I recently bought a software solution. The advertising said, “Easy to install and easy to use.” It was half right. I had no problem installing the software. However, using it was a different story. The good news is that when I reached out to technical support, I had a response…

If it’s working fine, why mess with it? Well, whatever “it” is may work just fine, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be better. This idea came to me as I read an article about United Airlines changing the way passengers board the plane. Most airlines put passengers in groups…

The Benefits of Self-Directed Customer Experiences (CX) for Customers and Agents Shep Hyken interviews Nicole Kyle, Managing Director and co-founder of CMP Research. She discusses the evolution of self-service and digital customer service and the importance of personalization and customer control in self-service interactions. Top Takeaways: Self-service is becoming more than just enabling customers to attempt to resolve their own issues. Customers…

The title of this article may sound like a lesson in sales, but it’s much bigger than that. It’s about the entire customer experience. If a promise to provide value in the CX is built into a company’s mission and values statements, it potentially becomes part of the culture. Imagine…

Last week, I introduced you to The Customer Hierarchy of Needs based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. This week, we focus on our employees. Before you can have a strong customer experience, you must have a good employee experience. So, here are the five levels of the pyramid that make…

Using Generative AI to Provide a Personalized Customer Experience Shep Hyken interviews Richard Smullen, CEO of Pypestream, an AI-powered self-service automation platform. He talks about how automation and generative AI can enhance the customer experience and the potential for self-service interactions. Top Takeaways: The future of customer service is being transformed by AI-powered technologies that can automate and enhance customer…

Whoever said “the customer is always right” didn’t hear this about this story. Fox News just posted an update to a 2021 story about a man arrested for pointing an AK-47 at an employee at a pizza shop in Knoxville, Tennessee. The short version of the story is this. A…

Recently, I wrote two articles for my weekly Forbes column that paid homage to Abraham Maslow, the American psychologist who created what is referred to as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. The articles were so well received that I wanted to share shorter versions here with our Shepard Letter subscribers. Over…

How to Use Positive and Negative Feedback as Opportunities to Improve the Customer Experience Shep Hyken interviews Miika Mäkitalo, CEO of HappyOrNot, a simple, non-intrusive customer feedback platform. He talks about the value of customer feedback and how businesses can benefit from actionable insights. Top Takeaways: Customer feedback is crucial for businesses of all industries. By actively seeking and analyzing feedback, businesses can identify areas…