Today’s post almost starts as a vent/therapy – thanks for bearing with me.
Also, being that it’s a Saturday, unfortunately some of you reading this will run into a situation like this over the weekend. If so, maybe harken back to today’s note and try your best to deploy as much patience as you can (I know it’s not easy).
Anyway, recently I had an issue with my cell phone provider regarding the recent upgrade to my Apple watch. I’m a huge Apple watch fan for various reasons, one of the main ones being tracking my various fitness goals (e.g.: my daily step challenge vs. my sister), along with the convenience to quickly glance at messages and emails.
The cell phone carrier is obviously a giant national provider that everyone would recognize. With that, you’d assume an incredible budget to theoretically activate the very best of what AI and Chat Bots could provide in a customer service capacity.
Instead, I got stuck in the prompt rotation, and prompt after prompt, I played the game for 45 frustrated minutes—finally, I was connected to a human.
We spent another 30 minutes together, recycling back through all of the troubleshooting that the prompt service already dragged me through. Finally, they acknowledged that they were unable to solve my problem.
This resulted in a transfer to another area, which almost comedically landed me in another round of prompt navigation, leaving me communicating with a poorly executed and designed AI service, and finally, I was dumped back to the first prompt collection. It was time to hang up and call back for a human on Monday.
You’ve all been there. It’s the most frustrating experience in the world. Almost two hours on the phone that resulted in no answer.
Bottom line:
I am encouraged by how AI might positively influence financial planning; However we are certainly in the early innings and a long way away from it replacing the impact a knowledgeable, empathetic human could make at the moment.
How this relates to our business together?
At Know My Plan, we have built our practice by being able to serve you on your terms.
Our Ask
- Commit to an annual review to update your plan and make minor course corrections as needed. During the annual review, we will update saving and investing assumptions, confirm that we have appropriate levels of insurance in place, and beneficiaries are correct. ≈60 minutes.
- Whenever you have questions, concerns, or have a major financial event (job change, inheritance, new child, new home, benefit change, retirement, etc…), we ask that you reach out and let us know. We call these micro meetings. They could range from ≈15-90 minutes. We want to be on demand for the moments that you need us most.
Our Commitment
- If you reach out to us (phone, email, text, etc..), we will respond to you by the end of the day.
Our belief is that once we have established a robust financial plan, there is no reason to meet quarterly. The less we touch the plan the better. We need time to let the plan work.
The good news is that this review structure allows us flexibility to do our best work when you need us most (during the big life events).
If we’re not currently working together and you don’t have a plan in place, now is the time, please reach out.
We’re here when you’re ready,
A quick note:
*If you have friends or family that might find this helpful, please forward this their way.
**If we’re not yet working together and you’re already working with an advisor but have considered making a change, please know that we help people do this all the time. It’s a simple transfer process that can be done without you having to be involved at all (if you like).
–Nic
