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It started with an old E-ZPass tag that stopped getting read. Every time I went through a toll, the sign flashed “GO TOLL UNPAID.” Again. And again. Around that same time, I received a notice from New Jersey for a $4.55 toll, with a $50 administrative fee attached! That prompted me to call E-ZPass to figure out what was going on.
Let’s pause right there.
There is no human, rational reason to charge more than 10x's the value of a toll as a penalty. None.
And yet, it makes perfect sense. Because the system is designed with an assumption baked in: some people will decide their time is worth more than the fight. Mine is too. But I can’t stand for that kind of injustice. So I leaned in.
The tag replacement took six weeks to arrive.
No instructions.
No clarity on whether it was already active.
No guidance on returning the old device.
I disputed the New Jersey charge in November. The dispute went nowhere.
That led to three phone calls across two states. Multiple holds. Re-explaining the same story. And over an hour of my time spent chasing a $4.55 transaction.
Eventually, a human picked up and gave me guidance on returning the device. She was pleasant. She listened. She also told me to contact the NJ EZpass to ask for the transaction to get wiped out after payment. When I got through to that second agent, on a separate call, she wiped out the $50 fee and processed the $4.55 payment on the spot.
The issue was resolved in minutes.
But the zero moment had already happened.
Not because of the toll. Because of the time lost.The friction. The effort required to navigate a system that quietly bets on your silence.
I stayed in it not because it was efficient, but because I wanted to see it through.
To understand the process.
To observe the handoffs.
To learn.
And learn, I did. That was the zero moment.
Time and time again, companies fail to realize how these moments of friction cause their customers more than just pain, it leads them to go elsewhere. And they take with them all their family and friends....and anyone else they can tell the tale to.
Zero moments don’t happen because people don’t care. They happen when ownership gets lost between systems, teams, and handoffs. If you’re sitting with a moment like this right now, Tell me about it, or better yet, let’s fix it together!
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