Experience Action

Jeannie Walters, CCXP
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How do we do this customer experience thing anyway? Join award-winning customer experience (CX) expert Jeannie Walters as she answers real questions from overwhelmed leaders! Let's turn ideas into ACTION! From company culture to employee experience (EX) to customer service, Jeannie wants to help you demystify the process for enriching the customer experience. With over 20 years investigating the best and worst in CX, this international keynote speaker has heard it all... and now she's here to give you the answers you need! You won't want to miss an episode! Do you have a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail!

  1. 6 days ago

    Values Need to Lead the Way with Vincent Davis (CX Pulse Check - August 2026)

    AI is forcing every customer experience leader to choose: chase efficiency at any cost, or scale service without losing the human heart. Jeannie Walters sits down with Vincent Davis, Chief Customer Officer and SVP of Customer Experience at PG&E, to unpack what it takes to build empathy, accountability, and trust in a world where automation is everywhere and customer patience is thin. We dig into Chewy's approach to empathy at scale, and why values beat hype in an AI strategy. Customers don't feel your intentions, they feel the experience, especially during outages, service interruptions, and billing issues. We look at crisis readiness through United Airlines' handling of irregular operations, then dig into PG&E's work across digital channels, contact centers, billing, and insights. Vincent explains how an IVR named Peggy boosts containment and satisfaction while freeing agents for higher-impact work. We also cover customer obsession, employee experience, process simplification, and why customers measure every brand against the best they've had, from Amazon to Uber. If you care about customer experience strategy, AI in the contact center, proactive communication, and building trust when things go wrong, subscribe, share this with a CX leader, and leave a review with your biggest question about empathy and automation. About Vincent Davis With more than two decades of experience in the energy industry, Vincent Davis leads with the conviction that customer experience is not one department’s job, but a standard for the entire company. As Chief Customer Officer at PG&E (https://www.pge.com/), one of the largest customer experience organizations in the utility industry, he leads a team of roughly 2,000 coworkers, overseeing more than $22 billion in annual revenue and a portfolio of programs and products spanning everything from smart meters and billing to digital channels and customer service. Davis is the driving force behind Customer at the Heart, PG&E’s award-winning initiative that has changed how the company approaches customer experience, with the mantra that the company will build trust by delivering a 10 out of 10 experience in every interaction. He believes customer trust is earned by being present in the communities PG&E serves and ensuring customer voices are reflected in business decisions. Davis’s path to this role has taken him through nearly every part of the customer function, from leading PG&E’s Energy Efficiency Programs group to directing a $1 billion demand-side management portfolio and spearheading an $850 million Advanced Meter Replacement initiative. Earlier in his career at Duke Energy, he led the Envision Charlotte program, a public-private sustainability partnership recognized by the Clinton Global Initiative. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of South Carolina and an MBA from Queens University of Charlotte. He has executive management certifications from Stanford and UNC Chapel Hill. In 2022, he received the Leadership Excellence Award in Energy at the Energy Inclusion Conference. Follow Vincent on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vincent-davis-6436a01 Articles Mentioned: - Chewy’s CEO Is Chasing ‘Empathy at Scale’ (Inc) -- https://www.inc.com/stephanie-mehta/chewys-ceo-is-chasing-empathy-at-scale/91358987 - Amazon Connect Customer Brings Live Sync and the Agentic CX Designer to CCW – Here Is Why That Matters (CX Today) -- https://www.cxtoday.com/ai-automation-in-cx/amazon-connect-customer-brings-live-sync-and-the-agentic-cx-designer-to-ccw-here-is-why-that-matters/ - KeyBank modernizes its digital experience with customer relationships front and center (CX Dive) -- https://www.customerexperiencedive.com/news/keybank-modernizes-digital-experience-customer-relationships/823575/ Resources Mentioned: Order your copy of Experience Is Everything -- http://experienceiseverythingbook.com Experience Investigators Website -- https://experienceinvestigators.com Enjoyed the show? Subscribe, share with your team, and leave a quick review to help others find us. Leave your review at ratethispodcast.com/xact. Want to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie Walters, CCXP, CSP on LinkedIn!)

