Why Your Users Are About to Build Workarounds Around You / Mai-Ling Garcia / Episode #260

Are your customers tired of dealing with slow and broken systems? Discover what happens when everyday people start using powerful new tools to bypass your organization entirely.

For years, companies and public institutions have delivered bad services simply because users had no other choice. Today, the tide is turning. Civic technology expert Mai-Ling Garcia (Johns Hopkins, city government) joins the show to explain how accessible tech is empowering citizens and customers to build their own solutions. If your organization refuses to adapt, your users will simply route around you.

🎧 In This Episode

• The End of Bad Service: Why organizations can no longer rely on a lack of alternatives to trap their customers.

• The Age of the Workaround: How cheap and powerful tech tools are letting communities bypass broken systems in a single afternoon.

• Frontlines of Public Innovation: Mai-Ling shares her firsthand experiences with empowered users in civic tech and healthcare.

• Humans in the Loop: Why human judgment and decision-making remain critical as AI accelerates our world.

What is a service you are currently working around or wish you could bypass entirely? Drop a comment below to share your thoughts!

Enjoy the episode and keep making a positive impact!Be well,

~ Marc

[ 1. GUIDE ]

00:00 Introduction

03:00 Public Sector Role

05:00 The Empathy Trap

08:45 Real-World Backfire

16:45 Power & Decisions

21:00 Tech & Design

35:00 Citizen Workarounds

43:45 Automation Boundaries

56:15 Key Takeaways

[ 2. LINKS ]

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mai-linggarcia/

• Ling & Company - https://lingandcompany.com/

• Bold Public Works - https://boldpublicworks.com/

[ 3. CIRCLE ]

Join our private community for in-house service design professionals.

⁠https://servicedesignshow.com/circle

[4. FIND THE SHOW ON]

• Youtube ~ ⁠https://go.servicedesignshow.com/260-youtube⁠

• Spotify ~ ⁠https://go.servicedesignshow.com/260-spotify⁠

• Apple ~ ⁠https://go.servicedesignshow.com/260-apple⁠

• Snipd ~ ⁠https://go.servicedesignshow.com/260-snipd⁠