Frontline Magic Podcast
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Welcome to the Frontline Magic Podcast where we talk to industry leaders about the magic tricks that help them create an awesome customer experience in people-powered businesses.
What is it that these industry greats do to create experiences that keep their customers coming back for more?
Follow along as we unlock the secrets, the real stories - the magic that makes every customer experience awesome.
Let’s unravel the secrets of world-class customer experience together!
Available episodes
Newest first
Oldest first
Dec 7, 2022
34. How an engaged frontline employee drives your customer experience with Keddrick Stuart, COO at AskNicely
In this Frontline Magic podcast episode, our host Susanne Axelsson talks to Keddrick Stuart, COO at AskNicely. Keddrick has over 20 years of experience leading hyper-growth venture-back companies and is passionate about empowering the frontline.
So tag along as we uncover the secret of what it truly takes to make every customer experience awesome.
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Nov 22, 2022
33. Discover the secrets of how you can build a culture that delivers exceptional customer service with Donna Cutting, Founder and CEO of Red Carpet Learning Systems
In this episode, we are talking to Donna Cutting, who is an author, Founder, and CEO of Red Carpet Learning Systems, Inc, which helps companies create a culture of happy, engaged people who deliver exceptional customer service.
So tag along, uncover what that means, and how you can replicate it.
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Nov 9, 2022
32. How to build financial empowerment for everyone by serving the community, with Dominik Mjartan, President and CEO at Optus Bank
Welcome to season four of the Frontline magic podcast. In this episode, we are talking to Dominik Mjartan, Precedent and CEO of Optus Bank, Optus bank is A bank on a mission to transform opportunities into wealth. In this episode, we uncover the secrets of what it truly means to empower your frontline and serve your community so that they can have access to the American Dream, regardless of their circumstances.
Dominik covers topics like...
What are some of the unique challenges that minority-owned banks face?
How has the role of minority-owned banks changed over the past 100 years?
What are some of the things that Optus bank is doing to support the community for generations going forward?
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Oct 25, 2022
31. CX insights and how to celebrate your team with Travis Gelbrich Managing Director of Guest Experience and Loyalty at Alaska Airlines
How do you become a top CX leader in 2023 like Alaska Airlines? It starts with leadership and building a culture for top customer experience.
Learn more strategy tips from Susanne Axelsson’s interview with Travis Gelbrich Managing Director of Guest Experience and Loyalty at Alaska Airlines.
Travis has spent his entire career leading customer service teams or focused on improving the customer experience. He is currently the Managing Director of Guest Experience & Loyalty at Alaska Airlines. This includes leading the company's efforts to improve the customer experience as well as Alaska's award winning mileage plan and credit card. In previous roles at Alaska Airlines, Travis has supported the company's >5,000 flight attendants and 1,400 contact center agents.
Prior to joining Alaska Airlines, Travis spent 20 years in the tech industry working for Microsoft. There he held leadership roles in customer service and customer advocacy. Travis is also a certified customer experience profe…
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Aug 25, 2022
30. Create a Voice of the Customer Program that Highlights your Service Standard with Stacy Armijo, Chief Experience Officer at Amplify Credit Union
Stacy Armijo is the Chief Experience Officer at Amplify Credit Union. She believes that reputations are built on experiences, not intentions. That's why she's passionate about tying together the promises we make as marketers, employers, and leaders with the experiences brands deliver to customers, employees and communities.
Follow Stacy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stacyarmijo/
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Aug 18, 2022
29. The Future of CX with Tom DeWitt, Ph.D. CXM@MSU
Tom DeWitt, Ph.D. is the Director of CXM@MSU at Michigan State University and a fixed-term faculty member in the Department of Marketing of the Broad College of Business at Michigan State University. In that role, he is dedicated to advancing customer experience management globally by helping formalize and develop a framework for the field For more than a decade Dr. DeWitt has provided customer experience management solutions to organizations and audiences around the world through consulting, workshops and presentations. Prior to joining academia, Tom enjoyed a career in the hospitality industry, where he served in senior management roles in the USA and Asia.
Follow Dr. DeWitt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-dewitt-ph-d-5076093/
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Aug 11, 2022
28. Build a Company Culture Obsessed with EX with Samantha Gadd, Founder & CEO HUMANKIND
Meet Samantha Gadd a founder, business leader, and employee experience (EX) expert, based in New Zealand. For 10 years Samantha has been leading the way in EX thinking through growing the largest HR & EX consulting business in NZ, Humankind, and more recently launching EX Design School - a global community of EX Designers.
Having worked with hundreds of organisations, advising leaders on how to design compelling and meaningful EX to achieve better business outcomes, Samantha is an expert in how to use co-design as a way forward in today's world of work. It has never been harder to be a people and organisation leader - employees need & expect more from their workplaces. Samantha believes that using EX design is the only way to meet these needs while driving strong organisation outcomes.
Follow Samantha on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthagadd/
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Aug 2, 2022
27. Customer Experience Strategies with Doug Koob Founder and CEO of Circle Alliances
Some key lessons Doug and Susanne dive into:
* The importance of frontline workers having a seat at the table.
* Showing appreciation and recognition to your frontline workers
* Approaching business like you're collecting friendships and then it doesn't feel like a job.
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Jul 13, 2022
26. Deliver an employee experience that achieves great customer experience with Jill Raff, EX2CX™ expert
Some of Jill's awesome advice for CX leaders:
* The core of a great employee and customer experience is to transform what otherwise would be a cold transaction into an interaction in order to create those relationships.
* Try starting every single morning (before you do anything else) and answer these three questions. Today, I will focus on ___. I am grateful for ___. Today I will let go of ___.
