The IT hotline problem

When the Process Becomes the Problem

Recently, I needed to report a serious issue: loss of access to a tenant. Potentially even a security incident.

I called the support hotline expecting to speak with someone who could help.

Instead, I was greeted by an AI assistant.

I explained the situation.

"We have lost access to our tenant and need assistance."

The response was immediate:

"To create a support ticket, please log in to the customer portal."

There was just one problem.

The reason I was calling was because I could not log in.

I explained again.

"We have lost access. We cannot access the portal."

The answer remained unchanged:

"To create a support ticket, please log in."

And so the loop began.

To get support, I needed a ticket.

To create a ticket, I needed access.

To regain access, I needed support.

The AI followed its script perfectly. The ticketing system worked exactly as designed. The process was flawless.

Yet the problem remained unsolved.

What struck me most was not the technology itself, but the absence of a human escape route. A support engineer would have immediately recognized the contradiction and adapted the process to fit the situation.

Instead, the process became more important than the purpose.

As IT professionals, we celebrate automation—and rightly so. But every automated system eventually encounters a situation that doesn't fit the rules.

That is where human judgment matters most.

Sometimes the smartest response is not another automated instruction.

Sometimes it is simply:

"I understand. Let me connect you to a human."

... based on a real life events. 

... we was contacted to help with such a case and things got complicated. 

... I wish noone needs to go through this again.

... I can only promisse this will not happen with our team.