Customer Support Leaders

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Ready for a clean slate and a smarter way to build support in 2026? We kick off a fresh season with a rebuilt website, renewed energy, and a clear map of the big shifts reshaping our work: AI moving from side experiment to operational backbone, the leadership ladder compressing, and the customer journey turning truly dynamic. With Alec back on the mic, we share what sparked our collaboration, why the site overhaul mattered, and how we’re structuring episodes to turn complex trends into practical playbooks.

We dig into the AI arc we...

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Forget the glossy strategy deck. We’re digging into the real drivers of customer experience: the values people use to decide, the culture that shows up in daily behavior, and the incentives that shape how work actually gets done. With coach and consultant Conor Pendergrast, we unpack why a perfect plan won’t move the needle without the conditions that make good choices easy under pressure.

We start by drawing a clean line between objectives, strategy, and tactics—then flip the frame. Support is operational, reactive, and fluid, so the experience your c...

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Ever faced a customer whose day went off the rails before they reached you? We dive into the emotional mechanics of difficult conversations and show how empathy, clear choices, and a partnership mindset can turn even the messiest moments into momentum. Charlotte sits down with customer and employee experience strategist Marc Haine to unpack a practical toolkit that works across hospitality, retail, government services, and B2B support.

We start with a simple truth: your first customer is your employee. When teams feel supported, they can stay calm under pressure and...

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What if the fastest path to trustworthy AI starts with a better knowledge base? 

David Kay is Principal at DB Kay & Associates, a consultancy focused on knowledge management and self-service for support. He was recognized as an Innovator by the Consortium for Service Innovation, and has been KCS v6 Certified as a Knowledge-Centered Service (KCS) practitioner, coach, and trainer. He held leadership roles at an innovative knowledge management technology provider from early 1998 to the end of 2002, and has been granted five patents for his work in knowledge management technology. His current w...

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Outages test more than systems—they test culture. We dig into what “calm under pressure” actually looks like, from the first hint of trouble to the final post‑incident review. Together with guest Kat Gaines of PagerDuty, we explore why support must be a core stakeholder, how trust and blamelessness turn heat into focus, and the small operational moves that make the next incident smoother than the last.

We start with the why: customers feel the wobble first, and support carries that weight. Clear roles, fast approvals for updates, and a cadence...

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Sauce jokes aside, we get real about AI in customer support: why it’s tempting to chase the trend, how early demos can mislead, and what actually works once you bring models into day-to-day operations. Rob Dwyer joins us to unpack the difference between toy and tool, sharing lessons from building conversational analytics and automated QA across diverse industries.

We dig into the myth of “one model to rule them all” and get specific about task fit. Generative models shine at qualitative judgments like tone, professionalism, and focus in short, discrete intera...

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The alarms stop, but the real work is just getting started. Charlotte Ward and Kat Gaines pull back the curtain on what effective teams do after an incident is resolved—how to pause, learn, and communicate in a way that actually strengthens trust.

We explore why a short breather prevents knee‑jerk conclusions, how to balance pressure for instant answers with thoughtful analysis, and what belongs in a preliminary update versus a full review. Kat explains how to structure a live, blameless postmortem, why support must be in the room as a so...

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Ever wondered what distinguishes a true leader from the rest? Join me, Charlotte Ward, as I unlock the secrets of leadership potential within customer support teams alongside Meredith Malloy. Discover how to identify the "unicorns" among your team—those rare individuals who possess the natural empathy and connection skills that are foundational to effective leadership. Meredith sheds light on how these talents can transform into impactful leadership roles, enhancing both employee and customer satisfaction.

Meredith also offers invaluable guidance for those aspiring to lead, stressing the importance of proactive engagement and a...

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Unlock the secrets to mastering technical customer service as we, Charlotte Ward and Robert Cabral, guide you through the art of enlisting engineering support for complex inquiries. You'll discover how data-driven strategies can transform your support processes, leading to a drastic reduction in ticket escalations. Robert shares his expertise on creating a robust taxonomy for categorizing issues, ensuring clarity and efficiency in resolving them. We promise you'll leave with actionable insights into improving collaboration between support and engineering—essential knowledge for anyone navigating the SaaS landscape of platforms like DataCamp.

