Treating customers with dignity and respect starts with treating employees the same way. Employees need to feel it, experience it, and receive it themselves. The beloved companies care for their employees, because they know this internal culture builds trust and inspires great work. Furthermore, in the wake of the “Great Resignation,” companies in every industry are feeling upheaval. Hiring is frenzied with nearly 11.3 million job openings in January, according to the US Department of Labor. Practicing Leadership Bravery by Trusting Employees In 2009, Netflix made cultural history when t ..read more

As we head further into 2022, it’s apparent that companies are picking up steam and looking ahead to the future of their experience practices (customer experience, employee experience, and beyond). If you’re looking for resources to share with your team on experience leadership, I encourage you to take a look at the authors on this year’s Global Gurus list of customer experience leaders for inspiration (a sincere thank you to Global Gurus for including me in the list once again). Over the last two years, I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing many of the people on the list, so I’ve pulle ..read more

In today’s instant gratification age, customers expect service to be faster and more responsive than ever. So it may be surprising that a bank that started in the late 1980s is leading the way in the UK. But their holistic approach to being there for customers is a winning strategy, no matter the decade. First Direct Bank began in October 1989 (a tough time to start a bank, right?) with one singular purpose in mind: to bash the rules of banking—especially those around convenience and getting help when you need it.  A bank without branches, they support customers by phone, Internet and mo ..read more

If you have a pet, it’s likely that you have become a “Pet Parent.” Your pet is a member of your family, and you seek out the best of everything for them. Most important, you want smart, knowledgeable people guiding you to the right food and equipment.  And when your little one is out of sorts, you want whomever you reach out to for help to care as much as you do. You need real, personalized assistance, not just product recommendations.   If this sounds like you, you’re in good company!  In the United States pet lovers spent an estimated $62.75 billion on their animals, ac ..read more

Who among us hasn’t wondered at some point if that slew of tests ordered for ourselves or our loved ones was necessary? Or worried about the effect of repeated scans or the cost? Or if we really need that medication?  More important, in the increasing complexity of healthcare, who doesn’t yearn for more conversation about why tests are ordered, and their impact in the near and short term?  We aren’t always made aware up front of the pros and cons of the test, the risks, and alternatives. Then there is the shock as the cost of those tests hit us. This is the banking equivalent of sur ..read more

Have you ever played service roulette?  Here’s how it goes:  you’ve got a problem, and you call in or chat in, or tweet out the problem. The more urgent the issue, the more direct communication you want. During your first conversation, you explain your problem and get told immediately, the reasons for your predicament, the company’s stance on the matter, and the rules of the road.  You just reached a “policy cop.” These are good people following the rules of the road. But you’re hoping for a little more in the way of understanding your situation so you can try to get out of the ..read more

We’ve all experienced something like this in our lifetime as customers: where parties inside of the company pass us around for resolution, or we get bounced back and forth between partners who both have their own point of view of their accountability. The most admired companies make the customer whole first.  They don’t give their customer the job to navigate organization charts or partnership agreements to resolve their issue before they resolve things for the customer.   They don’t burden the customer with knowing how the inside of the clock works.  They accept accountab ..read more

Can I please ask: what’s with all the old magazines in waiting rooms? For my whole life (and probably yours), old and dog-eared magazines have been a part of my doctor, dentist and hospital visit experience.  Not only are the magazines old, but I also encounter the weirdest assortment. (Horse & Hound anyone?)  Waiting rooms appear to be the recycling bin of the healthcare industry. The crazy thing about this weird foible in the healthcare experience is that what we seek in those rooms a place of “c-a-l-m.” Or sometimes to find a bit of escape—to take our minds off of what might ..read more

A little while after Indra Nooyi was named the CEO of PepsiCo, she traveled home to India to visit her mother. The morning after she arrived, piles of visitors began pouring into her mothers’ home. They walked past Nooyi and straight to her mom where they congratulated her on her daughter’s accomplishment. They praised her for her ability to raise a daughter who would become CEO.  This, Nooyi reflected, made sense. Her mother and late father’s guidance were responsible for so much of who she would become, and of her success. As a result of that experience, Nooyi decided that all of the m ..read more

I’ve had the great honor of working with Southwest Airlines for many years and spent a lot of time talking to, not only Herb Kelleher, but Colleen Barrett who was the president (now president emerita). Once, I was talking to Colleen, and what she said was: Jeanne, at almost every board meeting, we have to fight to make sure that we don’t let those fees seep in, that we don’t start charging change fees or luggage fees, because that’s the foundation upon which people believe in us. And that’s our integrity. And so we got to keep watching that. Especially those things you hold dear, hold on to t ..read more