Amazing Business Radio

Shep Hyken’s Latest Research and Insights on Customer Service and Experience 

Shep discusses the five most important trends and predictions for 2026, what you should stop doing to create a better customer service experience, and a sneak peek at the findings from his latest customer service and experience research. 

This episode of Amazing Business Radio with Shep Hyken answers the following questions and more:   

What are the top customer service trends that leaders can expect to see in 2026? 

Why is it important for businesses to provide both AI-powered self-service options and live customer support? 

How can companies build and maintain trust with their customers? 

How can frontline employees be a valuable source of insight for customer experience improvements? 

Why is ongoing customer service training important for employees, even after onboarding? 

Top Takeaways:   

Trust is the foundation of customer relationships. When customers don't believe that a business will keep its promises, they will move on to a brand that will. When a brand provides honest communication and consistent follow-through, they build confidence with its customers.  

Personalized service is an expectation. Customers expect businesses to know who they are and remember their history, whether it’s past purchases or previous conversations. When you use data to improve your customers' experience, like recommending better products or sending relevant messages, they feel treated as individuals rather than just transactions.  

AI is becoming a normal part of customer service. Most customers expect self-service options to handle simple requests and get simple answers. But this doesn't mean that human agents are becoming obsolete. Customers still want to speak to live agents, especially when dealing with complicated or emotional issues. This is why companies need to encourage customers to use self-service tools while letting them know that they are welcome to call when they need to. 

Companies should map out employee journeys just as they do with customers. Find what’s frustrating, and make work smoother and easier. When employees are treated with care and respect and provided with the tools and training they need, they are more likely to create happy customers. 

Training should not be limited to onboarding. It should be an ongoing process to keep customer service skills sharp and expand their capabilities. It can take the form of short reminders, weekly huddles, or sharing moments of magic with customers.  

Consistency is more important than "wow" moments. Trying to go over the top every time isn’t realistic or necessary. Predictable, reliable experiences are what makes customers feel safe and valued.  When customers know what to expect, it builds their confidence and makes them want to come back. 

When a customer has a complaint or problem, it’s not enough to just fix the issue. The goal is to restore confidence and make the customer want to do business with you again. Meet with your team, and ask why the problem happened. Then, find ways to prevent it in the future. Solve for the customer's feelings, not just the complaint itself. 

Plus, Shep shares interesting stats from his latest customer service and experience research. What is more important to customers, service or price? What makes them trust a business more? What makes them come back again and again? Tune in! 

Quote:  

"Customers continue to be smarter than ever and with higher expectations about the experience that they receive from companies they do business with." 

 

About:   

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and host of Amazing Business Radio. 
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Why Customer Experience Is Your Hidden Profit Center 

Shep interviews Ty Givens, Founder of CX Collective. She talks about how contact centers can be transformed into growth engines by proactively addressing customer needs and empowering employees through training. 

This episode of Amazing Business Radio with Shep Hyken answers the following questions and more:   

How can frontline customer service representatives be empowered to act as the face of a brand? 

How does training impact the effectiveness and efficiency of customer support teams? 

What are the main benefits of proactive customer experience versus reactive customer service? 

How can technology, such as AI, improve resolution times for common customer issues? 

How can businesses educate customers to use digital support channels for faster issue resolution? 

Top Takeaways:   

Every employee interacting with a customer becomes the face of the company. Train employees on their role to represent and support the brand. When someone calls with a problem, regardless of who is at fault,  it is their responsibility to make things right and create a positive experience for the customer.  

When you start using customer service as a listening tool, it stops being a cost and becomes a way to improve processes for employees and experiences for customers.  

Feedback can be silent. Pay attention to what your customers are saying and what they are not saying. Sometimes, customers hint at underlying problems without saying it. Picking up on context and clues can help solve issues faster and even improve services in the future.  

Customer service becomes proactive by paying attention to feedback and patterns that allow you can fix issues before the next customer gets upset. Pay attention to what features or products your customers love to use. Identify the features customers don't interact with so you can either improve them or focus your resources elsewhere. 