Robert an...

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Unlock the secrets to mastering technical support as we, Robert Cabral and I, guide you through the art of enlisting engineering support for complex inquiries. You'll discover how data-driven strategies can transform your support processes, leading to a drastic reduction in ticket escalations. Robert shares his expertise on creating a robust taxonomy for categorizing issues, ensuring clarity and efficiency in resolving them. We promise you'll leave with actionable insights into improving collaboration between support and engineering—essential knowledge for anyone navigating the SaaS landscape of platforms like DataCamp.

Ro...

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Unlock the secrets to building a standout customer support team by tuning into our captivating conversation with Alyssa Purcell, a seasoned manager from New York City. Alyssa brings her expertise to the table, offering strategies for crafting precise job descriptions that attract the right candidates. She shares the nuanced art of balancing skills assessment with cultural fit, and the importance of having a diverse interview panel featuring both leadership and peers for a comprehensive evaluation process. You'll leave understanding how to identify the strengths and qualities necessary for each role, paving the way...

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Unlock the secrets to mastering incident management with our latest episode featuring the insightful Kat Gaines. Discover how to transform your customer support strategy by crafting effective incident communications and building strong interdepartmental relationships. Learn from Kat as she delves into the complexities of maintaining a unified communication strategy amidst a sea of different tools and remote work challenges. We'll walk you through the importance of clearly defined roles and well-documented processes, ensuring that your team's internal coordination translates into seamless external updates that keep your customers informed and confident.

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Kristina King returns to the spotlight, sharing her remarkable pivot from finance and teaching to becoming a technical support engineer, all without a formal CS degree. Kristina's narrative underscores the power of varied backgrounds in tech, illustrating her philosophy of hiring for culture "add" rather than culture "fit." She emphasizes the need to extend opportunities to those who might not traditionally find their way into tech, particularly through her role on hiring committees. Kristina's hiring philosophy is about finding those "weirdos" who bring a distinct passion and personality to the team, making the...

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Ever wondered how startups can access top-tier leadership without bringing on full-time executives? Brian Levine, joins me to share his journey and unpacks the innovative concept of fractional leadership in customer support. 

Brian has been in tech support, in one capacity or another, for 15 years. He's been VP of Support at GitHub and Head of Support at Plaid, among others. These days he's the co-founder of Yetto, a help desk for modern support teams. Brian lives in Rome and drinks far too much coffee.

From his experiences at those i...

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From The Archives: Careers in Support

Discover the secrets of building a thriving career in the customer support industry as Matt Dale joins me to unravel the multitude of paths available for support team members. From nurturing the journey of an individual contributor to embracing leadership roles or exploring new arenas like QA and customer satisfaction, this episode promises to equip you with the insights to chart your career course. Matt shares an inspiring story of a team member's dream of becoming a developer and how the support...

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What happens when the adrenaline rush of an incident meets the need for effective communication? Join us as we chat with Kat Gaines, the leader of PagerDuty’s developer advocacy and community team, who brings her expertise to the table. You’ll walk away with a clear understanding of how maintaining transparent communication not only soothes nerves during crises but also keeps customer expectations in check. Gain insights into how developing empathy between engineering teams and customers transforms the user experience, all while fulfilling our innate craving for solutions through timely updates.

...

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Mike Redbord, a seasoned veteran from HubSpot with over a decade of experience, joins us to unravel the mysteries of managing customer support beyond mere numbers. Discover why Michael believes that looking past the spreadsheets can uncover stories of exceptional customer service, and how these anecdotes can act as guiding beacons for your team. He shares valuable insights on balancing data-driven management with the art of storytelling, ensuring that as teams grow, the human element isn't lost amidst the metrics. Prepare to learn how maintaining simplicity in data allows room for the stories...