* If you're not creating a connection culture, you're not gonna attract talent, you're not gonna be the employer of choice.
* Create leaders at every single level of your organization AND you do this by empowering them with a mix of education, engagement, entrusting and empathy.
* Make your people feel like they are truly a part of your organization and that they are responsible for your success or your failure by following the
Listen to the full interview for more advice and don't forget to join our community!
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Jul 13, 2022
25. The Power of Emotional Intelligence with Sandra Thompson, Customer and Employee Experience Educator
The BIG idea:
Emotional intelligence is a must-have skill for successful managers. Sandra talked both about what it is and why businesses who focus on it experience increased revenues and greater staff engagement, ultimately becoming industry leaders.
Let’s dive in:
You know the story well. A florist working late; a panicked call by a customer desperate for a bouquet to mark the occasion he’d accidentally forgotten about. In this particular instance, Sandra relates how the florist reassured the man that he wasn’t the only one who had rung up in a panic that day. She then presented a few clever options, including ringing around for a late-night delivery; delivering the next day; or even (if he needed her to) calling his partner and apologizing for forgetting to deliver the bouquet as ordered. After agreeing on next-day delivery, she went a step further and offered to make a note of all future special occasions for automatic floral delivery - taking care of any future relationsh…
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Mar 30, 2022
24. Ritz Carlton on delivering five star customer experience with Horst Schulze, Co-founder
If you heard Horst Schulze, Co-founder at The Ritz Carlton, talking about the hotel’s Ladies and Gentleman you might assume that he was referring to the guests, but you’d be wrong.
As the companies most important asset in their service commitment to guests, this is how Ritz-Carlton refers to their staff - and each of the Ladies and Gentleman who work at The Ritz-Carlton have been invited to join in the vision to exceed their guests’ expectations, and embody the legendary service that makes The Ritz-Carlton a leading luxury brand.
Horst is adamant that The Ritz Carlton would have failed without a motivated frontline team, and their commitment to the basics of service.
In an exclusive presentation from the AskNicely Frontline Experience Summit, he shares his tips to managing a great frontline team for success…
1. Don’t just fill the gap.
The first stage to frontline employee empowerment is to select the right people for the right role.
“We didn't hire employees. We selected employees. We invited employees to join us in our vision.”
When your company’s vision is to build the finest hotel company in the world, it’s essential that this vision is ingrained from the bottom up – starting with the hiring and orientation that will eventually build daily employee habits.
On the flipside, think about an employee you’ve managed or worked with who didn’t quite cut the mustard. Now think about that same employee with these questions in mind…
Who was their leader? Why were they hired in the first place? Were there faults in the selection process? The employee orientation process? Did the employee feel appreciated?
Horst talks about using these important questions when someone isn’t living uo to their full potential. The follow up advice might feel confronting: “The fact that Joe is not a good employee is not his fault, it’s yours.” That’s tough love, and it hits hard.
“We don’t hire for technical talent, but for natural talent”. It’s easier to train technical talent, but natural talent is what makes the difference.
David Cayuela, GM Ritz-Carlton Cancun & Stephen Blandino
2. Get the basics right.
With the right people selected, it’s time to establish your basics of service.
At The Ritz-Carlton this means all new employees are taught the 20 basics of service - the standards that set The Ritz-Carlton experience apart - within days of joining the team.
"We want to be number one in the world." We said, "What are the 20 things we have to do in order to become number one in the world?"
What are your company goals? And what are the basic service standards you need in order to achieve your mission?
Don’t think of them as orders or directions. They should be aspirational objectives for frontline employees to feel motivated to go above and beyond for during every customer interaction.
Horst believes it’s management's role to both establish these standards, as well as maintain the processes, systems, measurements and controls to ensure expectations are met. Because at the end of the day, having the basics in place makes the job of fostering an environment where employees are inspired to deliver on expectations that much easier.
3. Communicate, don’t isolate.
Belonging is a fundamental human need. So why do 40% of people feel isolated at work?
Belonging has a clear correlation to commitment and motivation in the workplace, which directly translates to employee retention, pride and motivation. A high sense of belonging is linked to:
* A 56% increase in job performance.
* A 50% drop in turnover risk.
* A 75% reduction in sick days.
The Ritz-Carlton places significant emphasis on belonging for their employees… and as a result, reaps significant bottom-line benefits. Take the statistics above and apply them to a company of 10,000 people - that’s an annual saving of more than $52M!
Horst’s advice when it comes to fostering belonging and purpose comes back to making sure everyone lives the shared vision, every day. An EY survey found that 39% of respondents feel the greatest sense of belonging when their colleges simply check in with them, both personally and professionally, revealing the power of regular communication and feedback.
4. Continuous improvement through continuous feedback.
Each day at The Ritz-Carlton, frontline employees focus on one basic from their list, discussing what it means and how the team are meeting the objective, or working towards it.
“We orient the employee. We clearly let them know what our customers think.”
Horst also talks about customer feedback as one of the most valuable currencies to your business, and how to turn feedback into action, because you simply cannot improve customer experience without it.
5. Hold that thought!
By now, you have the right employees; they’re well oriented on your basics of service and working towards a collective vision; they feel a sense of belonging and purpose and they are receiving training and feedback.
Take a breath. You’re almost there.
But here comes the tricky part: sustaining motivation. Long-term employee empowerment requires a continuation of inspiration, training, feedback and knowledge.
The practice at The Ritz-Carlton of reviewing one basic of service each day is about identifying what makes their organization excellent, and repeating it. It’s about refreshing mindsets, providing new strategies and sustaining constant support and feedback.
Horst says that The Ritz-Carlton wouldn’t be where it is today without their highly motivated frontline employees.
