Category Archives: Customer Experience

Just Because You Can Use AI Doesn’t Mean You Should

Just Because You Can Use AI Doesn't Mean You Should

GUEST POST from Shep Hyken

I’m often asked, “What should AI be used for?” While there is much that AI can do to support businesses in general, it’s obvious that I’m being asked how it relates to customer service and customer experience (CX). The true meaning of the question is more about what tasks AI can do to support a customer, thereby potentially eliminating the need for a live agent who deals directly with customers.

First, as the title of this article implies, just because AI can do something, it doesn’t mean it should. Yes, AI can handle many customer support issues, but even if every customer were willing to accept that AI can deliver good support, there are some sensitive and complicated issues for which customers would prefer to talk to a human.

AI Shep Hyken Cartoon

Additionally, consider that, based on my annual customer experience research, 68% of customers (that’s almost seven out of 10) prefer the phone as their primary means of communication with a company or brand. However, another finding in the report is worth mentioning: 34% of customers stopped doing business with a company because self-service options were not provided. Some customers insist on the self-service option, but at the same time, they want to be transferred to a live agent when appropriate.

AI works well for simple issues, such as password resets, tracking orders, appointment scheduling and answering basic or frequently asked questions. Humans are better suited for handling complaints and issues that need empathy, complex problem-solving situations that require judgment calls and communicating bad news.

An AI-fueled chatbot can answer many questions, but when a medical patient contacts the doctor’s office about test results related to a serious issue, they will likely want to speak with a nurse or doctor, not a chatbot.

Consider These Questions Before Implementing AI For Customer Interactions

AI for addressing simple customer issues has become affordable for even the smallest businesses, and an increasing number of customers are willing to use AI-powered customer support for the right reasons. Consider these questions before implementing AI for customer interactions:

Is the customer’s question routine or fact-based?
Does it require empathy, emotion, understanding and/or judgment (emotional intelligence)?
Could the wrong answer cause a problem or frustrate the customer?
As you think about the reasons customers call, which ones would they feel comfortable having AI handle?
Do you have an easy, seamless way for the customer to be transferred to a human when needed?

The point is, regardless of how capable the technology is, it doesn’t mean it is best suited to deliver what the customer wants. Live agents can “read the customer” and know how to effectively communicate and empathize with them. AI can’t do that … yet. The key isn’t choosing between AI and humans. It’s knowing when to use each one.

Image credits: Google Gemini, Shep Hyken

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How Empowered Are Your Employees?

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How Empowered Are Your Employees?

GUEST POST from Shep Hyken

Earlier this year, I wrote a Forbes article celebrating the 50th anniversary of the famous Nordstrom story in which a man wanted to return a set of used tires – even though Nordstrom never even sold tires. That fact didn’t stop the employee from giving the customer a refund. Right or wrong, that story is still talked about 50 years later!

I’ve mentioned this story in the past, and the point is that stories like these become legends inside an organization, and if the brand is lucky, they may even get some good press. They are not easy to find, unless you intentionally look for them. Nordstrom had been in business for 75 years before this legendary story was discovered and shared.

I’ve written about many such stories. They are a reminder for every company to find its unique story that exemplifies the importance of customer service. These stories are powerful because they become a “north star” for how a company should treat its customers. Publicity is optional. The real value is cultural.

Nordstrom Tires Story Cartoon from Shep Hyken

For example, there are numerous Ritz-Carlton legendary stories, such as Joshie the Giraffe, in which the hotel staff made a big effort to return a stuffed animal to a child. There are also stories that aren’t so famous. I interviewed Horst Schulze, the first president and co-founder of the Ritz-Carlton, who shared a story about empowering employees to take care of their guests.

The short version is that the Ritz-Carlton allows employees to spend up to $2,000 to resolve a guest issue without seeking manager approval. One day a housekeeper found a guest’s computer. The guest had already checked out and flown from California to Hawaii. She took it upon herself to book an airline ticket and personally delivered the laptop to the guest.

