The obsession with removing friction is often wrong. When users have low intent or understanding, the goal isn't to speed them up but to build their comprehension of your product's value. If software asks you to make a decision you don't understand, it makes you feel stupid, which is the ultimate failure.

When facing a significant customer service issue with a brand you care about, bypass standard channels and email the founder or CEO. Frame your feedback constructively. High-level leaders are often disconnected from front-line issues and appreciate direct, actionable feedback, leading to white-glove service and a faster, more favorable resolution.

Brands must view partner and supplier experiences as integral to the overall "total experience." Friction for partners, like slow system access, ultimately degrades the service and perception delivered to the end customer, making it a C-level concern, not just an IT issue.

The common frustration of a dropped customer service call is often not an accident. Call center agents are measured on "average handle time" and are penalized if calls are too long, incentivizing them to hang up on complex calls to avoid punishment.

Sludge is profitable in the short term. With CEO tenures shorter than ever and compensation tied to quarterly stock performance, executives are incentivized to cut customer service costs now, even if it harms long-term customer relationships and brand loyalty.

The frustrating techniques common in modern customer service—creating needless complexity and slowing down processes—are nearly identical to the "simple sabotage" tactics promoted by the US government for citizens in Nazi-occupied Europe to disrupt enemy operations.

'Do not reply' isn't just poor CX; it's a strategic failure. It represents 'deliberate blindness,' blocking the high-fidelity customer data needed to train AI models. This tells customers you want their money but not their voice, creating a 'brand debt' that catastrophically erodes trust.

Businesses often fail to spot points of friction in their own customer journey because they are too familiar with their processes. This "familiarity bias" makes them blind to the confusing experience a new customer faces. The key is to actively step outside this autopilot mode and see the experience with fresh eyes.

Leaders don't explicitly order "bad service." They demand aggressive cost reductions, which trickles down and leads lower-level managers to implement sludgy tactics to meet targets. As George Carlin said, "you don't need a formal conspiracy when interests align."