A simple mistake, such as leaving an item out of an order, can lead to angry calls, extra costs to fix the problem, and even lost customers. Training employees to understand how their actions affect the entire customer journey helps reduce errors. Even small improvements can save costs and keep customers and employees happier. 

Investing in your employees expands their capabilities in helping customers. Even thirty minutes spent learning a new skill or understanding a customer’s needs, once every month or two, can save time and money in the long run.  

Plus, Shep and Ty discuss more ways a call center can drive growth and revenue. Tune in! 

Quote:  

"In most companies, the customer service team is the only function that has direct, one-to-one conversations with customers. This makes them a powerful source of insight, not just from what customers say, but from what they don’t say. Teach your team to actively listen, read between the lines, and recognize opportunities to improve the customer experience." 

About:   

Ty Givens is the founder of CX Collective. She helps leaders turn inefficient processes into reliable, human-centered systems that boost team productivity and customer loyalty. 

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and host of Amazing Business Radio.   
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Building a Culture Where Customers and Employees Want to Stay  

Shep interviews David Fuhr, Sweetwater's Chief Sales Officer. He talks about creating remarkable customer experiences through personalized service, passionate employees, and living the company's core values in every interaction. 

This episode of Amazing Business Radio with Shep Hyken answers the following questions and more:   

How does additional generosity impact customer loyalty? 

Why is personalizing customer interactions important in today's business environment? 

How does a company's culture influence its service and customer retention? 

How can companies prevent recurring customer complaints based on feedback analysis? 

Why should businesses focus on solving customer issues rather than just addressing problems? 

Top Takeaways:   

Additional generosity goes a long way in customer experience. It does not have to be expensive or flashy. When you add a small, unexpected touch to a customer interaction, you create a memorable moment. Any brand can show appreciation and stand out by doing a little more than expected. (Sweetwater includes a small bag of candy with every order. Sweet!) 

Hiring employees who are truly passionate about what they do makes a big difference. If your team genuinely loves the industry they work in and believes in the products they sell, it shows in the way they interact with and help customers. 

Match customers with employees who are genuinely interested in and knowledgeable about the products they sell. This builds trust by creating interactions in which the advice customers receive feels more valuable because it is personalized.  

Training never stops. When hiring new employees, equip them with the knowledge they need to excel through immersive training. Once they are working with customers, empower them by providing continuous training that keeps everyone updated and motivated.  

Listening to customer feedback leads to better service. Encouraging honest opinions, both good and bad, helps you find out what customers truly care about.  It’s important to have a system for collecting this information and then actually acting on it.  

Mistakes are learning opportunities. When something goes wrong, the real test is how a company reacts and focuses on "solving the customer,” not just the problem. Communicate with customers quickly, fix what went wrong, and then look deeper to stop the issue from happening to others.  

Plus, Shep and David discuss Sweetwater's emphasis on company culture and community. Tune in! 

Quote:  

"Additional generosity means doing something a little unexpected for the customers. It is a way of saying thank you for thinking of us and giving us the opportunity to earn their business." 

About:   

David Fuhr is the Chief Sales Officer at Sweetwater, where he leads the company’s renowned sales team. Since joining the company over five years ago, he has held key leadership positions, including SVP of Customer Experience, focusing on delivering the Sweetwater Difference for both customers and staff. 

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and host of Amazing Business Radio.   
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Lessons on Humanity, Technology, and Leadership from a Pioneer of Customer Experience 

Shep interviews Bruce Temkin, host of Humanity at Scale: Redefining Leadership. He talks about how AI is reshaping business and why human connection remains essential for both customers and employees. 

This episode of Amazing Business Radio with Shep Hyken answers the following questions and more:   

What is the difference between customer experience and customer service? 

Why is the concept "the customer is always right" often considered misguided? 

How can companies benefit from shifting their focus from internal processes to customer-centric thinking? 

What role does behavioral science play in improving customer experience? 

How is artificial intelligence affecting customer service and employee roles in modern organizations? 

Top Takeaways:   

Customer experience isn’t just a buzzword or a fancy way of saying customer service. It is not just about the moments where the customer needs help. It is about every interaction throughout the entire customer journey. 

