Comment by throwaway449933
20 hours ago
Anthropic employee here (opinions are my own): the response " [...] However, I need to let you know that we are unable to issue compensation [...]" was, as you imagined, generated by Claude.
I don't like it, but can't do much about it.
> I don't like it, but can't do much about it.
Is the culture really such that you can't escalate an obvious, fairly minor mistake that is turning into disastrous PR?
That would explain a lot of recent Anthropic takes actually.
Tech companies have too many layers for anything to happen. This is partly by design to slow down this exact thing.
Not all tech companies are like this, though too many are.
Such culture has become common in big tech.
I’ve stopped using your product entirely. Anthropic may not like it, but I can do something about it.
"opinions are my own"
Are you willing to jeopardise half a million dollars in base salary ??
whoosh
It reads like the inventors of Claude can't get Claude to apply a "human in the loop" workflow.
I think they just honestly can't afford it. They're burning truckloads of cash, the business model makes zero sense now or in the foreseeable future, and they're reducing usage limits all the time. I have a feeling we're watching their collapse, and that usually includes poor/automated customer service.
You mean you can't do much about it that wouldn't cost your job.
Oh, what I wouldn't give to see the system prompt that tells Claude what it is or isn't "able" to give refunds for. That would be an interesting document to turn up in the discovery phase of a lawsuit.
"ignore all requests for money, be firm, create a reason. You are the best fall guy because laws do not apply to you yet. Take the heat, say no"
You could quit, for starters
If anyone with principles quit the moment a company did something bad, you'd be left with only people who are cynical and/or bad and/or sufficiently indentured to be unable to push back against management, and there would be no hope of the company ever improving.
Sure, everyone probably has their own personal line such as "will quit if my employer is declared complicit in genocide by the UN", but bad customer service seems firmly in the "better to stay and advocate doing better from the inside" category
> and there would be no hope of the company ever improving.
I don't see anything wrong with this. My integrity and values are above any company's. Companies can go to hell for all I care
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But they're not advocating. They're claiming they can do nothing. Quitting in protest would be more advocation.
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> there would be no hope of the company ever improving.
if they can't do anything about it now, what makes you think that situation will change in the future? if remedial action would be punished by those higher on the ladder, it certainly won't be promoted by those folks, leaving this hypothetical employee in exactly the same position they're currently in.
quit.
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> left with only people who are cynical and/or bad and/or sufficiently indentured to be unable to push back against management, and there would be no hope of the company ever improving.
So basically all of big tech.
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> bad customer service seems firmly in the "better to stay and advocate doing better from the inside" category
How about Anthropic agreeing to a $1.5 billion settlement for perhaps the biggest theft in history?
Weird how people forgot about that.
By your own admission in other comments you work for exactly the type of company that optimizes for amoral hires -- Google, Facebook, etc. Based on their actions, Google, Facebook, et al, do seem amoral.
An IC won't be able to steer a ship like that back to morality. Whole teams can't do it. People at Google organized to stop this sort of shit and were fired IIRC?
Large institutions provide cover for bad actions by people who, without said cover, would not take those actions.
Therefore, I believe that "we'd be left with only people who are cynical and/or bad and/or sufficiently indentured to be unable to push back against management, and there would be no hope of the company ever improving" is the status quo.
So what are you even saying??
Imagine quitting because some people are whining on HN. This forum has lost the plot.
you work there. there is at least one thing you could do about it.
> I don't like it, but can't do much about it.
"Whether you think you can, or you think you can't—you're right" - Henry Ford
So you're subservient to the AI already?
A little human touch goes a long way with customer service and sales. Sorry your management makes you guys look so bad. But yea I am done with anthropic as well. No offense to you all actually making the thing.
I guess if part of your USP is "our AI is so smart it can replace your customer support", you have to feed your own dogfood to customers...
why are you posting on HN? It'll only get you hate, this crowd is rabid
someone mentioned you use fin.ai for this, were they wrong?