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Discover how to master the delicate art of balancing automation with human interaction in customer support, as Corey Brown and Elliot Fox share their expert insights. Facing the pressure to adopt AI while keeping a personal touch can be challenging for businesses. This episode uncovers the potential pitfalls of over-relying on AI, such as generic responses, and emphasizes the importance of human intervention to ensure customer satisfaction. Listen as we explore how AI can serve as a co-pilot, boosting efficiency and enhancing customer experiences without sacrificing the essential human connection.

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Unlock the secrets behind the spreadsheets and discover the hidden complexities of customer support with me and my special guest Ash Rhodes. Ash brings his seasoned perspective on the pitfalls of reducing support staff to mere numbers, reminding us of the importance of understanding the real-time dedication required to resolve customer issues. Together, we explore the nuances of ticket handling and the dangers of setting unrealistic performance goals. Ash sheds light on the often-undocumented tasks like research and troubleshooting that contribute to the intricate web of support functions. This episode promises to transform...

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Ever wondered how a support desk manager transforms the reputation of their team from the "black sheep" to a pivotal player in brand development and customer interaction? Join me, Charlotte Ward, as I sit down with Steve Tondé from PayShepherd, a Canadian fintech company, who shares his transformative leadership journey and the evolving role of support teams in today's tech-driven landscape. With the rise of SaaS, support teams are stepping into the spotlight, and Steve shares how engaging with critical departments like finance and product development can prioritize customer feedback and drive impactful c...

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What if handling awkward workplace conversations could be less daunting and more compassionate? Join us as we sit down with Hilary Dudek from Gluco, who shares her expert strategies for navigating these challenging discussions with grace and empathy. With five years of tech support experience under her belt, Hilary emphasizes the importance of putting yourself in the other person's shoes and maintaining a balance between professionalism and warmth. She explains how intentional language and face-to-face communication, even via Zoom, can transform a difficult conversation into a constructive dialogue. 

Listen to Hilary's h...

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What makes a Customer Liaison Officer indispensable during incident management? Join us as we tap into the expertise of Kat Gaines, who shares her invaluable experience and detailed examples to illuminate the crucial responsibilities of this role. Discover how effectively bridging the communication gap between incident response teams and customer-facing staff can transform your incident response strategy. Kat delves into the art of aggregating customer-reported issues and managing internal expectations, revealing why sticking to standard processes just won't cut it during high-stress incidents.

Beyond the basics, we explore...

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Mastering Leadership Communication in Startup Support; with Andrew Rios

How do you transform data into compelling business narratives? Join us in Episode 270 of the Customer Support Leaders Podcast, where Andrew Rios returns to share his invaluable insights on building a robust communications plan for new roles. Andrew explains the power of a "support report" and how starting with basic data points can evolve into a comprehensive tool that enhances decision-making and staffing forecasts. Discover why placeholders and "coming soon" metrics can be your best allies in gradually painting a complete picture...

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Ever wondered what it takes to build a high-performing contact center from scratch? Join us as we uncover the secrets with Joe DiNatale. Joe is a contact center executive with extensive experience across operations, strategy, customer experience, and vendor management. Over his career he has held most leadership positions within the contact center space including building call centers from the ground floor.  Spending the past 10 years working in the telecommunications industry for some of the largest cable operators where Joe has led transformational change in the contact center. 

In this episode, le...

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Nurturing Empathy in Customer Support with Natalie Ruhl

How can you genuinely connect with your customers and create a more harmonious workplace? Join me in this enlightening episode from the archives of the Customer Support Leaders podcast, first broadcast in January 2020, where I sit down with Natalie Ruhl, Director of Community Operations at SoundCloud. Natalie delves into the core of empathy, revealing how it serves as a fundamental pillar not just in customer interactions but also in effective teamwork. Whether you believe empathy can only be inherent or think it can...

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Mastering Incident Management - Part 2 of 6; with Kat Gaines

Embark on an insightful expedition into the nerve center of incident management with Kat Gaines and myself, as we unravel the essentials of tailoring an effective process for your organization. We're not just bystanders in the realm of crisis resolution; we're the architects designing the blueprint. This episode promises to hand you the reins of your own incident management strategy, urging you to define incidents and their severities in a way that resonates with your business's unique pulse. As Kat shares her...

