns, rather than connect me to someone else, Alexander addressed and tied up all loose ends. Wow, a one-stop shop! Soon, when all my questions and concerns were answered, my phone contacts and other data (SIM/eSIM?) were migrated, my new Tello phone service was activated, and I was back in business again. The call was completed. My case was fully resolved in roughly 15, or so minutes! I hung up the phone (translate: ended the call) a little cautiously. I reflected. How is it that I got so lucky, and how did Tello manage to land such a well-poised and talented representative?
This story may be more common than we might imagine, and it may signal a teachable moment for a growing number of organizations that plan to harness AI to produce and market their product(s) worldwide. Increasingly, consumers are left with some products to simply "wing it" if, or when they can not afford, or choose not to afford, a service contract. Customer data is collected and assessed for varying degrees of value as it relates to future sales, maybe.
Organizations that hope to live beyond the AI bubble hire the talent exhibited by Tello employees like Alexander. Assets, or more accurately, business partners like Alexander have the potential to build and cultivate a catalog of loyal, repeat business that has could fill in budget gaps in an organization's lean years. People like Alexander are precious, yet while these individuals make THE difference and demonstrate the CRITICAL credibility needed to sustain a serious business, they rarely get recognized or duly rewarded. The AI shift will challenge organizations to reflect on and to reconsider how they view employees like Alexander. For example, they bring a magical and precious commodity, the ability to seamlessly communicate and connect with consumers, understand the company's product(s), be knowledgeable in programming, be able to interface with human beings, read and respond to emotions, identify, puzzle through, and solve problems, and record mundane data. Their EQ balances and harmonizes with their IQ. These premium employees, or, rather, organization partners, can connect with customers sincerely, and in a significant way that may offer value AI may not be able to touch. They may become valuable business partners for 22nd-century-minded organizations.
