AI generated by CA Brantley with MidJourney

Rachel Was the Nicest Leasing Agent I Never Talked To

AI and the strange encounter with Rachel.

Y’all, I need to tell you about Rachel.

She was one of the nicest, most helpful customer representatives I had ever dealt with. She answered my questions and kindly set me up with an appointment to view available apartments. Customer service has changed so much since I was a rep myself 9 years ago.

After selling our most recent home, I needed an apartment temporarily. And I called several places but eventually found it was easier to use their appointment scheduling online. One such scheduler named Rachel was one of the nicest leasing service people I had talked to online so far; she was so responsive.

Rachel asked how she could help, and I told her I was selling my house and needed some place to live while another house was being built. I explained my situation, told her we had two dogs, and needed a ground floor apartment because we could not climb stairs. And she responded that the “apartment complex” would be happy to help, and would I like to make an appointment for a showing.

I said yes and then for some reason proceeded to tell this poor woman all about the sale of the house and how we needed to move quickly. And the requirements for the sale. The whole time Rachel was responding. That they were happy to help us get into a new apartment and asked questions like what our time frame was, etc.

Rachel was wonderful.

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She answered my questions. She helped me with the apartment information. She made my appointment.

Then absently, when I made an appointment at the next apartment complex, I noticed that it was Rachel again, and I wondered if she worked for a company that simply made appointments for potential residents at various complexes in the area.

Otherwise, there were an awful lot of Rachels working at different apartment complexes. But not really giving too much thought, I just went along making my appointments online and setting up my walkthrough schedules.

Cause for concern.

Now, before I go any further, there is something you need to understand about me. I worked in the computer software industry for more than 30 years. I am not afraid of computers. I understand technology. I maintain my own computer system at home. I am retired, and I use AI every single day. Not just some days, but every single day.

So what happened to me was both funny and very embarrassing.

My husband and I showed up for our first appointment at the apartment complex we liked. We met with the property manager right on time, looked at the apartment we wanted, and chatted about the move. Then, thinking of how nice Rachel was, I pointed out that their customer service rep that took my appointment was so nice, and I mentioned her name as Rachel so she could be complimented.

I don’t remember my exact words, but it was something along the lines of:

“Rachel was so nice when I talked to her.”

The property manager looked at me.

You know that look someone gives you when they are trying to figure out whether you are joking?

AI generated by CA Brantley in MidJourney

I wasn’t joking.

The property manager explained that Rachel was their computer system.

My face went flat, and I said, “Seriously? I thought Rachel was sitting in a remote home office somewhere answering my questions.” I sputtered a bit laughing, “I told that woman my life story like she was a longtime friend!"

There was no Rachel. There was a computer. That took a minute to sink in, and I started to laugh right there in the big open office area. I had been telling this long, drawn-out story to a computer.

People were looking at me, wondering what the joke was, but I was the joke. Because suddenly, I understood the mystery of the multiple Rachels! It wasn’t some strange coincidence where every apartment complex in the area had hired a pleasant woman named Rachel.

AI generated by CA Brantley on MidJourney — Talking to AI

I had been talking to a standard industry AI program, and I didn’t have a clue.

I still laugh about that, because seriously, what else can you do? Here I was, someone who had spent most of her working life around computers, and a computer had just convinced me it was a nice woman named Rachel, who I told half my business while I was at it.

Today, AI is in far more places than most of us realize. Sometimes it announces itself. Sometimes it is obvious. And sometimes, apparently, its name is Rachel.

I am much more aware of that now.

At least I would like to think I am.

But considering my history with Rachel, I probably shouldn’t get too cocky.

AI Art created by CA Brantley with MidJourney