Blind Agents, Verizon's AI, and EX vs CX

Rolling up the CS podcasts of the week for you - in 5 minutes or more. I watch on 2x, search transcripts, and listen while walking my dog to curate clips for support leaders.

Containing:

• TL;DR: three quick wins

• The Podcasts: summaries + links from this week's podcasts

• ICYMI on LI: curated posts from the week

• And Now: meme of the week

TL;DR

If you only have a few minutes, check these out:

• Next in Queue Minute 15:25: how blind support agents navigate screens.

• What are you reading, watching, listening to? A fun, short survey for support leaders from Mathew Patterson.

• Modern Customer Podcast Minute 7:47: "Verizon started our AI programs ... that would help the employee experience first." (If you need ammo to push back to leadership pushing you to use AI agents).

• The history and purpose of the Support Driven community: Scott Tran on the Bamboo Hour podcast with Marilyn Lin.

🦸 This newsletter is brought to you by Supportman.io, which connects Intercom to Slack with AI to give agents feedback and surface problems in real time.

Next in Queue — Rob Dwyer

Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube — It Just Takes Some Time featuring Raymond Stover

Raymond Stover is the VP Sales and Marketing at MyCallCloud, where he manages blind agents on their support team. His enthusiasm for his team is delightful!

• Minute 15:25: how blind support agents navigate screens

• Minute 29:20: training bling agents separately from sighted agents

• Minute 33:50: Salesforce administrator is a great role for blind agents

Modern Customer Podcast — Blake Morgan

Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube — Verizon’s CXO on Rebuilding Customer Experience With an Employee-First Strategy

Brian Higgins covers "Project 624" from Verizon to improve customer experience. I love an initiative with a codename!

• Minute 7:47: "we started our AI programs ... that would help the employee experience first."

• Minute 11:30: how AI is going to impact jobs (at high-growth companies vs ... not high-growth companies)

• Minute 19:20: creating a CS team to address long-tail issues out of the "best of the best" ƒrom their support team

Unf*cking Your CX — Zack Hamilton

Spotify | Apple | YouTube — The Unsexy Truth: Why Employee Experience Breaks Your CX

Tamar Cohen talks employee experience and gives us a window into what she does as an EX consultant. You might want to watch/listen if you're curious about career paths beyond support.

• Minute 7:50: when call center agents are incentivized to burn out

• Minute 11:16: what to do with companies who say "no one wants to work anymore"

Tech Talks Daily — Neil C. Hughes

Spotify | Apple Podcasts — How Twilio Is Redefining Voice Al for Real-World Customer Support

• Minute 2:38: What Twilio is (you probably use it every day?)

• Minute 27:00: What do start with if you're looking into Voice AI.

ICYMI on LI:

Some posts from the support creators this week that are worth stopping your scroll.

• What are you reading, watching, listening to? A fun, short survey for support leaders from Mathew Patterson

• New book: The Strategic Customer Success Manager is just out and has all 5 star reviews.

• Verizon is in the podcasts: •Shep Hyken interviewed Sowmyanarayan Sampath, the CEO of Verizon Consumer.

• The history and purpose of the Support Driven community: Scott Tran on the Bamboo Hour podcast with Marilyn Lin.

🦸 This newsletter is brought to you by Supportman.io, which connects Intercom to Slack with AI to give agents feedback and surface problems in real time.

And now..

See you next time,

Jen