Some of you may have seen that The Guardian recently reported on the growing number of pubs, bars, and theatres banning customers from using Meta spyglasses.
While I understand there may be certain features and functionalities that make this type of tech useful – easy navigation, support for those who are partially sighted, translating different languages, for example – they also bring with them a whole new set of challenges and considerations for organisations and consumers.
Much of the debate understandably centres on whether people may be photographed, filmed or recorded without knowing it. To me, this isn’t just a question of privacy – it’s about respecting people generally and in public spaces, and recognising that each of us has different preferences and comfort levels about what we want to share, with whom, and when!
Our response to technology will shape the future
For service leaders, this is not just about technology. It’s about what sort of customer experience we want to create and whose rights win out in a shared space. Furthermore, how organisations respond to technology advances such as this helps to shape societal norms – the decisions we take here are not small ones.
If I were a proprietor of a shop or pub, I’m not sure how I would feel about someone coming in and potentially recording fellow customers and colleagues. From a customer point of view, too, it could feel creepy (or just plain rude). And from the wearer’s perspective, it may feed some of our worst impulses, as this other piece in The Guardian found.
Most organisations already have established expectations around behaviour, photography, mobile phones and antisocial conduct. Smart glasses could become another area where clear policies are necessary. It is easy to imagine the reaction Humphrey Smith (famed for banning mobiles in Samuel Smith pubs) would have had to the idea of someone wearing them in one of his establishments! Some businesses may decide restrictions are appropriate; others may accommodate the technology while establishing boundaries around certain usage, like recording.
For me, the following should be considered:
- Policies should be thoughtful, transparent and consistently applied, with consideration for customers who might rely on smart glasses for accessibility.
- Whilst all of us will be feeling our way through this at first, experience shows that forward-thinking businesses take a position before an incident forces one – as lingering ambiguity risks causing confusion and confrontation, putting colleagues in the firing line. Usually, this calls for a clear policy, communicated along with the rationale.
- Communicate your policy visibly and in advance, so nobody is surprised at the door.
- Explain the values behind your policy, so people know where you’re coming from.
- Train and support colleagues to have the necessary conversations with customers.
Trust is the key to service and connection
Ultimately, service is a human exchange built on trust, and trust depends on people knowing the terms of an interaction.
Technology can and does change behaviour. A world in which everyone might be recording everyone else risks making public and commercial spaces feel less relaxed, spontaneous, and human: a place people avoid, and one that creates a loneliness none of us wants.
As ever, it is about balance – we don’t want to stop genuine technological breakthroughs from improving our lives, but as with AI, we need to consider where this might lead us and what the trade-offs are. Just because we can do something doesn’t necessarily mean we should.
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