“If my employees were 5% better than yours, I would win”
Bottom line: A business with a highly motivated frontline team, is a business that will succeed.
If the company offering the most luxurious stays in some of the most desirable locations in the world has clicked on to treating their employees as Ladies and Gentleman to make their guests feel like VIPs, then there is probably something we can all learn from that…
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Mar 23, 2022
23. Barry's on how to grow your customer service ‘gains’ with Devin Murphy, Senior Vice President of Operations
“Workout hard and be nice” is the simple yet powerful mantra of leading fitness brand Barry’s (fitness studio), encapsulating the culture and reinforcing the values that have made this global business as successful as it is today with more than 82 locations around the world.
Devin Murphy, the company’s Senior Vice President of Operations, started her journey with the brand as a diehard client in New York City when she was training with them as a former competitive swimmer. She’s spent the past seven years working for the business at the intersection of her strengths and passion and it’s this attitude that’s contagious and influential throughout the business.
We spoke to her to find out more about how she ensures ‘Barry’s’ continues to ‘flex’ its customer success muscles.
Using values as a cornerstone of your business Devin is a big believer in the power of using values to formulate and sharpen a company’s mission and decisions. At Barry’s, three integral values are upheld at all times: family, fun and innovation.
“Our values are the way we do business. They show up throughout our culture, filtering down to even our annual review process which formulated around them” says Devin.
She goes on to explain the power of each of these…
Value One: Family
“To us, Barry’s is a family and we focus on how we treat and trust one another on an ongoing basis - from the atmosphere in studios, to celebrating the small things”
To do this, Barry’s gives every studio a monthly budget devoted to staff and client experience with the sole purpose of ‘making someone’s day’. “We send flowers, toast a lot of champagne and eat a lot of cupcakes and donuts for a fitness company. It’s about celebrating individuals and communities.”
Value Two: Fun
“If you’re not having fun, you’re doing something wrong,” believes Devin.
Barry’s wants customers to look forward to coming to a workout; to inspire them to get off the couch and get into the studio. The best way of doing that is to make fun happen in as many different ways as possible.
“We find things to celebrate! It starts with someone being brave enough to come for their first time - a lot of people are terrified to go to a gym. The next moment that we honor is 10 classes; we know that someone is building a habit with us, and that's really exciting for us as a company.”
Tailored celebrating is important too, says Devin. Some people might want to shout their achievements out from the rooftops, while others may prefer something a little more private.
“We recently had a client celebrate 3000 classes with us. We took one of our studio benches that people do the floor exercise portion of their workout on, and we spray painted it and had the client’s initials painted on it. When she went to take her spot that day, she had a custom piece of studio equipment waiting for her, which of course we hand delivered to her home afterwards.”
Value Three: Innovation
“A good idea really can come from anywhere” believed Devin who is a big advocate of encouraging team members to share ideas and then empowering them to give the idea a try - sometimes with surprising results.
She adds that innovation is sorely needed in the current global climate.
“One of our team members in California came up with the idea to use lightboxes in the studio as a way of celebrating client achievements. This was a fun, retro way to get a message across quickly and it felt like ‘us’. From there, we started to scale it across the country and now the lightbox is something systematically built into our milestone programme and part of our studio life - something we do every year for our customers.”
Problems met with innovation result in improvement
Even if everyone does their job perfectly from now until the end of time, stuff will still go wrong, cautions Devin who adds that it’s always possible to make someone feel good while delivering bad news.
Barry’s is well-known for taking advantage of potentially ‘bad’ scenarios and tipping them on their head. One very early morning in New York, a team member opened the gym at 4.30am, right before a 5am class, to discover the power was out. “The only thing on our mind was: how are we going to make this right for clients? No one gets up and checks their email before coming to a 5am class… and we can’t turn clients away when they’s braved the cold at that time of the day. So we did our first weight workout by candlelight!”
For those booked into later classes, the team booked slots at a nearby studio in Park Avenue. “We had a line of Uber SUVs parked outside the front door and when clients came for their class, we apologised, then offered them a ride and alternative workout, on us. Every single person who showed up was still given the opportunity to work out. It became this nice little community builder - groups of people having Uber rides together. That was us putting our collective innovative minds to work.”
Remember what it's like to be the consumer
Devin says that Barry’s always encourages its frontline team members to remember what it feels like to be a consumer - and to tap into that knowledge and understanding around what makes an experience a great, or not-so-great one.
She shares her own experiences of excellent customer - a recent flight from LA to Miami with American Airlines flight attendant Jeffrey - as an example of standout service.
“How he took care of people really stuck with me. He came around before the flight started and introduced himself, asking ‘Can I call you Devin?’ At the end of the flight, he came past and thanked me for my loyalty. We realized through the course of our conversation that we would be on the same return flight together. Sure enough, two days later, he remembered me and asked ‘How was your week Devin?’ I know how many people they see day in and day out. The fact that he had remembered our interaction and was able to continue to build the relationship two days later was remarkable. Now, I really look forward to seeing him on more flights.” That is the benchmark.
“Live out your values as a company. Innovate. Focus on your customer. They aren’t difficult things; but they’re important things and if you can get them right, your customer service muscles will keep on growing,” concludes Devin.
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Mar 17, 2022
22. SmileDirectClub on smiling and thriving at work with Cheryl DeSantis, Chief People and Diversity Officer
Cheryl’s advice for listening is to: “Be curious, be open and ask questions from an appreciative inquiry space. That means ‘Help me understand more about that and why is that important to you?’ Because when you have a conversation from an invitation point of view, it draws in the person to feel safe to share their experience.”
Be a curious cat
Cheryl says this curiosity applies to the company’s hiring process as well where they’re on the lookout for a certain type of cool cat… a curious one!