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Finding the Balance Between Product and Functional Expertise; with Colin Flanigan

Unlock the secrets of superior product support with Charlotte Ward and special guest Colin Flanigan, Director of Customer Experience at Sage, in a conversation that promises to elevate your understanding of customer experience leadership. If you've ever pondered the perfect balance of product and role knowledge for leaders, our discussion serves as a treasure map to the middle ground where understanding meets practical leadership. We confront the challenges head-on as we scale the heights of team expansion, navigate the technical...

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Prepare to be enlightened as we sit down with the incomparable Nick Zeisler, or Zee as we fondly call him, for a riveting discussion on the essential role of Voice of the Customer (VOC) programs. This episode promises to transform your approach to customer feedback, from mere data points to actionable insights that can prevent your company from breaking its brand promise. Zee passionately dissects the futility of feedback collection without intent, emphasizing the profound power of VOC when it's used to cultivate genuine customer relationships and improve response rates to surveys.
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Nurturing Your Professional Network: Authentic Strategies for Support Folk; with Jason Yun

Have you ever felt like a solitary island in the vast ocean of your professional life? This sensation is all too familiar for support professionals, like me, Charlotte Ward, and my esteemed guest Jason Yun.

Jason has been in the support leadership space for a decade+. Focusing on hypergrowth early stage startups such as Lyft and Instacart, he has been figuring out how to build consumer trust in a diverse array of industries - on-demand services...

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Mastering Incident Management - Part 1 of 6; with Kat Gaines

Unlock the secrets to seamless service as we navigate the critical world of incident management with the expertise of Kat Gaines from PagerDuty. Prepare to be armed with a deeper understanding of the complexities that define an incident, and why this knowledge is a game-changer for teams committed to providing uninterrupted excellence. Kat's seasoned perspective will guide you through the layers of incident severity and the essential preparedness for the unexpected. This episode isn't just a conversation; it's a toolkit for anyone...

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Connecting Actions to Customer Outcomes; with Sarah Caminiti

Unlock the secrets of truly impactful leadership and customer support with our special guest, Sarah Caminiti, a seasoned expert in the field. Together, we dissect the profound implications of aligning our deeds with our pledges, both in steering teams and nurturing customer relationships. Discover how the subtleties of what isn't done can be as telling as the actions we take, casting long shadows on how customers and colleagues perceive their value within an organization. 
 
 Venture into the realm of strategic communication, whe...

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Empathy isn't just a buzzword—it's the cornerstone of exceptional customer support. Discover the transformative power of understanding and walking a mile in your customer's shoes with Matt Dale, a consummate expert in the field. We peel back the layers of customer interactions and examine how empathy can be more than a trait; it's a skill that, with the right training and mindset, can be honed to perfection. Whether you're born with a natural inclination to empathize or find it more challenging, this episode promises actionable insights to elevate your support game to ne...

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Enhancing Everyone's Experience with Exceptional Supportability; with Alexis Grant

Unlock the secrets to crafting a B2B SaaS experience that customers love and support teams can rally behind. That's what we're bringing to the table with Alexis Grant. 

Alexis is a seasoned expert in B2B SaaS support, primarily as a support engineer for developer tools and tech products such as New Relic, HashiCorp, and Zapier, and is currently at Semgrep. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her cat and claims to only truly love two pieces of software: c...

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Building a Truly Customer Centric Culture; with Michael Hinshaw 

Embark on a transformative journey with Michael Hinshaw of McorpCX, a beacon in customer and employee experience, as we unlock the secrets to fostering a customer-centric culture in support scenarios. Michael bestows his expertise on the intricacies of nurturing an environment where support staff thrives and customer interactions flourish. We dissect the sobering reality of how internal practices can inadvertently lead to employee burnout and compromised service, emphasizing the necessity for a supportive ecosystem that empowers workers to embody their company's values a...