As crazy as this may sound, the housekeeper was not reprimanded but instead was applauded for her efforts. Then, she was coached that next time, overnight shipping would be sufficient. The point is, there’s no risk in taking care of a guest. The story became a teaching moment for both the housekeeper and all Ritz staff, reinforcing the hotel chain’s commitment to empowered, guest-focused service.

Not every company will have a $2,000 empowerment policy like the Ritz-Carlton or a story like Nordstrom that literally defines their customer experience, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy similar benefits.

So, here’s your assignment. Find your company’s legendary customer service story. If you don’t yet have one, start looking for those stories. Use them in training, meetings, and internal communications. Over time, they will become the DNA of your customer service culture. And who knows? Fifty years from now, someone might still be telling your story.

Image credits: Pexels, Shep Hyken

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Top 10 Human-Centered Change & Innovation Articles of December 2025

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Top 10 Human-Centered Change & Innovation Articles of December 2025 Drum roll please…

At the beginning of each month, we will profile the ten articles from the previous month that generated the most traffic to Human-Centered Change & Innovation. Did your favorite make the cut?

But enough delay, here are December’s ten most popular innovation posts:

Is OpenAI About to Go Bankrupt? — by Chateau G Pato
The Rise of Human-AI Teaming Platforms — by Art Inteligencia
11 Reasons Why Teams Struggle to Collaborate — by Stefan Lindegaard
How Knowledge Emerges — by Geoffrey Moore
Getting the Most Out of Quiet Employees in Meetings — by David Burkus
The Wood-Fired Automobile — by Art Inteligencia
Was Your AI Strategy Developed by the Underpants Gnomes? — by Robyn Bolton
Will our opinion still really be our own in an AI Future? — by Pete Foley
Three Reasons Change Efforts Fail — by Greg Satell
Do You Have the Courage to Speak Up Against Conformity? — by Mike Shipulski

BONUS – Here are five more strong articles published in November that continue to resonate with people:

Don’t Believe the Courageous Leadership Lie — by Robyn Bolton
Why 4D Printing is the Next Frontier of Human-Centered Change — by Art Inteligencia
Is There a Real Difference Between Leaders and Managers? — by David Burkus
Innovation Requires Defying Success — by Mike Shipulski
Leveraging the Power of Play to Innovate — by Janet Sernack

If you’re not familiar with Human-Centered Change & Innovation, we publish 4-7 new articles every week built around innovation and transformation insights from our roster of contributing authors and ad hoc submissions from community members. Get the articles right in your Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin feeds too!

Have something to contribute?

Human-Centered Change & Innovation is open to contributions from any and all innovation and transformation professionals out there (practitioners, professors, researchers, consultants, authors, etc.) who have valuable human-centered change and innovation insights to share with everyone for the greater good. If you’d like to contribute, please contact me.

P.S. Here are our Top 40 Innovation Bloggers lists from the last four years:

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Voting Open – Top 40 Innovation Authors of 2025

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Vote for Top 40 Innovation Authors Happy Holidays!

For more than a decade I’ve devoted myself to making innovation insights accessible for the greater good, because I truly believe that the better our organizations get at deliveriseng value to their stakeholders the less waste of natural resources and human resources there will be.

As a result, we are eternally grateful to all of you out there who take the time to create and share great innovation articles, presentations, white papers, and videos with Braden Kelley and the Human-Centered Change and Innovation team. As a small thank you to those of you who follow along, we like to make a list of the Top 40 Innovation Authors available each year!

Our lists from the ten previous years have been tremendously popular, including:

Top 40 Innovation Bloggers of 2015
Top 40 Innovation Bloggers of 2016
Top 40 Innovation Bloggers of 2017
Top 40 Innovation Bloggers of 2018
Top 40 Innovation Bloggers of 2019
Top 40 Innovation Bloggers of 2020
Top 40 Innovation Bloggers of 2021
Top 40 Innovation Bloggers of 2022
Top 40 Innovation Bloggers of 2023
Top 40 Innovation Bloggers of 2024

Do you just have someone that you like to read that writes about innovation, or some of the important adjacencies – trends, consumer psychology, change, leadership, strategy, behavioral economics, collaboration, or design thinking?

