In the race to improve efficiency, businesses may be sacrificing the human judgment that customers value most, warns hospitality entrepreneur Javier Burillo Azcárraga. As companies increasingly adopt artificial intelligence, self-service tools, and automated support to speed up interactions and reduce costs, Burillo Azcárraga argues that these technologies should not replace the people who know how to make good decisions.
"Technology should remove routine work, not remove the people who know how to make good decisions," Burillo Azcárraga said. "Customers don't remember the fastest interaction. They remember whether someone took ownership of the problem and made them feel like it mattered."
His comments come amid a broader trend of businesses prioritizing speed and cost savings in customer service. According to a FICO report, 88% of customers say the experience is just as important as the products or services themselves. For Burillo Azcárraga, this statistic highlights a critical gap: companies measure response times and operational efficiency but rarely assess whether customers feel heard, respected, or understood.
Throughout his career leading luxury hospitality businesses, including Las Ventanas al Paraíso, Burillo Azcárraga found that memorable customer experiences often stem from employees who have the authority to solve problems and use thoughtful judgment. "Every customer is a little different," he said. "The best employees aren't successful because they memorize procedures. They're successful because they know when to use good judgment. That's something every business should protect."
Burillo Azcárraga believes one of the biggest risks businesses face is confusing standardization with quality. While standardized processes create consistency, they should not eliminate flexibility. When employees lose the ability to make reasonable decisions, customer service becomes predictable in the wrong way—problems take longer to resolve, unique situations receive generic answers, and customers feel like they interacted with a system, not a business.
He also cautions against evaluating new technology solely by its impact on efficiency. Instead, he encourages leaders to ask whether it gives employees more time to solve meaningful problems, strengthens customer relationships, and improves trust over the long term. "The businesses that earn loyalty are usually the ones where employees still have permission to think," Burillo Azcárraga said. "Customers appreciate efficiency, but they remember businesses that show good judgment when it matters most."
As companies continue investing in automation and artificial intelligence, Burillo Azcárraga hopes more leaders will recognize that technology and personal service are not competing priorities. When used thoughtfully, automation can remove repetitive work while allowing employees to focus on moments that have the greatest impact on customer relationships. "The goal shouldn't be replacing people," he added. "The goal should be giving people more opportunities to do the work that only people can do."