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Revolutionizing Customer Support: All-Hands Support Delivery from across the Organisation; with Sarah Caminiti 

Get ready to revolutionize your perspective on customer support as Sarah Caminiti joins me, Charlotte Ward, to unveil the power of all-hands support. Imagine a workplace where the CEO and the newest developer alike roll up their sleeves to tackle daily customer queries. This is the reality at Sarah's company,  DNSimple, where fostering a deep understanding of customer needs across all team levels has led to a transformative support experience. We delve into the nuances of creating a kn...

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Steer your team through the rollercoaster of change with wisdom from Neal Travis, Support & Admissions Manager at the Academy to Innovate HR (AIHR) and host of the Growth Support podcast. Neal is a seasoned leader in customer support, who joins me, Charlotte Ward, in unpacking the secrets of adaptive leadership. Discover how to not only navigate but also communicate the often turbulent waters of change, ensuring your team remains unified and forward-moving. Neal's expertise shines as we explore the different needs of team members and the importance of learning from each twist and...

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Have you ever wondered what sets exceptional customer support apart? Join me in a thought-provoking conversation with Sarah Caminiti, the Vice President of Customer Success at DNSimple. Together, they dissect the subtle yet pivotal practice of shedding assumptions to enhance customer interactions. Sarah, with her extensive background in support, illuminates the path to nurturing customer relationships with patience and empathy. We venture into the delicate balance of communication, refining the art of crafting email responses that empower rather than overwhelm. This dialogue promises to equip you with the strategies to elevate your customer's...

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Debunking Benchmarks and the Real Power of Customer Feedback; with Ty Givens 

Join me and the insightful Ty Givens from CX Collective as we confront the common myths of benchmarking in customer support. Get ready to discover why pursuing industry standards might not be the golden ticket to enhancing your customer service game. With Ty's extensive experience, we delve into the importance of customizing your customer support to outshine the competition. We dissect examples such as response times and satisfaction scores to show that the benchmarks which work for some companies c...

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The Hidden Advantages of Less Local Remote Teams (or “Get Good at Calendars!”); with Alec Moloney

Unlock the secrets of thriving within a globally distributed team as Alec Moloney and I, Charlotte Ward, reveal the unexpected benefits and strategies for success from our experiences at Snowplow. Imagine the energy and innovation that stems from a melting pot of cultural backgrounds and time zones – that's what you'll discover in our latest podcast. Alec, all the way from Australia, joins me to share the vibrant mix of perspectives that fuel creativity and problem-solving in a r...

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Mastering Outage Management; with Lauren Rose Eimers

Imagine being at the helm of customer support when technology fails us—navigating the stormy seas of software outages is no small feat. That's why this episode has us sitting down with Lauren Rose Eimers, a sage in the art of crisis management, to share the secrets and strategies for thriving amidst system instabilities. We'll guide you through the nuances of pinpointing and recreating issues, equipping our development comrades with the essential intel to combat bugs and breakdowns. But it's not all tech talk; we...

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Hilary Dudek: Finding Your Footing: Navigating the Emotional Journey of Career Transition

Both Hilary and I have been laid off multiple times. Here, we compare notes on how to handle those first few hours and days, before you even begin looking for your next role.

When the rug is pulled out from under you, where do you land? In this episode, Hilary unravels the emotional tapestry of unemployment, weaving through her personal narrative with honesty and vulnerability. This episode isn't just about the nuts and bolts of job hunting...

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Ryan Klausner: The Difference Between What Customers Say And What Customers Do

Ryan returns to talk about understanding customer feedback in the context of (and often the contrast to!) how customers actually behave!

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Andrew Rios: The Support Report

Andrew Rios is a Global Customer Support Leader.  He combines an energetic leadership style with a strong technical foundation and a deep understanding of Customer Experience/ Support and Engineering Operations.       

Andrew believes every Support leaders should develop their own “Support Report”. Have a listen to understand what this is, and how to get started. It all begins with an email!

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Matt Dale: Support Data

Matt Dale joins me today to talk about Support Data: when to get started (clue: now!), and how to make it understandable - and therefore useful - for the rest of the business.

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Panel: Welcome back for 2024!