Human-Centered Change and Innovation is now looking to recognize the Top 40 Innovation Authors of 2025.

It is time to vote and help us narrow things down.

The deadline for submitting votes is December 31, 2025 at midnight GMT.

The ranking will be done by me with influence from votes and nominations. The quality and quantity of contributions to this web site by an author will be a BIG contributing factor (through the end of the voting period).

You can vote in any of these three ways (and each earns points for them, so please feel free to vote all three ways):

Sending us the name of the author by @reply on twitter to @innovate
Adding the name of the author as a comment to this article’s posting on Facebook
Adding the name of the author as a comment to this article’s posting on our Linkedin Page (Be sure and follow us)

The official Top 40 Innovation Authors of 2025 will then be announced here in early January 2026.

Here are the people who received nominations this year along with some carryover recommendations (in alphabetical order):

Adi Gaskell – @adigaskell
Alain Thys
Alex Goryachev
Andy Heikkila – @AndyO_TheHammer
Annette Franz
Arlen Meyers – @sopeofficial
Art Inteligencia
Ayelet Baron
Braden Kelley – @innovate
Brian Miller
Bruce Fairley
Chad McAllister – @ChadMcAllister
Chateau G Pato
Chris Beswick
Chris Rollins
Dr. Detlef Reis
Dainora Jociute
Dan Blacharski – @Dan_Blacharski
Daniel Burrus – @DanielBurrus
Daniel Lock
David Burkus
Dean and Linda Anderson
Dennis Stauffer
Diana Porumboiu
Douglas Ferguson
Drew Boyd – @DrewBoyd
Frank Mattes – @FrankMattes
Geoffrey A Moore
Gregg Fraley – @greggfraley
Greg Satell – @Digitaltonto
Helen Yu
Howard Tiersky
Janet Sernack – @JanetSernack
Jeffrey Baumgartner – @creativejeffrey
Jeff Freedman – @SmallArmyAgency
Jeffrey Phillips – @ovoinnovation
Jesse Nieminen – @nieminenjesse
John Bessant
Jorge Barba – @JorgeBarba
Julian Birkinshaw – @JBirkinshaw
Julie Anixter – @julieanixter
Kate Hammer – @Kate_Hammer
Kevin McFarthing – @InnovationFixer
Leo Chan
Lou Killeffer – @LKilleffer
Manuel Berdoy

Mari Anixter- @MariAnixter
Maria Paula Oliveira – @mpaulaoliveira
Matthew E May – @MatthewEMay
Michael Graber – @SouthernGrowth
Mike Brown – @Brainzooming
Mike Shipulski – @MikeShipulski
Mukesh Gupta
Nick Jain
Nick Partridge – @KnewNewNeu
Nicolas Bry – @NicoBry
Nicholas Longrich
Norbert Majerus and George Taninecz
Pamela Soin
Patricia Salamone
Paul Hobcraft – @Paul4innovating
Paul Sloane – @paulsloane
Pete Foley – @foley_pete
Rachel Audige
Ralph Christian Ohr – @ralph_ohr
Randy Pennington
Richard Haasnoot – @Innovate2Grow
Robert B Tucker – @RobertBTucker
Robyn Bolton – @rm_bolton
Saul Kaplan – @skap5
Shep Hyken – @hyken
Shilpi Kumar
Scott Anthony – @ScottDAnthony
Scott Bowden – @scottbowden51
Shelly Greenway – @ChiefDistiller
Soren Kaplan – @SorenKaplan
Stefan Lindegaard – @Lindegaard
Stephen Shapiro – @stephenshapiro
Steve Blank
Steven Forth – @StevenForth
Tamara Kleinberg – @LaunchStreet
Teresa Spangler – @composerspang
Tom Koulopoulos – @TKspeaks
Tullio Siragusa
Yoram Solomon – @yoram

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We’re curious to see who you think is worth reading!