“I’m looking for people who have that customer-centricity, who are competent, empathetic and engaging. And that all starts with curiosity.”
And here’s how that one important attribute leads to smiles:
Looking for understanding – Curious frontline workers ask more questions in order to really understand their customer’s needs and their emotional connection to the experience.
Looking for new ways – Curious frontline workers won’t be scared to try new things and look for new ways to make the experience better for the customer. As a life-long learner, there will always be an opportunity to improve and a new path to explore.
Looking for feedback – Curious frontline workers will be looking for feedback. After they’ve tried out those new ideas and asked all those questions, you know that they’ll want to find out if they’ve done a good job, or not… but either way a curious person will see that as yet another opportunity.
Bringing your whole self… no matter who you are
Cheryl also highlights how important it is to focus on the person in front of you and what she calls their ‘humanity. “They have a whole human experience behind them.”
SmileDirectClub has seen engagement results soar and their teams tell them that they feel more seen, heard and valued because of a big piece of work underway to educate all teams on cultures and backgrounds that make up their employee base and customer base. After listening to their people, SmileDirectClub leaders found that many people didn’t feel comfortable having conversations around cultural differences. The focus of the current programme is on learning more about each other and how to have discussions as a team and then apply these learnings.
“That's where things often go very wrong. We tend to give information out, but we don't teach people how to apply it. If you’re wanting to become more of an inclusive leader or want to reflect the diversity of your team, don't be afraid to have conversations.”
Which we think is the perfect way to put that empathy, listening and curiosity to work!
And the payoff is powerful…
“If your company wants to create a better experience for customers, then double down your focus on team member or employee engagement to drive the right behaviors and conditions for your team members to thrive. Numerous surveys have proven that a highly engaged workforce drives productivity and a commitment to going the extra mile for your customers.”
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Mar 9, 2022
21. 'Nail' your customer service goals in 2022 with Mitre 10 and Kirsten Riechelmann, Head of People Experience
Head of People Experience, Kirsten Riechelmann, has worked for New Zealand’s largest home improvement retailer, Mitre 10, for more than 16 years. The co-operative comprises 84 locally owned and operated stores, with owners who are passionate about providing great service to New Zealand's home improvement and gardening enthusiasts. Kirsten’s challenge? Rallying all these stakeholders around positive changes that keep the group ‘one step ahead’ when it comes to customer experience.
“The strength of a co-operative is that our owners are passionate about their businesses and will always want to see their store flourish. The challenge is getting them all on board and aligned,” explains Kirsten. “Because of that, it’s more about doing things with them, rather than for or to them. That same approach also works wonders when frontline team apply it to how they treat customers.”
We spoke to Kirsten about how Mitre 10 uses care, co-creation, feedback and empowerment to supercharge its success.
The boomerang of care
“Build relationships with people, care about them; and care will come back to you.”
At Mitre 10, this ethos filters through every layer of the organisation - from the Support Office’s relationship with store owners; to each team member’s approach to helping their customers.
How Mitre 10 cares for those INSIDE the team
When it comes to team, Kirsten is a firm believer in the power of strong relationships to drive business processes forward.
She believes relationships are crucial and that’s something that’s built over time. “You can’t just roll out a programme and mandate its use in a store. It’s unlikely to be taken up and if by chance it is, it’s not likely to stick. We prefer working with the stores and showing the material impact it could have on their business. Caring about their business more than your initiative is vital. This not only builds trust but loyalty too.”
“Trust doesn’t just come from implementing initiatives that have an impact… sometimes, it’s as simple as actually answering your phone, returning messages or remembering details about people’s lives outside of work. It is also about showing a cohesive approach - involving others across the business in the process of planning change.”
How Mitre 10 cares for customers
On the floor - it starts with helping people ‘from the front door right through to the checkout’. Kirsten believes that something as simple as a smile, genuinely wanting to help them or creating a moment of magic, like walking a customer to their car with an umbrella in the rain, can make a lasting impression. “Customers can feel this; if you care enough about them, they will care back... and even better, they will come back.”
She is also an advocate of focusing on the experience, not the sale.
“The most important thing for people is not product knowledge. Don’t get me wrong, that’s important, but what’s more important is caring about the person you’re talking to. When you do that, everything else falls into place.”
Cooperatives like to co-create; so should leaders
This same ‘care’ has been extended to how the company rolls out capability programmes.
Their previous approach involved coming up with an initiative and laying it on the table for stores to pick up. “We used to develop programmes to and for stores. When rolled out, they worked in the short term, but it wasn’t sustainable. We knew if we were to do anything new, it needed to focus on both a culture shift and capability lift. We needed to change the approach and do it together,” explains Kirsten.
She shares the old adage: “‘Involve the business’. They are more likely to know more than you do…”
This, however, is easier said than done, when you are based in a Support Office and not in store.
She goes on to say: “Questions are powerful. We asked ourselves: How do we involve these owners? How do we find out what their pain points are? It’s not about having a complete and ready roadmap; it’s more important to create a loop for constant feedback and input that enables you to co-create something together.”
“We’ve tested, validated and created what we call ‘freedom within a framework’ - a way for store owners to have the flexibility to make a programme their own, while keeping within a defined framework.”
“Now, instead of presenting something in finished format, we take a subset of stores and invite feedback from them early on in the development process. We ask questions and listen. Those who are involved can then help influence others positively.”
Use feedback as a springboard for success
Aside from feedback from store owners, Kirsten also believes that getting feedback from customers is crucial in helping develop a better experience, and can be used as a unifier, not a divider, within a business.
Mitre10 uses several tools to achieve this, including a customer feedback and reward programme for gathering insights (i.e. ‘give feedback and stand a chance to win!’). Internally, this has helped the team focus on areas that matter and work together to come up with resolutions for things that didn’t go so well, while also focusing on how to make experiences even better.