    Values Need to Lead the Way with Vincent Davis (CX Pulse Check - August 2026)

  2. 4 Aug

    I'm Sick of Defending CX ROI

    You can do great customer experience work and still lose the budget conversation if you walk into leadership meetings with the wrong proof. We’re tired of being asked to defend CX ROI with scores that don’t match the company scorecard, and we’re even more tired of watching smart CX leaders “white knuckle” their way through budget season. This conversation is about changing the starting point so ROI becomes obvious, credible, and repeatable. We talk through why proving return on investment is so hard when the work begins with tactics and ends with rationalizing the spend. Instead, we start with organizational goals and translate them into what executives already track: more revenue and fewer expenses. We break down how words like scale, growth, market share, and even workplace of choice can become measurable outcomes, and how a simple blueprint helps you identify the leaders who need buy-in, the levers you can pull in the customer journey, and the behavior changes you expect to see. Then we get practical about customer experience metrics. NPS and CSAT can be helpful feedback indicators, but they’re not enough on their own. We dig into behavioral metrics and analytics that connect CX strategy to business impact, including retention, churn, conversion, friction points, complaint trends, and operational cost to serve. If your goals don’t mention “customer,” we show you how to stop worrying and start proving how customer behavior drives every business result. If you want more funding, more trust, and a stronger CX business case, listen through and then write down your top organizational goals and start there. Subscribe, share this with a fellow CX leader, and leave a review so more people can find the show. Resources Mentioned: Article: ​​Want Greater CX Success? Build Your CX Success Blueprint -- https://www.experienceinvestigators.com/how-to-build-cx-success-statement/ Order your copy of Experience Is Everything -- http://experienceiseverythingbook.com Learn more about CXI Membership™ and apply -- http://CXIMembership.com Experience Investigators Website -- https://experienceinvestigators.com Enjoyed the show? Subscribe, share with your team, and leave a quick review to help others find us. Leave your review at ratethispodcast.com/xact. Want to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie Walters, CCXP, CSP on LinkedIn!)

    I'm Sick of Defending CX ROI

  3. 28 Jul

    The Customer Service Phrases That Break Trust

    "We value your feedback.” “Thanks for your patience.” “We apologize for any inconvenience.” Most of us have heard these lines so many times that we can feel our skepticism kick in before the sentence even ends. That reaction isn't cynicism for no reason. It's what customers learn when the message sounds caring but the experience doesn't match the promise. We get honest about how organizations "fib" to customers without meaning to, from org charts dictating the customer journey to feedback that vanishes with no follow-up. We also tackle the biggest expectation gap of all: overpromising, and why the goal isn't perfection, but believable, honest CX leadership that keeps the promises we choose to make. Subscribe, leave a rating and review, and share it with a teammate who owns messaging, handoffs, or service promises. Resources Mentioned: Order your copy of Experience Is Everything -- http://experienceiseverythingbook.com Learn more about CXI Membership™ and apply -- http://CXIMembership.com Experience Investigators Website -- https://experienceinvestigators.com Enjoyed the show? Subscribe, share with your team, and leave a quick review to help others find us. Leave your review at ratethispodcast.com/xact. Want to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie Walters, CCXP, CSP on LinkedIn!)

    The Customer Service Phrases That Break Trust

  4. 21 Jul

    Why Empathy Training Beats More Tools

    Calling empathy a “soft skill” sounds harmless until you see what it does to your customer experience and your retention numbers. We dig into the uncomfortable pattern where leaders say they want people to feel heard and valued, then invest almost all training time in systems, process, and compliance. The result is predictable: frontline teams feel unsupported in the moments that require judgment and compassion, customers sense the disconnect, and both groups walk away. From inconsistent experiences that erode brand trust to the steep cost of attrition and lost institutional knowledge, we connect “soft skills” investment directly to business outcomes. If you’re ready to turn customer experience into a winning business strategy, listen now, then subscribe, share this with a leader who owns onboarding, and leave a review with the one “human skill” you want your organization to take seriously. Looking for more help with CX strategy? Contact Experience Investigators -- https://experienceinvestigators.com/contact/ Resources Mentioned: Order your copy of Experience Is Everything -- http://experienceiseverythingbook.com Learn more about CXI Membership™ and apply -- http://CXIMembership.com Experience Investigators Website -- https://experienceinvestigators.com Enjoyed the show? Subscribe, share with your team, and leave a quick review to help others find us. Leave your review at ratethispodcast.com/xact. Want to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie Walters, CCXP, CSP on LinkedIn!)