Welcome back to the podcast! After a full year off, we're all raring to kick off 2024 with a bunch of ideas and reflections. 
 
 Here, we get a bit meta at the start of the year. This panel brings back four of my favourite guests to talk about the podcast itself. What did they love about the first 249 shows? What would they like to see this year? How can we make this even more helpful for all the support folks listening - you!

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Specials: Fireside 49

Mike Redbord tells me how to show the actual value to the business in providing support to those users of your product or service who are on free or unpaid plans.

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Specials: Fireside 48

Jason Yun, co-founder of Relay, returns to talk about the support that Support folk might need in the light of the recent spate of layoffs, at the worst time of year to be suddenly back on the job market.

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From The Archives: Week 7 Topic: Managing Performance Issues

Hilary Dudek tells me how she likes to coach for positive behaviours, rather than rely on metrics to measure performance.

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From The Archives: Week 6 Topic: Metrics

Craig Stoss talks about stories, and the Source of All Truth.

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From The Archives: Week 5 Topic: Moving from Doing to Leading the Work

Matt Dale returns to talk about why you can’t expect to successfully do two jobs at once.

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From The Archives: Week 4 Topic: Personal Stories of Transitioning to Leadership

Natalie Ruhl had a dream….

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From The Archives: Week 3 Topic: Awkward Conversations

Hilary Dudek needs to practice her poker face. (Also, although the title is “Awkward Conversations with Hilary Dudek”, this most definitely was not one.)

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Specials: Fireside 47

Austin Emser, CEO of Stylo, joins me for the first time to discuss the art of prioritising those tickets! We compare whether FIFO is enough, or whether you need to bring other factors and practices in to what tickets get worked on first, and how fast.

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From The Archives: Week 1 Topic: Empathy in Support
 
 We round out this week’s topic with Ash Rhodes. How much weight should we place on empathy when we’re hiring for support? And Ash pulls some very funny faces (entirely for my benefit).

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From The Archives: Week 79 Topic: Building a Team from Scratch

When is a full-time job not a full-time job? When it’s a two-person job! It’s been a while since Matt Dale built a team from scratch, but nonetheless, he returns to round out this week with his own wisdom and perspectives from further on in the journey.

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From The Archives: Week 79 Topic: Building a Team from Scratch

Ashley returns to tell us how she prioritised early definition of ‘Operating Principles’ for her nascent team, and how they’re essentially still holding strong 4 years on.

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From The Archives: Week 78 Topic: Knowledge Management

Simone Secci rebuilt a knowledge base from scratch, banking on being able to show its value much further down the road. It worked! From zero to knowledge hero, Simone talks about his journey.

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Specials: Fireside 46

Ethan and I discuss the relative merits of our favourite approaches to tagging support conversations. Neither of us is a fan of fluidity when it comes to this opportunity to carry Voice of Customer through into our organisations. Structure all the way!

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From The Archives: Week 78 Topic: Knowledge Management

Cynthia Ng describes how GitLab approach all their knowledge with a ‘Handbook First’ ethos, and how their value of Transparency informs everything they do. 

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From The Archives: Week 78 Topic: Knowledge Management

Aprill Allen, a Knowledge Management Consultant & KCS Specialist at Knowledge Bird, helps support teams stop being so overloaded with solving the same problems over and over, and start using their knowledge as the lever it really is. How do we even get started on our Knowledge Management journey in Support?

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From The Archives: Specials: Fireside 26

According to “Zee” (if I could only say it), we’re doing CX wrong! Nicholas Zeisler joins again to tell us why we’re doing it wrong, and how to get it right. A man after my own heart, he says it hinges on the process! But how do you leverage process, prove ROI for your Customer Office, and truly develop a customer-centric culture? 

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From The Archives: Specials: Fireside 25

What a conversation! Ash comes on the podcast to talk about job hunting in Customer Support Leadership, but we only get there via comparing consulting notes and his insulting the average British meat pie. Honestly.

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From The Archives: Specials: Fireside 17

Ethan explains how we can apply a scientific approach - semiotic theory - when trying to understand our customers context, and therefore meet them where they are.