“The great thing about using customer insight, is that it moves away from ‘what Kirsten thinks’, or ‘what Support Office says’ and becomes more about the experience the customer is after. When customer insight becomes the key to initiating change, there’s not much to argue about,” says Kirsten.
Turn your team members into ‘experience advisors’
Aside from customer feedback, Kirsten also believes in the power of turning your team members into ‘experience advisors’.
“Epic customer experience starts with employing people who really like partnering with customers and solving problems. They will fast become your greatest asset.”
“Ask questions of them, too,” she advises. “Be open to learning about what might inhibit them from providing awesome customer service. The response may be surprising and quite often, there’s a quick fix…”
She goes on to say that incremental change in this area is one of the most powerful forms of improvement: “It’s important to realise it’s not about massive change at once. With both customers and team, make small incremental changes based on feedback. Find the one small thing you can do better. What’s the one percent improvement you could make? Try it. Make a few of those and they really do start adding up…”
Thanks, Kirsten, great tips for those of us who are ‘DIY’ enthusiasts when it comes to customer success….
Let’s recap Kirsten’s tips for nailing it:
Care for your people and customers and that care will come back to you in the form of loyalty and trust.
Learn the power of doing things with people, not for or to them.
Let customer and team feedback lead you!
It’s the small improvements that band together to make up big gains.
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Dec 8, 2021
20. Working up a storm in the fitness world with fitness advocate Mel Tempest
These perfectly sum up Mel’s whirlwind approach to inspiring herself, her team and her customers:
“Passion comes from that feeling of helping people achieve their dreams and giving them an opportunity to better themselves.”
“We all need to collaborate and come together more. Don’t fear your peers. We have so much to offer, and it's up to the older generation to grab the younger generation by the hand, lead and nurture them, and teach them to be leaders of the future.”
“There's lots of ways of creating a great experience, but everybody (everybody!) wants to be recognized. Everybody wants to be noticed. And everybody wants a smile.”
Mel will be speaking at our Global Frontline Summit on 16 February 2022, along with other inspirational leaders from people-powered businesses across Marketing, Customer Experience, Operations and HR.
Read more here: https://www.frontlinemagic.org/post/working-up-a-storm-in-the-fitness-world
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Dec 1, 2021
19. Why is consistency core to Uber’s customer satisfaction success? with Adi Tobias, Head of Customer Experience for Uber
Design repeatable experiences...
Once customer service basics have been embedded, Adi believes that the next step is to build value in the repeatability of a consistently great experience – and that takes more than just a great frontline team…
“Businesses spend tons of money on marketing and positioning themselves in a way that sets them apart from competitors. Where we often go wrong is not connecting campaigns (telling everyone how good we are) with the service we provide (cold and removed). Sometimes, these two things appear to be two very different parts of the same business.”
“When it all goes right - it’s important to ask, how did we do that? And how do we improve that? Not just once but every single time, so that what you arrive at is repeatability - an ability to deliver to a high standard over and over again.”
> But how?
Adi recommends that a good way to start interrogating your business model and customer-centricity (placing the customer at the centre of ev…
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Nov 23, 2021
18. HMSHost - The ‘connection’ that powers customer service at airports with Joe Thornton, COO
In the food and service airport branches where fast food has to be even faster, a focus on excellence at the frontline is key. Here’s how Joe ensures his people’s insights are used to shape an even better future; how focussing on the right priorities and recognising the value in the work people love the most can alter your legacy; and how he keeps his teams motivated and encouraged.
When your plans don’t ‘fly’… look for the opportunities
Let’s set the scene for Joe’s most recent role at HMS Hosts - the brand behind brands, responsible for operating many of the eateries and stores at airports and travel-stops, including Starbucks, Chick-fil-A and Chili’s.
Joe had just taken some well-deserved time out, spent time writing his first book (and starting a second!) and reflected on what comes next – leading operations for around 1700 restaurants. He had an elaborate 100 day plan ready to execute, and on day two...the US shuts down. Covid had hit. After 10 days, he threw that same plan in the bin:
“I knew that it was going to be a different company...that when the pandemic ended, we would grow back differently. I had to restructure the field for the pandemic and now restructure it for the future. It was an opportunity to take forward the best of the culture of the business before the pandemic, but also take advantage of the things we wanted to do differently but didn’t, or couldn’t...”
For Joe, these decisions were shaped, in large, by the stories of the people on HMS Hosts’ frontline:
“Once I could get on the road again, the very first associate I met was a gentleman who has been working at Chili's for 50 years. There are so many stories of people working 30-50 years in the company and in some cases in the same roles. For me, so much of my job is now being shaped by understanding who our people are, because they are the ones with the understanding of our customer needs, and how to build connections quickly in that travel environment.”
Chart your flight around what matters most
One of Joe’s favourite quotes is “Don't be upset by the results that you didn't get from the work that you didn't do.” This helps him to stay grounded in the right responsibilities and invest in the right areas.
“Your legacy is set by the things that you talk about, not the things that you want to be important. So if your conversations are finance-led, that's the legacy you're leaving behind. But if you lead with service…”
(We know which of those legacies will be the most successful!)
Joe shares the perfect example:
“Many of us will remember the late fees at Blockbuster. Too many times, this small $2 fee was the cause of debate and dissatisfaction for customers and frontline teams. At the time, the business reported on stores that waived too many fees, creating a message that these payments were important – and more importantly – that making people pay them was more important than providing good service.”
“Chicken or fish?” Providing choice for the best recognition outcomes…
Throughout Joe’s interview, the importance of recognising the type of service you want to be known for comes through strongly.