The Paradox of Customer Recovery

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The Paradox of Customer Recovery

GUEST POST from Shep Hyken

Here’s something that might surprise you. Some of your most loyal customers may be the ones who have had problems and complaints in the past. For years, I’ve been preaching that when a customer comes to you with a problem or complaint, the goal is not only to resolve the issue, but also to restore their confidence.

I was recently reminded of the concept known as the Service Recovery Paradox. Back in 1992, Michael McCollough and Sundar Bharadwaj coined the phrase to describe, according to Wikipedia, “a situation when the customer thinks more highly of a company after the company has corrected a problem with their service, compared to how they would regard the company if non-faulty service had been provided. The main reason behind this thinking is that the successful recovery of a faulty service increases the assurance and confidence from the customer.”

BOOM! That’s the point. Fix whatever needs to be fixed in such a way that makes things right and restores the customer’s confidence in you so well that they want to continue doing business with you. Furthermore, if done the right way, you not only get the customer to come back, but that confidence can also create loyalty. When the customer says, “I know I can depend on them even when there is a problem,” why would they consider doing business with anyone else?

Customer Service Recovery Shep Hyken Cartoon

When a customer brings a problem or complaint to your attention, they are hoping for you to take care of it. It’s how you go about doing so that will create the Customer Service Recovery Paradox. Three things must happen:

The resolution makes the customer happy. It may be as simple as answering a question. Or it may require a repair, or a replacement of something that can’t be fixed. Regardless, the customer must agree that the resolution is satisfactory. However, that only brings you back to what the customer expected in the first place. Dissatisfaction can linger from the effort and friction they experienced in getting the issue resolved.
It must happen fast. Speed is your friend. The faster to resolution, the better.
Go beyond the fix. The problem is resolved, and you did it quickly and efficiently. That helps restore the customer’s confidence in you, but let’s take it just a bit further with what happens next. While some instances may require a refund or discount, that’s not always necessary. A simple note or email that thanks the customer for letting you help them and reminds them you will always have their back may be all it takes.

When customers know they can depend on you, especially when things go wrong, why would they risk doing business with anyone else? That’s not just customer retention. That’s a foundation for customer loyalty.

Image credits: Pexels, Shep Hyken

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Nominations Open – Top 40 Innovation Authors of 2025

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Human-Centered Change and Innovation loves making innovation insights accessible for the greater good, because we truly believe that the better our organizations get at delivering value to their stakeholders the less waste of natural resources and human resources there will be.

Our lists from the ten previous years have been tremendously popular, including:

Do you have someone that you like to read that writes about innovation, or some of the important adjacencies – trends, consumer psychology, change, leadership, strategy, behavioral economics, collaboration, or design thinking?

Human-Centered Change and Innovation is now looking for the Top 40 Innovation Authors of 2025.

The deadline for submitting nominations is December 24, 2025 at midnight GMT.

You can submit a nomination either of these two ways:

Sending us the name of the author and the url of their blog by @reply on twitter to @innovate
Sending the name of the author and the url of their blog and your e-mail address using our contact form

(Note: HUGE bonus points for being a contributing author)

So, think about who you like to read and let us know by midnight GMT on December 24, 2025.

We will then compile a voting list of all the nominations, and publish it on December 25, 2025.

Voting will then be open from December 25, 2025 – January 1, 2026 via comments and twitter @replies to @innovate.

The ranking will be done by me with influence from votes and nominations. The quality and quantity of contributions by an author to this web site will be a contributing factor.

Contact me with writing samples if you’d like to publish your articles on our platform!

The official Top 40 Innovation Authors of 2025 will then be announced on here in early January 2026.

We’re curious to see who you think is worth reading!

