A Think First Podcast with Jim Detjen
Think First is a short-form podcast that makes you pause — before you scroll, share, or believe the headline.
Hosted by Jim Detjen, a guy who’s been gaslit enough to start a podcast about it, Think First dives into modern narratives, media manipulation, and cultural BS — all through the lens of gaslighting and poetic truth.
Some episodes are two minutes. Some are ten. It depends on the story — and the energy drink situation.
No rants. No lectures. Just sharp questions, quick insights, and the occasional laugh to keep things sane.
Whether you’re dodging spin in the news, politics, or that “trust me, bro” post in your feed… take a breath. Think first.
Visit Gaslight360.com/clarity to sharpen your BS filter and explore the 6-step clarity framework.
A Think First Podcast with Jim Detjen
#59 What Happened to Customer Service After COVID?
Remember when stores were open 24/7, hotel rooms came with daily housekeeping, and tipping was a thank-you — not a ransom note?
Since COVID, businesses keep promising that “normal” will return… but the truth is, it’s not.
In this episode of Think First, we unravel the gaslighting baked into today’s customer experience: airlines charging more for less, restaurants pushing QR menus that nobody asked for, and shrinkflation turning family-size snacks into travel-size lies.
It’s not just bad service — it’s a cultural shift dressed up as “temporary inconvenience.”
And the question isn’t when things will go back.
It’s whether we’ll notice how much we’ve already lost.
Stay sharp. Stay skeptical. #SpotTheGaslight
Read and reflect at Gaslight360.com/clarity
This is Think First, where we don't follow the script. We question it Because, in a world full of poetic truths and professional gaslighting, someone's got to say the quiet part out loud. When exactly did normal customer service die, and why do we all pretend it's just taking a little longer to come back? Did Walmart really forget how to stay open 24 hours? Why does your $300 hotel room now come with a broom and a good luck? And how did tipping something that was once a thank you turn into a digital hostage negotiation? Here's the thing. The pandemic was supposed to be temporary, a pause, a blip. Instead it rewired the entire way we buy, fly, eat and sleep. And now the biggest gaslight in consumer culture is this Companies keep insisting that everything's back, except it isn't and it's not going to be. Take shopping, remember late-night Walmart runs. They're gone. Walmart flat-out admitted 24-7 isn't coming back.
Speaker 1:Self-checkout Also a bait-and-switch. It was sold as convenience, turns out it's convenient, mostly for shrinkage and theft. So now you get half the lanes locked, a red light blinking and an employee who looks like TSA scanning your frozen peas. Then there's dining. Qr code menus the pandemic's digital savior are still everywhere. Nothing says hospitality like scanning a greasy sticker with 12 broken links and the tip screen. That's the plot twist. You're not just tipping waiters anymore, you're tipping the person who handed you a muffin At the self-checkout. It's not gratitude, it's ransom. Tip 25%, or live with the guilt of stiffing Karen's iPad.
Speaker 1:Hotels didn't miss their chance either. Daily housekeeping Gone, now it's upon request, which really means we'll give you towels if you're brave enough to call the front desk. But the real poetic truth here they didn't cut housekeeping to protect you from germs. They cut it to protect them from payroll and airlines On-time performance in 2024? 78%, which is airline math for 1 in 5 of you. Good luck.
Speaker 1:Southwest finally caved and added bag fees, ending the last airline perk worth bragging about. They call it aligning with the industry. I call it aligning with your wallet and the products themselves. Welcome to the golden age of shrinkflation. You didn't imagine it. Your chips really are in a smaller bag, your toilet paper roll really does look anemic and your family-size cereal box could fit in the glove compartment. But here's the kicker they raise the price anyway and tell you it's a supply chain issue. See the pattern.
Speaker 1:The gaslight is the promise that normal will come back. The poetic truth is the story. They tell that every cut, every fee, every missing feature is somehow in your best interest. It's for your safety, it's to streamline your journey. It's just temporary, except temporary got permanent. We're not customers anymore, we're co-conspirators, swiping our cards, scanning our codes, tipping the algorithm, all while nodding politely like it's still 2019.
Speaker 1:So maybe the smartest question isn't when will service come back? Maybe it's what else disappeared during COVID that no one plans on giving back. I'm Jim Detchen and you don't need all the answers, but you should question the ones you're handed, because if the past five years taught us anything, it's that the new business model isn't customer service, it's customer gaslighting. Until next time, stay skeptical, stay curious and always think first, want more. The full six-step framework we use is at Gaslight360.com. You can also dive into the deeper story, the bio, the podcast and the mission at JimDetchincom. And if you like this, one, tag it, save it, share it, because if normal isn't coming back, the least we can do is warn the next guy walking into the self-checkout line.
