Klarna replaced 700 customer service agents with AI.

Claimed it was a revolution.

One year later — their CEO said publicly:

"We went too far. We focused too much on efficiency and cost.

The result was lower quality."

They are now rehiring humans.

At the same time — Trade Republic invested a double-digit million amount

in 1,000 real human agents. 24/7. Eight languages.

And a Customer Council where real customers meet management.

Same industry. Same moment. Opposite decisions.

The difference between them is Human Experience Design.

🚩 Klarna — The Warning

🚩 Burger King "Patty" — The Mistake

✅ Trade Republic — The Answer

• Why the most memorable experiences are created by removing — not adding
• Three things to remove from your customer experience starting today
• The neuroscience behind it: you cannot design human experience from a depleted human
• Automation for efficiency vs. automation designed to free humans for connection

"Luxury is not what you add. It is what you remove — to make space for a genuine human encounter."

AI-first customer service.

Klarna, McDonald's, Taco Bell, Starbucks — all tried it. All recalibrated.

🚩 Volume metrics — resolution rate, response time — mask quality deterioration.

Klarna's AI performed perfectly on volume. And failed on the interactions that mattered.

✅ Map every interaction: transaction or connection moment?

→ Free GHX Pressure Test — find out where your experience adds friction instead of removing it:

amelung-partners.com → Free Tools

→ Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.

→ This podcast grows through people like you.

Forward this episode to one leader who is asking the same questions.

A GM, a founder, a CX director who senses the gap — but can't name it yet.

That forward means more than any ad campaign.

→ Connect with Peggy on LinkedIn: @amelungandpartners

I read every message.

AI is great. But humanity is the driving force.

See you next Tuesday.

— Peggy, your genuine human experience nerd 🎙️

An experienced leader from a large software company comments.

"Customer experience rarely fails because of tools.

It fails because of focus and leadership."

I couldn't have said it better.

And their closing question stopped me:

"Where do you catch yourself right now —

in the internal loop? Or close enough to the customer to create real impact?"

That question is for you too. Right now.

• What GHX actually is — and why it starts with the leader, not the journey map
• Transactional Leadership vs. Genuine Human Leadership — one clear question separates them
• The insider story from luxury hospitality that most leaders outside this world never see
• When to switch the turbo on — and how to build a culture where your team does it without being asked
• Three things Genuine Human Leaders do differently: Notice. Decide. Build it into others.
• The GHX Inside-Out process: I → We → Customer → Market

"Efficiency without warmth is a transaction. The turbo moment — the one that makes someone feel truly seen — that is Genuine Human Leadership. And it only works human."

Is Genuine Leadership a relevant topic for customer experience?

Coming in a future episode:

Genuine Human Leadership — Peggy's own model.

Between Effective Leadership and Authentic Leadership.

The developed capacity for real human connection — not a personality trait. A practice.

Stay tuned.

→ Free GHX Pressure Test — find out where your leadership creates connection and where it doesn't:

amelung-partners.com → Free Tools

→ Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.

→ Share this episode with one leader who is caught in the internal loop right now.

→ Connect with Peggy on LinkedIn: @amelungandpartners

AI is great. But humanity is the driving force.

See you next Tuesday.

— Peggy, your genuine human experience nerd 🎙️

The CEO of the company that builds AI just told the world: customer service will be gone in 24 months. And the room applauded.

I was at that AI Summit. Four hours. Efficiency, automation, scale, disruption.

Not once did anyone ask: what happens to the customer?

That silence is not a gap in the agenda.

That silence is the problem.

Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic: Half of entry-level white-collar jobs — including customer service — will vanish in 24 months.

He's right. But precise about what: the transaction disappears. The connection doesn't.

Scarcity creates value. Genuine human connection is about to become the scarcest thing in business.

• 6 insights from the AI Summit — and what Peggy adds to each one
• Experimental State vs. Identity State — the two things every company needs to run simultaneously
• Why more tools ≠ more efficiency — and the 14% cognitive load research
• Why the manager layer is where transformation compounds or dies
• AI Champions — and why every company also needs GHX Champions
• The new job description: combining human force and AI force to succeed

"AI creates efficiency. Humans create transformation. The leaders who combine both — will be irreplaceable."

Adding more AI tools to solve a human problem.

AI transformation without parallel investment in human connection

→ Free GHX Pressure Test — 12 questions, 5 minutes:

amelung-partners.com → Free Tools

→ Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.

→ Share this episode with one leader navigating the AI transformation right now.

→ Connect with Peggy on LinkedIn: @amelungandpartners

AI is great. But humanity is the driving force.

See you next Tuesday.

— Peggy, your genuine human experience nerd 🎙️