The key here is to establish measurements for your top customer experience priorities, and benchmark those against the level of success you need. To really land those goals, bolt on recognition, and send a message company-wide on how important those experiences are to achieving success, both individually, and as a team.
“The Prize Patrol would surprise the stores that provided top service every month. We didn't show up because they had delivered great financials. It was because of guest experience, and that created a powerful message across the organisation.”
Joe also advocates for making sure recognition is as tailored as possible:
“I’ve always asked my teams how they'd like to be recognised. Because intention doesn’t always come through the way you would like it to. There are those who love public recognition - a shout out in front of the team. Others prefer one-on-one recognition or monetary awards. I think it’s really important to be thoughtful about how recognition plays out.”
Encouraging your people to take to the sky...in their own way
Airports can be a stressful environment for a lot of HMS Hosts’ customers, which means that their members of staff have to be absolute pros at looking after customers when they are at their most rushed (and also least likely to be expecting a memorable moment…) Foundational to this ability, Joe explains, is curiosity.
“People have to be really curious about other people, to work in a service environment. When passion and curiosity show up, that's when you’ll create experiences that stand out. When you really connect with someone, even if it's only for a few seconds, it's pretty amazing.”
He’s also an advocate for letting people choose their own flight path when it comes to their career - whether they are a high flyer, or enjoy gliding on ‘cruise control’, people often have their own intuitions on where they can add the most value…;
“Sometimes you have to find people's strengths and allow those to be a strength for the organisation. I think sometimes, as leaders, we want people to climb up the ladder; to progress - but sometimes that might mean taking them out of the place where they add the most value - and where they’re happiest.”
‘Janice’ is a perfect example of this. She is just one of the memorable employees that Joe has met on his travels. For almost 50 years, Janice has worked a small kiosk at her local airport and Joe loves to hear her tell amazing stories about her time working there, and about the people she serves. She hasn’t aspired to move up to manager and beyond, but she loves what she does.
Which brings us back to that rush to the departure gate…
We’ve all been there.. running through the airport, head in a pile of papers and passports, rushing to get to our destination. But even in these moments, life can be about the journey. There are thousands of frontline people at airports around the world who know how to land a smile every time; they know how you feel, and they are ready and waiting to show you that the day is going to be great… but at a pace, because they know you have a flight to catch!
“It can be really difficult to smile at someone and then not have them smile back. It may not always change the trajectory of that person’s day, but there's a pretty good chance it'll get a little bit better.
So on your way to your connecting flight, don’t forget to make a connection!
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Nov 17, 2021
17. GYMGUYZ give their best advice for a frontline ‘workout’ with Josh York CEO and Founder
Josh four most important pillars for creating a strong culture...
FUN: “You cannot run a business without fun. If you do, everyone's going to be miserable, and no one will want to come to work.”
UNITY: “You have got to work together as a team. Teamwork makes the dream work. If there's no teamwork, it'll never work.”
EARNINGS: “Well, if you're not making money, that's not going to work either.”
LEADERSHIP: “Good leaders will always create other good leaders who lead by example. Remember that the leaders have got to be the strongest; the ones who have a mentally tough mindset to grow others to be even stronger leaders.”And just because they’re too good not to share, here are a few more of our favourite Josh-isms...
Read the full summary post from the interview here: https://www.frontlinemagic.org/post/gymguyz-give-their-best-advice-for-a-frontline-workout
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Nov 10, 2021
16. How to build mastery in your frontline teams by a helping approach with Customer Experience Manager Anna Egan from A1
Anna Egan has deep experience in the fields of customer experience, sales, coaching and training. Her product knowledge and project management expertise have seen her play a pivotal role in building high-performing teams for global organisations.
"Building mastery in any frontline skill—customer communication, problem-solving, complaint handling, and so on—takes time. It takes multiple coaching touches, repeated practice sessions, and consistent reinforcement. It’s like climbing a ladder."
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Nov 3, 2021
15. Shep Hyken on the anatomy of customer loyalty
Find your unique why as a business
The word amazing isn’t just part of Shep’s title, it’s also part of his company mantra – to always be amazing. Shep believes that crafting your own unique company mantra or mission statement is an essential piece of groundwork for achieving consistent customer service, and something every company should think about.
He cites the service vision of the Ritz Carlton as a great example – “We're ladies and gentlemen, serving ladies and gentlemen.” Nine simple words that became the north star of their entire organisation.
Your people need to know that they have a big impact, even (and especially) if they feel like they don’t, and having a purpose that people can see themselves contributing to is a bedrock of success.
That sense of purpose starts with your leaders – it’s their role to define it, communicate it and train everybody on it. And as Shep says…
“That means everybody. Everybody has to be in it to win it. That philosophy…
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Oct 27, 2021
14. United Healthcare - 5 counter-intuitive customer service secrets with Jerry Campbell, Director, Consumer Services
Basic #1: Want to lead? Start by serving...
Ever heard the saying “We rise by lifting others?” Servant leadership is a management philosophy founded by Robert Greenleaf who teaches that a leader’s role is to serve. This is vastly different from traditional leadership where the main focus is the success of the company. A servant leader shares power; puts the needs of the employees first and develops their people for success.
Servant leadership is a philosophy Jerry believes in strongly.
“It means understanding what employees need and want to achieve, and then giving them tools and resources to meet (their own) performance expectations,” he explains.
Another pillar of the philosophy is sharing power. Jerry shares that when starting out in any new role, he would take frontline staff or team leaders into his exec level meetings.