    Why Empathy Training Beats More Tools

  5. 14 Jul

    Stop Chasing Wow And Start Eating Your CX Vegetables with Nick Westergaard (CX Pulse Check)

    Consistency sounds boring until you realize it’s the fastest path to trust and the easiest way to spot what’s broken. In this CX Pulse Check episode, Jeannie Walters is joined by Nick Westergaard, host of the On Brand podcast and author of Brand Now and Get Scrappy, to look at what actually moves the needle in customer experience (CX) and brand building when attention is scarce and expectations are high. We dig into why major brands point to reliable basics as the key to their turnarounds: better training, smoother checkout, smarter inventory, and fewer “almost good enough” moments. Nick shares a simple mental model for this kind of work: stop chasing one huge “wow” and start raising the floor everywhere. When customers know what to expect, they don’t just come back, they give you more grace when something goes wrong. Then we zoom in on neuroscience and cognitive load, the hidden force behind friction. Customers live in constant partial attention, and every extra step, confusing choice, or unnecessary question drains their mental energy. We talk about why simplification often beats adding features, how AI customer service earned distrust through bad early experiences, and what it takes to use automation without getting in the way. We close with brand storytelling and cultural moments, including what we can learn from campaigns that hit at the right time and why even a small change like a Spotify icon can spark big feelings in a deeply personal product. If you want a sharper CX strategy, better customer journey design, and a clearer brand experience, hit play, subscribe, and share this with someone who owns a form, a flow, or a brand decision. If you have a question for the podcast, leave a message at askjeannie.vip. About Nick Westergaard Nick Westergaard (https://www.nickwestergaard.com/) is an author, educator, and speaker. He’s spent his career building standout brands at organizations of all sizes—from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies to President Obama’s Jobs Council. Nick teaches at the University of Iowa’s Tippie College of Business, where he leads the Story Lab program. He’s the author of the books Brand Now and Get Scrappy, a contributor to the Harvard Business Review, host of the popular On Brand podcast, and a Moth StorySLAM Champion. An in-demand keynote speaker at conferences throughout the world, his work helps those struggling to stand out in our crowded, distracted world. Follow Nick on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/nickwestergaard Follow Nick’s Podcast – On Brand - https://www.nickwestergaard.com/on-brand-podcast/ Follow Nick on Instagram - https://instagram.com/nickwestergaard  Articles Mentioned: - Why 3 major brands see a consistent experience as key to their turnarounds (CX Dive) -- https://www.customerexperiencedive.com/news/3-major-brands-consistency-key-turnaround-efforts/822944/ - Rethinking CX: The role neuroscience plays in developing the customer experience (Retail Customer Experience) -- https://www.retailcustomerexperience.com/blogs/rethinking-cx-the-role-neuroscience-plays-in-developing-the-customer-experience/ - Every Brand Has a Story to Tell — CMOs Decide How and When to Tell It (Variety) -- https://variety.com/2026/biz/news/walmart-cmo-nfl-spotify-loreal-cannes-lions-variety-1236788926/ Resources Mentioned: Order your copy of Experience Is Everything -- http://experienceiseverythingbook.com Experience Investigators Website -- https://experienceinvestigators.com Enjoyed the show? Subscribe, share with your team, and leave a quick review to help others find us. Leave your review at ratethispodcast.com/xact. Want to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie Walters, CCXP, CSP on LinkedIn!)

    Stop Chasing Wow And Start Eating Your CX Vegetables with Nick Westergaard (CX Pulse Check)

  6. 7 Jul

    Build Momentum Without A Mandate

    Most leadership advice assumes you already have the mandate, the budget, the buy-in, and the seat at the table. If you lead customer experience, you know that’s often fiction. We’re expected to react to requests from marketing, ops, and whoever our dotted-line boss is this week, then we’re judged on outcomes we didn’t have the power to drive. Showing up as a customer experience business leader, not just a CX advocate, starts with momentum. When we deliver visible wins that make other leaders’ lives easier, we build authority even without the title. We talk through how to reframe “influence” so it’s not about pleading for support, but about connecting to the moments and priorities that already matter inside the organization. From there, we get practical with a simple framework of mindset, strategy, and discipline. Mindset means building a CX mission that is a win-win for every leader you partner with. Strategy means improving the world your executives live in, like reducing service calls to increase efficiency or tying journey fixes to retention and revenue. Discipline means stopping the cycle of short-term reporting and instead linking what we do every day to long-term organizational goals. Measurements are not outcomes. The leaders who get funded become “translator-in-chief,” turning customer insights into clear business outcomes like cost-to-serve reduction, growth, churn prevention, and market advantage. If you’re ready to build momentum without a mandate and use the second half of the year as a reset, hit play, then subscribe, share this with a fellow CX leader, and leave a rating and review so more people can find the show. Resources Mentioned: Order your copy of Experience Is Everything -- http://experienceiseverythingbook.com Learn more about CXI Membership™ and apply -- http://CXIMembership.com Experience Investigators -- https://experienceinvestigators.com Enjoyed the show? Subscribe, share with your team, and leave a quick review to help others find us. Leave your review at ratethispodcast.com/xact. Want to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie Walters, CCXP, CSP on LinkedIn!)