SPECIAL BONUS: From now until December 31, 2025 you can get either the hardcover or softcover of my latest best-selling book Charting Change (free shipping worldwide) for only £/$/€ 23.99 (~36% OFF).

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Customer Experience Failures Are a Gift

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Customer Experience Failures Are a Gift Pixabay

GUEST POST from Shep Hyken

When things go wrong for your customer, that’s when you have the best opportunity to prove how good you really are. Anyone can look good when everything is running smoothly, but your true customer service “chops” show up during a service failure.

I recently went to a doctor’s office for an appointment. I arrived early to check in. The nurse at the desk was – no exaggeration – horrified that she had to tell me there was a glitch in the scheduling software, and my appointment had to be rescheduled. While some people might have taken a, “That’s too bad … it happens attitude,” she couldn’t have been more apologetic, showing tremendous empathy, and immediately went to work to find another time for me to return to see the doc.

I was at a restaurant and ordered a sandwich without mayonnaise. (I hate mayonnaise!) Of course, the sandwich came out slathered with mayo. The server spotted the mistake while setting the plate down in front of me. Before it even hit the table, she put it back on her tray. She served the rest of the food to everyone else at the table, and like the nurse who had to reschedule my appointment, she apologized and showed empathy. She immediately went to the kitchen to fix the problem. Several minutes later, I had a perfect sandwich.

Shep Hyken CX Failure cartoon

After both of these experiences, I received email messages asking me to complete a short survey. I gave each of these people and businesses a perfect, five-star rating. It wasn’t that they were flawless. In both cases, mistakes were made. But they each made a flawless recovery. In both situations, they didn’t offer a refund or anything for free. They just fixed the problem – but they did it with style. And when someone cares as much as these ladies did, how could I stay mad at them?

One important point: For this approach to work, problems have to be rare, not frequent, occurrences. No matter how nice employees are or how well they handle issues and complaints, if problems happen regularly, customers won’t trust the company. Excellence in recovery can only overcome occasional failures, not “systematic” ones.

I don’t need to rehash my Five Steps to Handling a Moment of Misery (Complaint), but it’s important to point out that both people handled the problems well. Rescheduling an appointment seems like a bigger issue than remaking a sandwich, but that’s not the point. The point is they both fixed the problem, and the attitude they took while doing so became even more important than the fix.

Both of these stories illustrate how, when you really care, you can win back your customer. A mistake isn’t the end of your relationship with a customer. Handled the right way, it’s an opportunity to build trust and loyalty by showing how good you really are when things don’t go according to plan.

Image credits: Pixabay, Shep Hyken

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Does Every Customer Get Your First-Time Energy?

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Does Every Customer Get Your First-Time Energy?

GUEST POST from Shep Hyken

While this isn’t formal research, I’ve asked many people the question, “What do you think is the most common question that customers ask employees?” I made the point that this isn’t about calling customer support; it’s a people-to-people interaction.

Almost everyone answers correctly: “Where’s the bathroom?”

If you were asked that every day – sometimes multiple times throughout the day – at what point would you start to act frustrated with any customer who asked you that question?

Here’s the point: The 50th person asking you where the bathroom is doesn’t know they are the 50th person. For them, it’s their first time asking you, and your response should make them feel that way.

This reminds me of my days performing magic shows at trade shows. One of my clients hired me for 10 straight days, during which time I performed twelve 20-minute shows daily – that’s 120 shows!

After the final show, my client asked, “How is it that after doing all of those shows throughout the week, you seem to be just as fresh as the first show?”

Feels Like the First Time Shep Hyken Cartoon

I hadn’t thought about it, but with not much thought, I answered, “I think about each audience. Everyone in the audience deserves my best effort and energy, as if they were my first. If I came off as bored or tired, I’d be letting them down, not to mention letting my client down. So, even though I may have performed the same tricks and delivered the same lines for every show, each audience – even the 120th audience after 119 shows – deserved my very best effort – my first-time energy.”