“It’s about sharing opportunities for creating and implementing new ideas across the business. This creates a culture where every voice is value…
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Oct 21, 2021
13. Leading yourself and business through change with Ish Cheyne, Head of Fitness for Les Mills New Zealand
Seeing mistakes as opportunity
The story: Ish started his career with Les Mills by mistake, ending up with a sales role after heading into the wrong door for his first chef’s job. He could have turned around and walked out - yet this serendipitous event introduced Ish to a new, exciting industry and 27 years later, he’s never looked back. “I'd never been to a gym before but went on to retrain as a fitness instructor – it was a big change!”
The lesson: We need to start reframing ‘mistakes’ as opportunities. When we do that, our greatest successes just might follow.
Thriving through new normals
The story: “When it feels like you have a handle on life and everything it throws at you… there’s often one more thing you have to learn how to cope with…” For Ish, during lockdown, this was open heart surgery for a loved one in the middle of an epidemic. “I went into a space where I thought ‘this isn't fair.’ I didn’t see it differently until a friend asked ‘…
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Oct 14, 2021
12. When world-class customer experience is the aim - personal and team motivation is key with Mitch Watkins, Chief Experience Officer at Greenix
Mitchell (Mitch) Watkins, Chief Experience Officer at Greenix, is a people person – you can see it in his smile when he talks about leading the team of people he truly cares about. He’s had years of experience of frontline sales and spent a career putting his communication strengths and passion for helping people together to become the leader he is today.
Greenix is a company that cares about its customers and the team loves what it does. But...Mitch acknowledges that pest control might not be everyone’s first job choice and that frontline roles aren’t always the easiest roles. He believes that as a leader, you can’t apologise for that, but he does have plenty of ideas around how to keep yourself and your team motivated…
“Work harder on yourself than you do on your job...”
Jim Rohn said this, one of Mitch’s favourite authors, and it’s a philosophy he takes very literally. Mitch’s routine starts in the morning by prioritising what’s important to him personally…
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Oct 5, 2021
11. Set your service standard with Christine McHugh Author and Ex. VP, Customer Service and Operations Services for Starbucks
Leaders set the tone…
Christine starts our chat with a powerful example of an unsuccessful Starbucks store that made a 180 degree turnaround based on just one thing: a new manager! Her belief is that leaders set the tone - for the team, the store environment, and customers.
“If you take care of your employees, they'll take care of the customers. If employees are happy, customers are happy. And how do you make your employees happy? You make sure they have really great managers…”
A service culture doesn’t simply ‘happen’; it’s created by strong leaders who set the tone for those around them.
Make it right, by making it simple...
Beyond great leadership, Christine is a huge advocate of keeping things simple…
Research by Gallup shows that only half of all employees know what’s expected of them at work. This could be because of a 10-point mission and vision statement, or because a binder of rules isn’t always applicable on the ground.
“The service standard you…
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Sep 15, 2021
A Summary Of Magic Moments from Season 01
This podcast episode is a summary of the first season of Frontline Magic Podcast featuring guests from Cleancorp, Disney, Jims Group, Mariott Hotels, Countdown, Hotel Montreal, Edge Pest control, Caci Clinic, GreenPal.
For a summary of each episode visit: https://www.frontlinemagic.org/blog
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Sep 7, 2021
10. How Disney mastered the art of customer magic with Dan Cockerell, previously Vice President of The Magic Kingdom
Leadership is never about you!
Having started his career at Disney parking cars, Dan knows that the bright lights of success aren’t ever achieved alone and is refreshingly realistic about leadership and the privilege that comes with position.
It’s all about role-modelling
“At Disney, everyone is expected to pick up trash. It doesn't matter what your role is. As a leader, I couldn't tell everyone to do all this and not do it myself…”
Control vs influence
“A lot of people think that once you get into an executive role, you have this authority to just tell people what to do and you can control everything. That's not true. You really don't control a lot of things, but you can influence everything. Hire great people and be there to support them...let them know how important their jobs are and give them a purpose.”
Focus your feedback on behaviour
“You aren’t here to judge people personally - your job is to judge their behaviors, because that's what you can observe a…
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Aug 27, 2021
09. Caci Clinic and the quest for ‘beautiful’ experiences with Fran (Francesca) Caliari-Pearce, Acting CEO
“Our customers trust us with their vulnerabilities, the things that make them the most self-conscious and they haven't even told anyone else about, until they come into a clinic,” says Fran.
How, when the customer calling or visiting, isn’t even confident that they are doing the right thing, do you make immediate connections to put them at ease and work your way towards magic?
Keep reading to find out...
All about NPS
To Caci, NPS and customer feedback is key. “Even after a negative response, we aim to turn around what the customer experienced by reaching out immediately to say we’re so sorry to have received that feedback today and then we ask – ‘how can we help?’ It’s really important to ensure the customer feels heard.”
Caci utilises online platforms (such as Ask Nicely) to collect and analyse customer feedback data and they share this information right across the business.
“This customer feedback helps to identify where the biggest opportunities for chan…
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Aug 16, 2021
08. How the ‘toilet paper wars’ played out at our largest supermarket chains - Wadim Schneider, Head of Customer Insights & Customer 1st, for Countdown
How the ‘toilet paper wars’ played out at our largest supermarket chains
Accelerated by Covid and the response to lightning-speed changes to customer shopping habits, there’s a growing trend in retail to build business success through doing what’s right for the customer. But is it counterintuitive to do the right thing instead of managing the bottom line? And how can we make sure that following an ethical North Star, won’t take customer experience south?
We talked to Wadim Schreiner, Head of Customer Insights & Customer 1st, to delve into how the infamous ‘toilet paper wars’ played out at Australia/New Zealand’s largest supermarket chains.
