THE CONTACT CENTER DIDN'T DIE — IT WAS KILLED

The bots didn't steal your jobs. The leaders gave them away.

Let's stop pretending this was an accident.

The contact center didn't die of natural causes. It was murdered — slowly, publicly, and with applause from the very people who were supposed to protect it.

The tech bros and CFOs already had their meeting. They toasted to "efficiency" and "innovation." Translation: Let's automate human connection out of existence.

They didn't debate whether it was right — only how fast they could do it.

And the service leaders? They sat silently.

They let the word "agent" be stolen. It used to mean someone with power to act. Now it's a chatbot release note.

They heard the boardroom label the contact center a "cost center" — something to "approach zero." And they said nothing.

Meanwhile, real humans screamed from the trenches: • "We're stuck between customers we care about and policies we can't defend." • "These systems are broken by design." • "You're making it impossible to help people."

Leadership's response? A second monitor. A pizza party. Another slogan about "customer obsession."

You stopped believing in service. You serve spreadsheets now.

You traded trust for metrics. Empathy for efficiency. Human connection for AI.

And you called it "transformation."

Here's the truth: Customers still crave real help. Employees still want to provide it.

What we lack are leaders with spine.

Leaders who see service not as a cost, but as the heartbeat of their brand. Leaders who play offense. Who understand the highest ROI in any company is still trust and loyalty.

If that's you — stop waiting for permission. Stop waiting for the boardroom to catch up.

Join me at WaitingForService.com — where we're building what comes after the decline.

Because the contact center didn't die. It was killed.

And the people who still give a damn? We're ready to take it back.