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From The Archives: Week 67 Topic: Managing Change

Lauren joins me for two milestones: the 200th episode of the podcast, and my birthday! It’s always an interesting chat with Lauren, and her academic background in human genetics and social behaviours.  Here, she brings her expertise to bear in helping us manage change. Always hard, Lauren brings advice on making it easier.

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From The Archives: Week 67 Topic: Managing Change

Lauren, a previous panelist, returns to the podcast for our first one-to-one chat, where we pick up our conversation on managing change. Lauren believes that providing training on this difficult aspect of leadership shouldn’t be a single course or workshop. 

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From The Archives: Week 66 Topic: The Perfect Support Email

Ethan Walfish is a former panelist (take a listen to our discussion on Support Leadership 2.0 back in episode 105), and joins me today to discuss that most convenient and most misused communication - email! How do we approach getting this ‘just right’. Ethan believes there are 6 distinct elements to the perfect email, and takes me through them step-by-step.

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Specials: Fireside 45

Val discusses using a personality type such as Gretchen Rubin’s Four Tendencies  to help you pull a team together, and work with each other. Also, here’s 101 things you didn’t know about Val!

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From The Archives: Week 64 Topic: Startup Support

Zeni Bandy returns to the podcast this week, to talk about tackling support in a startup environment. Her biggest piece of advice: “Get help!”

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From The Archives: Specials: Fireside 16

Valentina Thoerner is a Empress in the support world, and, having moved from a support lead role at Automattic, now heads up Product at Klaus. Her official title is "Empress of Product", hence the tiara (though she assures me the truth is the other way round). 

She describes herself thus: “At Klaus, I am the Empress of Product, moonlighting as Guardian of Remote. I am fascinated by the intersection between Product Strategy and Customer Conversation and how a clo...

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Specials: Fireside 44

Matt and I have no complaints. Plenty of other people do, though: customers! How do we deal with those complaining customers, whether we agree with them or not?

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From The Archives: Specials: Fireside 14

Chris Taylor returns today, having recently taken on a new business function - Customer Success - and then we fangirl/fanboy on Jira a little!

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From The Archives: Specials: Fireside 13

Tadas Labudis comes on the show to talk about ticket tagging taxonomies and tactics! Then we wrap up the show but the conversation continued - so I’ve included the bonus tip, too!

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Specials: Fireside 43

Vaishali Dialani is Head of Customer Experience at NOW Money, a fintech company with a unique customer base and on a mission to ensure everyone has instant access to financial services they can, and want, to use - no matter who they are, where they are from, or how much they earn.

Vaishali and I talk about the specific challenges in supporting these customers, and the most important commodity: trust.

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Two guests for the price of one today as Whitney Brittingham and Aakrit Prasad join me to discuss the relationship between Product Led Growth and Support Driven Growth.

Whitney has been in Support for over 8 years, and is currently the Director of Customer Success and Support at AptEdge, an enterprise software company backed by top VCs on a mission to transform customer support into a revenue driver for companies

Aakrit is the Co-Founder & CEO of AptEdge. Prior to that Aakrit was a product...

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Specials: Fireside 41

Andrew Ou is a UX Strategist/Designer and joins me to discuss the role UX plays in CX, and specifically in Customer Support. He also has a free guide for listeners, giving you 5 ways UX can help SaaS companies can increase revenue and profitability, which is something we all want to know!

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Specials: Fireside 40

Reagan Helms and I discuss what when you have experienced folks who do not want to step into leadership. How do you develop them in other ways once they bump up against the proverbial glass ceiling?

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From The Archives: Specials: Fireside 11

Sandra Thompson comes to share her significant expertise on Emotional Intelligence and its importance in our ability to serve customers.

We break EI away from Empathy, and talk about some of the elements of EI. After we finished recording, Sandra also mentioned a workshop she runs using Riders and Elephants, a brilliant resource to help businesses build emotional intelligence. Sandra also mentioned Dr. Daniel Goleman and his insights on the topic of EI, which I highly recommend you check o...

