To avoid the doorman fallacy, companies must recognise jobs are more than the visible tasks listed on a job description.

It’s why malicious compliance and work-to-rule actions are pretty devastating for a company. You got to assume AI will act with malicious compliance, or at least hallucinate and lie about it.

British advertising executive Rory Sutherland coined the term “doorman fallacy” in his 2019 book Alchemy. Sutherland uses the concept of the humble hotel doorman to illustrate how businesses can misjudge the value a person brings to the role.

To a business consultant, a doorman appears to simply stand by the entrance. They engage in small talk with those coming and going, and occasionally operate the door.

If that’s the entirety of the job, a technological solution can easily replace the doorman, reducing costs. However, this strips away the true complexity of what a doorman provides.

The role is multifaceted, with intangible functions that extend beyond just handling the door. Doormen help guests feel welcome, hail taxis, enhance security, discourage unwelcome behaviour, and offer personalised attention to regulars. Even the mere presence of a doorman elevates the prestige of a hotel or residence, boosting guests’ perception of quality.

When you ignore all these intangible benefits, it’s easy to argue the role can be automated. This is the doorman fallacy – removing a human role because technology can imitate its simplest function, while ignoring the layers of nuance, service and human presence that give the role its true value.

On top of that, consumers dislike dealing with AI in customer service settings, and most say they’d likely choose a competitor that doesn’t use AI.

I’m surprised this is news. Automated phone menus have been common for decades. If an automated system could solve your problem, then you would have used the website and not had to wait. The only reason to call is if you need a human to help.

Now they’re offering the same thing, except you can’t just type 123whatever to get back to where you were.

In a world of automated robo-bullshit it’s amazing how far a little human customer service goes. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m getting older and less patient, have more and bigger problems to deal with, if the robo-bullshit is worse, or all three, but god damn have I gotten frustrated having to deal with some automated nonsense this year.

The “doorman fallacy” is a major complaint I’ve had about past managers. I’d say things like “they let Excel manage the business. If there’s a cost without a painfully obvious benefit, it’ll be mindlessly cut. They put zero thought into intangible benefits. That’s why I’m always suspicious of new managers.”

It turns out that people are better at most things than non-people.

I agree with the message here, but man does this anology fail with me. Hotel door men are just another pressure point for tipping for service I really don’t want / need 99% of the time. An automatic door and a smart luggage cart that follows me to my room would be much preferred.