Total agreement is overrated. Disagreements are good for us. They challenge the status quo and push the standards for improvement. After all, if you only talk to people who agree with you, how would you know when you are wrong?

In this episode, I debate with Customer Experience critic Alex Mead, Chief Customer Service Experience Officer, about how we Customer Experience influencers are doing everything wrong. Mead says that our training is outdated, impractical, and worthless and needs an overhaul for practicality. 

I disagree. Mostly. Surprisingly, I feel like he makes good points. However, I do not think such an extreme measure is necessary or even a good idea. 

Tune in to hear what Mead has to say about training, accreditation, Customer Experience Influencers, and even the term “Customer Experience” itself. 

 

Key Ideas to Improve your Customer Experience

We set this episode up as a debate and attempted to follow that format. Then, with Ryan as the presiding judge, Mead and I present our arguments, counterarguments, and suggestions for improvement. 

Here are some critical moments in the discussion.

• 02:12  Mead shares his work experience and how he ended up as a self-described Customer Service Experience advocate.    
• 04:56  Mead says that while a mass statement, he believes that Customer Experience is not appropriately defined by all that teach it and how we would explain it instead.    
• 10:03  Colin explains his approach and that while he thinks Mead’s arguments have validity, Colin does not agree with his sweeping statement.
• 14:43  Mead explains that accreditation earned in two days does not prepare anyone to work in Customer Experience alone; practical experience is necessary.    
• 17:54  Mead explains that a second problem is that today’s Customer Experience experts want to implement technology that is not what customers want.   
• 23:44  We discuss why rebranded marketing people are not the best for heading up a customer-centered contact center experience.
• 26:05  We both present what we would do to improve Customer Experience training and accreditation moving forward.   

To contact Mead directly, follow him on LinkedIn, Alex Mead, or email him at alexMead@sky.com.

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Customer Experience Information & Resources

LinkedIn recognizes Colin Shaw as one of the 'World's Top 150 Business Influencers.' As a result, he has 289,000 followers of his work. Shaw is the Founder and CEO of Beyond Philosophy LLC, which helps organizations unlock growth by discovering customers' hidden, unmet needs that drive value ($). The Financial Times selected Beyond Philosophy LLC as one of the best management consultancies for two years. Follow Colin on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Click here to learn more about Professor Ryan Hamilton of Emory University. 

Why Customers Buy: As an official "Influencer" on LinkedIn, Colin writes a regular newsletter on all things Customer Experience. Click here to join the other 22,000 subscribers. 

Experience Health Check: You already have an experience, even if you weren't deliberate about it. Our Experience Health Check can help you understand what you have today. Colin or one of our team can assess your digital or physical Customer Experience, interacting with your organization as a customer to define what is good and what needs improving. Then, they will provide a list of recommendations for critical next steps for your organization. Click here to learn more. 

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