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Specials: Fireside 39

Craig and I share similarly long tenures in Support - and may even have encountered each other in the wild at one point in the early 2000s! Today, we talk about the evolution of support channels.

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Specials: Fireside 38

Sam Semuhin returns today to talk about how we can empower our teams to achieve their best selves, deliver their best work, and hire the best!

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Specials: Fireside 37

Sophie Heller joins me from Outschool, which, as you might expect, experienced serious hypergrowth in the wake of COVID-19!  Sophie explores how those first days and months unfolded, and reflects on her feelings about the experience now.

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Specials: Fireside 36

Sam Semuhin is Customer Care Manager at Upflow. Today, she wanted to talk tools! We cover the pain, the overthinking, the money, the user experience… and everything!

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Specials: Fireside 35

Jason Yun, co-founder of Relay, has a background in the medical profession, and had his interest piqued by my chat with Ethan a couple of weeks ago. Here, we move away from Emergency Care and into the comparison with Community Care. How do we set up our customers for success? 

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Specials: Fireside 34

Empress Val has led Product, and led Support. How should these teams work together? We talk about Product accessing Support data, and meander around tagging, customer verbatim and all other related things.

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Specials: Fireside 33

I hooked Craig back, as we kick off 2022 (!), to talk about what is probably top of mind for a lot of us: goals and OKRs.

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Specials: Fireside 32

Ethan Walfish believes there are a lot of things we can learn in Support from the medical profession. Also: when is an Operating Room not an Operating Room? When it’s an Operating Theatre.

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Specials: Fireside 31

Ash returns to tell me I’m wrong. I tell him he’s wrong. And then we have a very civilised discussion about the double-edged sword of getting your team to track their time. Should you or shouldn’t you?

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Specials: Fireside 30

Simone returned for a chat in mid-December ’21, to talk about building careers in Support, and specifically helping people in your team transition to leadership.

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Specials: Fireside 29

Matt joined me in the run-up to Christmas, and in the wake of The Great Resignation, to talk about: what happens when good people leave?

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Specials: Fireside 28

Craig joins me to talk about one of my passions - data! In this case, what’s useful for your Support team to know, right where they are: talking to customers?

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Specials: Fireside 27

Here, 100 weeks into the podcast, we ask: ‘How does your CX match up to your company values, mission and ideals?’ Join me in conversation with Nate Brown as we talk about his idea of “Mission-Driven CX”!

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Week 99 Topic: Reflecting 

Looking back over some of the best advice, and a couple of bonus outtakes from the last 99 weeks of the podcast! 

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Looking forward to 100+ weeks!

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From The Archives: Fireside with Mo McKibbin

Mo McKibbin talks about the challenges of screening for those magical unicorns: technical, customer success-support hybrids, remote, in Europe, ideally with specific industry experience. And we excitedly steal each others' favourite interview questions.

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From The Archives: Fireside with Tue Søttrup

Tue Søttrup helps me kick off this new Fireside season with a conversation about Product-Led Customer Success, and how Dixa have used this approach to drive product engagement and business improvements for the customers at the same time.

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From The Archives: Diversity and Inclusion

Antonio King joins me to talk about the importance of keeping the conversations going, no matter how uncomfortable it feels..

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From The Archives: Scary Support Stories

Todd Curtis tells the scary story that inspired this whole week of terrible tales. I heard this at a conference two years ago and it still gives me chills. 

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From The Archives: Scary Support Stories

Matt Dale joins me to tell the story of a possessed laptop. And I have rather too much fun with sound effects. 

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From The Archives:: Support’s Relationship to Sales

Nicholas Zeisler (“Zee” to his friends, and “Zed” to his British friend over here) returns to talk about how CX can minimise friction in this less-obvious relationship. He’s at the end of the phone if you need him!

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From The Archives: Support’s Relationship to Product

Andrea Saez joins me for the first time, where we talk about capturing all customer conversations and using that feedback to validate the product roadmap.

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From The Archives: Freelancing in Support

Andrei Kamarouski joins me from Belarus, to talk about freelancing as a Zendesk consultant, primarily using Upwork.