When a server at a restaurant recites the daily specials for the 12th time that night, do you want to hear them delivered with enthusiasm or with the boredom of repetition? Or maybe it’s a chef who has been asked 20 times a night for many years to prepare a dish that earned him a reputation and keeps customers coming back again and again.

Baseball legend Joe DiMaggio understood this principle perfectly. The story is a perfect example of this concept. A reporter interviewed DiMaggio and asked why he played every game so hard. He replied, “Because there might have been somebody in the stands today who’d never seen me play before and might never see me again.”

The best employees, chefs, athletes, and entertainers understand that repetition is their challenge, not the customer’s problem. They find ways to keep their responses and reactions fresh, be it the first or 500th time. This mindset transforms an ordinary customer experience into something extraordinary. Every customer deserves your first-time energy.

Image credit: Pixabay

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Small Flaws Can Taint the Entire Customer Experience

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Details Count

Small Flaws Can Taint the Entire Customer Experience

GUEST POST from Shep Hyken

Have you ever walked into a restaurant bathroom and found paper towels scattered on the floor or an overflowing trash can? What immediately crossed your mind? What did you think about the restaurant? For most of us, our thoughts jump to, “If they can’t keep their bathroom clean, what is their kitchen like?”

I call this the Bathroom Experience, a powerful metaphor for how seemingly minor details can dramatically impact customers’ perceptions of a business. A clean bathroom goes unnoticed because it’s expected. But a dirty one? That sends customers a message that the restaurant might be neglecting other details.

This concept extends far beyond restaurants. Before moving into my current office, I toured the building and specifically checked the bathrooms on multiple floors. The way the building maintained its bathrooms told me what I needed to know about how the property management company handled details throughout the rest of the building.

The concept also extends beyond restrooms. Recently, I checked into a higher-end hotel, and as I was relaxing on my bed, I looked up and noticed thick dust coating the air vents. I found myself wondering what I would breathe in throughout the night. We could refer to this as the Vent Experience.

Dirty Bathroom Shep Hyken Cartoon

These mismanaged details are oversights that create a ripple effect. When a customer picks up a rental car and discovers the glove compartment won’t stay closed, they might wonder, “If they missed this, I wonder if they checked to make sure the brakes were working properly.”

Many years ago, my assistant sent a performance agreement to a client who booked me for a speech. The client called me to discuss canceling the booking. It turns out the agreement had a number of typos and punctuation errors. I was shocked and embarrassed. It turns out my assistant accidentally sent the draft she was working on instead of the final version. I apologized and explained what happened. Fortunately, the client accepted the explanation, but I’ll never forget his comment, which made me realize how important little details are. He said, “I am hiring someone who is supposed to be a good communicator. The document you sent had so many errors, I questioned your ability to do the job.” Ouch! That hurt, but he was 100% correct.

Here’s the point: Details that seem insignificant to you might concern your customers. For some, these examples cause customers to make assumptions about other things that they can’t see.

So, what’s your version of the Bathroom Experience? What small detail is your team overlooking that customers notice and use to judge you and your business? Finding and fixing these details doesn’t just solve small problems; it prevents customers from imagining bigger ones.

Image credit: Pixabay

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Human-Centered Change and Innovation

Innovation, change and transformation thought leadership, lovingly curated by Braden Kelley

Category Archives: Customer Experience

Just Because You Can Use AI Doesn’t Mean You Should

Consider These Questions Before Implementing AI For Customer Interactions

Top 100 Innovation and Transformation Articles of 2025

How Empowered Are Your Employees?

Top 10 Human-Centered Change & Innovation Articles of December 2025

Voting Open – Top 40 Innovation Authors of 2025

The Paradox of Customer Recovery

Nominations Open – Top 40 Innovation Authors of 2025

Customer Experience Failures Are a Gift

Does Every Customer Get Your First-Time Energy?

Small Flaws Can Taint the Entire Customer Experience

Details Count