Wadim’s obsession with customers started well before ‘CX’ (customer experience) and ‘UX’ (user experience) became common acronyms and he’s turned his deep understanding of consumer behaviour and data into his passion and profession, leading cross-functional teams at Woolworths NZ (Countdown), the country’s largest foo…
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Aug 6, 2021
07. Jim’s ‘Family’ – 40 years of building an iconic service business with Jim Penman
Jim is intensely passionate about his role in the business which includes mentoring franchise owners and their teams for success and making sure every customer is amazed by the service from their local Jim’s team. So when he says that nothing is ever good enough – we know it's tough love coming from a leader who just wants the best for his people and customers.
“The only thing that matters when you're in service is, is the customer happy. If you can wow them, they're going to give you upsells and referrals – a happy customer is the real road to success.”
But living continuous improvement and innovation isn’t always easy – so how can you be sure that your team wants to create that wow experience for customers?
The advice Jim shares relates to what he believes are the three key pillars for building a successful frontline service culture:
Great leadership and a sense of community
A shared passion for service and success; and
Mechanisms for growth - personally and profe…
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Jul 27, 2021
06. Cutting to the heart of lawn (and customer) care with Bryan Clayton, CEO and co-founder of GreenPal
Know your purpose
GreenPal employees live out the company virtues every day through company routines and habits – the most important of which is interacting with their customers and vendors.
“Values are written on a whiteboard. Virtues are things that you do. Firsthand experience closes the gap between customer logic and company logic - what the customer wants vs what the company thinks they want.”
Yes, the operational processes and routines are important in getting the job done – but Bryan says “all of that almost doesn't matter if you're not embodying the purpose and virtues and constantly reiterating them,” – because without that focus and buy-in, how can you expect the team to be invested in innovation and improvements to support vendor achievements, and the success of the business?
Use feedback as your R&D department
“The customer's voice is like our R&D department. It's how we know if what we're doing is effective or not, and what we should work on.”…
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Jul 19, 2021
05. Service tips from the world’s most loved hotel brands with Ryan from Marriott Hotels
Ryan shares some words of wisdom in this episode, below are some of the highlights.
Making people matter
The inspiration for Charles’ book is a sad one, having lost a well-loved colleague suddenly – Jason had a contagious energy and passion for customer service, and made everyone he met feel like they matter with just one line: “Thanks for coming in today.”
Charles knew he would miss hearing that line from Jason, every day, and has honoured him ever since by greeting employees at his hotel with the same line. He says that now and then, someone gets confused – of course they are there if they were rostered on – but it’s about letting them know that you truly appreciate their time and effort on that day!
“Every job matters, and it really matters when people make the decision to come to work. We're one or two people away, every day, from either a really great day or pure hell, because every person’s presence has an impact.”
A mop can be replaced – your best empl…
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Jul 6, 2021
04. Involving all five senses for a 5 star customer experience with Lucy Cooper-Dixon from Hotel Montreal
The sisters are no strangers to the hotel industry – having built up The Spire in Queenstown to critical acclaim. The duo sold it ten months on from purchase after it won recognition as Australasia’s leading boutique hotel, New Zealand’s leading ski resort, and New Zealand’s leading boutique hotel.
“After our success with The Spire, Hotel Montreal was a chance to take something special and put our own stamp on it,” says Lucy. And that’s exactly what they’ve done, to rave reviews of their patrons.
The Kiwi entrepreneur is refreshingly candid, and simple, about what works – pointing to good, old-fashioned altruism; intuition; attention to detail and treating staff like family.
Here’s what we learnt about creating a 5 star customer experience when we caught up recently…
A rising tide lifts all boats
Queenstown (New Zealand) and surrounding areas rely on tourism, with many businesses serving the same customer base. When running The Spire, Lucy intentionally b…
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Jun 17, 2021
03. 35 Years of Frontline Service Wisdom With Mitch Smith from Edge Pest control
Here are Mitch’s top tips for supporting your frontline:
* Make your people your purpose
* Creating psychological safety is key
* Ask for feedback AND act on it!
* Stay in the field!
* Empower your people to identify and to fix problems
Read more about what they mean to Mitch here.
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May 24, 2021
02. Taking Punk CX To The Mainstream With Adrian Swinscoe
A common theme across the best companies that Adrian has worked with is that they are always open to new things. You can’t stay at the top of the charts by resting on your laurels and singing the same old tune. Working hard, intensely so, but staying humble is key. Thinking that you’re already the best and what you’ve achieved will keep you that title can’t be the leading strategy for any organization wanting to earn customer loyalty. Make sure you’re looking for opportunities to do better in different and innovative ways. It’s about improving, constantly.
Planning the future; researching the next big thing in technology and experimenting around different ways of working are really important, but all useless if you aren’t hyper-focused on what's happening here and now. The future is built on the present, and the best organizations are those who are working on being the best they can be right now – because it’s in the here and now that your customer is ready to spend…
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May 20, 2021
01. Cleaning Up To Reveal Your Frontline Magic with Lisa Mcqueen, CEO of Cleancorp
Here’s a summary of some top tips from Lisa on how to create magic for your customers:
- Listen…to the good and the bad – from your staff and your customers.
- Lead from the frontline, not from the back office. Allow your people to take ownership of their job and delivery.
- Give positive feedback to your people and share it with the wider team - even with their family!
- Encourage being proud of the work you do and its purpose – you are there to serve and that is an exception, exciting thing.
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May 12, 2021
Frontline Magic Podcast Trailer - Season 1
What does it take to deliver awesome customer experience in people-powered businesses?
The Frontline Magic Podcast is where we talk to industry leaders about the magic tricks that help them create experiences that keep customers coming back for more.
Follow along as we unlock the secrets, the real stories - the magic that makes every customer experience awesome.
With your host Susanne Axelsson.
Let’s unravel the secrets of world class customer experience together!
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