In this episode we sit down with two of Canada’s leading entrepreneurs in the spa industry and take a close look a how each of them responded to the COVID-19 lockdowns, discovered new ways to innovate, and emerge from the worst of the pandemic lockdowns ultimately stronger than they were pre-lockdown. Today’s Guests: Celine Tadrissi, and Elena Zinchenko Celine Tadrissi is the founder / owner of Hammam Spa by Céla. With 2 locations in Toronto, Hammam Spa has been one of Toronto’s most beautiful and renowned spas since opening their first location 15 years ago.  Hamman Spa by Céla was recen ..read more

Few would argue that the luxury spa industry requires among the highest standards of guest experience in the world, in which every detail is (or should be) designed not just to please you, or relax you, but to transform you into your better self.  Our guest today, Jean-Guy de Gabriac, is one of the world’s foremost authorities on luxury spas. In this episode we discuss: The role of “flow” in every spa How designing the “guest experience” can begin at the architecture level The secret of creating a lasting “wow” experience that keeps guests coming back Much more (including World Wellness ..read more

Super glad to be back with you!  I took some time away from the podcast during this pandemic. And now that I’m back and this is going to be a GREAT show for you! Now that COVID is becoming part of our history, things are OPENING UP!  We have the pandemic on the run!  People are thinking about what it’s all going to be like when we can start calling things “normal.” One of those things is going to be weddings!  Remember those?  Lots of people, two of whom are pledging their life-long love and devotion for each other, and then there’s drinking, and dancing, and all-aroun ..read more

SHOW NOTES Traditional retail has been on a slow, but steady decline for probably the last decade.  So much so that retailers were getting super creative to find a way to bring you into the store.  In-store mini concerts, dining options like great coffee shops or pop-up kitchens, were becoming a trend in some of the higher-end stores.  And then – you guessed it – COVID-19 hit and the way we used to shop is pretty much history.So, since you probably can’t go to that favourite store of yours, or maybe these days you’re less inclined to, what if there was a way to somehow bring tha ..read more

SHOW NOTES Let’s say you ran a business.  I’m not going to tell you what kind of business.  I’m going to let you guess.In this business, your customers spend a lot of time, and consideration choosing which of your products they’re going to buy from you.  Often they select only the components, and leave you to assemble it in its final form.  There’s often a lot of emotional investment involved in making their decision.  And needless to say the final result has got to be perfect.In choosing the component parts, your customers can choose among hundreds of options, and lea ..read more

SHOW NOTES About Today’s Episode What would it take for you to go to a brick and mortar, say clothing store.  Would you browse through the clothes on the hangars?  Would you try stuff on?  Stuff that other people might have tried on?  And what would THAT be like?  In a small change room that someone else had just left?  Being all breath-y and everything?   While a year ago you may not have given it a thought, today, it might set off all kinds of alarm bells for you.  What we look for in a retail experience is fully, and perhaps forever, transformed ..read more

SHOW NOTES Today we have two guests: Henry Iversen, Chief Commercial Officer and Co-Founder of Boost.ai (one of Norway’s leading Natural Language Processing AI companies, and Ramtin Matin, Lead Technological Strategist at SpareBank 1 SR-Bank, one of Norway’s oldest, and most respected, financial institutions. Specifically in today’s episode we cover: The crucial role Boost.ai has had in helping SR Bank stay in contact with their customers, with zero wait time, even during the COVID-19 pandemic (when other companies force their customers to wait hours to speak with a customer service representa ..read more

SHOW NOTES Today’s guest is Raymond Reddy, co-founder and CEO of the highly successful Ritual – which enables social ordering from restaurants in major cities across North America, The UK, and Australia. In this wide-ranging conversation, we talk about: a) How digital in traditionally non-digital industries, like food pick-up and delivery, can have a transformative effect on the overall customer experience. b) How digital ordering is transforming the fundamental design of the restaurant, and how Ritual helps their restaurant partners create space that maximizes flow, prevents line-ups, and imp ..read more

SHOW NOTES Today’s guest, Ash Anil, is Business Leader at Technical Safety BC.. Why is a government organization on a podcast talking about Customer Experience? Turns out focusing on Customer Experience is also good government. Specifically we learn: a) How focusing on Customer Experience can literally save lives. b) How Technical Safety B.C. dramatically increased customer satisfaction scores through digitization of common forms and documentation required for compliance. c) How Technical Safety B.C. continues to innovate for all of its customers in spite of the wide range of technical adoptio ..read more

SHOW NOTES One of the big challenges in Customer Experience is managing all of the changing initiatives that are simply a way of life among competitive companies today.  There is huge pressure at all levels of just about every organization to innovate.  Do something new. The pressure to constantly innovate has become business as usual.  With every department on the hook to be innovative, they end up tripping over each other and negatively impact the customer experience in unforeseen ways.   Our Guest, Bruce Simpson Our guest today, Bruce Simpson, knows a lot about help ..read more