Customers are not always right, but they are always the customer. Customers sometimes have complaints or requests that don't align with the business's offerings, especially if they're not the target audience. Treat everyone with respect, even when you can't give them exactly what they want. Even when they are wrong, let them be wrong with dignity and keep the relationship open for the future as much as possible. 

Behavioral science helps explain why customers act the way they do, make certain choices, and even how they respond to situations. Knowledge about how humans think and feel is just as essential as knowing how to organize teams or create new products. Understanding human behavior helps leaders make decisions that truly connect with employees and customers. 

Success isn't just about financial results, but also about making life better for people inside and outside the company. Leaders who keep the well-being of employees, customers, and communities in mind make decisions that will have a positive impact on everyone.  

AI is changing how work gets done, especially in customer service. AI helps humans do higher-level, creative, and caring work. AI can handle simple tasks, so humans can focus on building real relationships and solving complex problems. 

Technology creates new opportunities. AI will not replace humans. It will change the type of work that humans do. Just like how the internet created tons of new jobs, AI will reshape the workplace and introduce new careers.  

Plus, Shep and Bruce discuss why it is important for individuals and companies to make sure they are always moving towards their "North Star." Tune in! 

Quote:  

"One of the absolute misguided beliefs is that the customer is always right. They aren’t. All you have to do is look at yourself in the mirror. Everyone's been a customer and not always been right when they've complained or seen a problem." 

About:   

Bruce Temkin is widely recognized as the "Godfather of Customer Experience," helping to shape customer and employee experience and advising leaders on how to keep people at the center of their organizational processes. He is the host of the podcast, Humanity at Scale: Redefining Leadership. 

 

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and host of Amazing Business Radio.   
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How Royal Caribbean Creates an Unbelievable (WOW) Guest Experience 

Shep interviews Richard Fain, chairman of Royal Caribbean Group. He talks about his new book, Delivering the Wow, and creating a customer-focused culture through continuous improvement, empowered employees, and attention to every detail. 

This episode of Amazing Business Radio with Shep Hyken answers the following questions and more:   

How does a hospitality mindset impact customer experience in the service industry? 

How can organizations create a culture that motivates employees to go above and beyond for customers? 

Why is employee engagement important in delivering outstanding service experiences? 

Why is continuous improvement important for building a customer-focused culture? 

What is the role of leadership in sustaining a service-driven culture? 

Top Takeaways:   

Creating an incredible experience starts with a hospitality mindset. It’s not enough for a company just to have beautiful products or spaces. Every employee, from top management to behind-the-scenes team members, must aim to deliver a "wow" experience that gives customers something exciting to talk about with their family and friends. 

The hospitality mentality doesn't just belong in a hotel or restaurant. It applies to every business that wants loyal customers. Every single person in an organization has an impact on the customer experience. When every employee, not just the frontlines, is aligned with this mentality, the whole organization can deliver standout experiences. 

A “wow” company culture must be lived every day. A strong customer experience culture empowers every employee to work with intention and passion. It makes every member of the team love what they do and inspires others. 

When employees are happy at work, they do a better job, and customers notice the difference. The best organizations hire for passion as well as skills.  

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Keeping track of the metrics that matter, like customer satisfaction and employee engagement, gives the team a target to work toward and motivates them to do their best. 

Repeat business is the best feedback. High ratings and reviews are great, but repeat business is the best measurement of whether you delivered a “wow” experience that customers want to come back for. 

Good enough is not good enough. The most successful teams and businesses push for constant, even dramatic, improvement that makes their customer's experience unbelievably better.  

Plus, Shep and Richard discuss the mantras that help Royal Caribbean achieve quantum leaps in delivering “wow” experiences for its customers. Tune in! 

Quote:  

"Every once in a while, you hear executives say things like, 'It's just part of our DNA.' But culture isn't automatic. It requires intentionality every single day to truly focus on the customer and keep getting better." 

About:   

Richard Fain is the chairman and former CEO of the Royal Caribbean Group. He is the bestselling author of Delivering the Wow: Culture as Catalyst for Lasting Success. Under his leadership, the company transformed from a small cruise line into one of the most successful and renowned vacation brands in the world. 

 

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and host of Amazing Business Radio.   
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