    Build Momentum Without A Mandate

  7. 23 Jun

    AI Won't Save Bad CX

    AI is moving fast, but customer trust is moving the other way and that should make every customer experience leader pause. We’ve all seen the rush to deploy chatbots, automate support, and squeeze more efficiency out of service operations. The problem is that customers don’t grade you on “AI adoption.” They grade you on whether they can get the job done, feel respected, and leave the interaction confident they were heard.  We dig into why so many people say they “hate AI” when what they really hate is a broken experience: circular chatbot loops, unclear paths to resolution, and zero way to reach a human. We also talk about the less obvious wins, like AI that helps customers find answers inside an app, makes shopping easier, or offers proactive guidance at the right moment. When AI is designed around the customer journey, it can earn trust the same way humans do by showing up with the right help at the right time.  To make this practical, we share three questions you can use this week to evaluate any AI in customer service or generative AI initiative: Is it working for the customer? What should this moment feel like? Can they always reach a human? We also make the case for human-in-the-loop support for nuanced situations and for transparency as a non negotiable trust signal. If you want AI that scales without sacrificing the experience, start here, then subscribe, share this with your team, and leave a review so more CX leaders can find it. Resources Mentioned: Order your copy of Experience Is Everything -- http://experienceiseverythingbook.com Learn more about CXI Membership™ and apply -- http://CXIMembership.com Experience Investigators -- https://experienceinvestigators.com Enjoyed the show? Subscribe, share with your team, and leave a quick review to help others find us. Leave your review at ratethispodcast.com/xact. Want to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie Walters, CCXP, CSP on LinkedIn!)

    AI Won't Save Bad CX

  8. 16 Jun

    When AI Starts Shopping for Your Customers

    AI agents are already shopping, comparing, booking, and contacting support for the customers we’ve spent decades trying to understand. That means customer experience is no longer judged only by what a person feels in the moment, it’s also scored by what an AI can find about your brand across policies, pricing, FAQs, reviews, and the broader web. If that idea makes you a little uneasy, good. It’s the wake-up call CX leaders need right now. I break down what “agentic AI” changes in the customer journey and why it creates a world with no fine print. When an agent can surface your warranty terms, return rules, delivery performance, and reputation signals in seconds, the gaps between your brand promise and real experience become impossible to hide. We talk about the trust signals AI is likely to reward, including transparent pricing, clear and consistent policies, accurate product information, reliable delivery, and responsive customer service. Consistency stops being a nice-to-have and becomes the proof your brand can be trusted. And we don’t lose the human part. Emotions still drive loyalty because people still make the final decision about who they trust. I share why a clear customer experience mission statement matters more than ever, especially if you’re training internal teams and tools around a defined promise of how you want customers to feel. You’ll leave with practical next steps: experiment with AI like a customer, audit your digital experience, remove hidden friction, and tighten the public signals that shape recommendations. If an AI agent evaluated your brand today, what would it say about your customer experience? Listen now, then subscribe, share with a CX leader, and leave a review. Resources Mentioned: Order your copy of Experience Is Everything -- http://experienceiseverythingbook.com Learn more about CXI Membership™ and apply -- http://CXIMembership.com Experience Investigators -- https://experienceinvestigators.com Enjoyed the show? Subscribe, share with your team, and leave a quick review to help others find us. Leave your review at ratethispodcast.com/xact. Want to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie Walters, CCXP, CSP on LinkedIn!)

    When AI Starts Shopping for Your Customers
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About

How do we do this customer experience thing anyway? Join award-winning customer experience (CX) expert Jeannie Walters as she answers real questions from overwhelmed leaders! Let's turn ideas into ACTION! From company culture to employee experience (EX) to customer service, Jeannie wants to help you demystify the process for enriching the customer experience. With over 20 years investigating the best and worst in CX, this international keynote speaker has heard it all... and now she's here to give you the answers you need! You won't want to miss an episode! Do you have a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail!

Information

  • Creator
    Jeannie Walters, CCXP
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    178
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Experience Investigators
  • Show Website
    Experience Action

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