CX Gurus

Jessica Voss, Darren Prine, Fred Stacey
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Management
  • Updated Weekly

We didn't study contact centers. We ran them. CX Gurus goes inside the enterprise contact center with the operators who've lived it — from 500-seat teams to 10,000+ global BPOs. Each week, host Darren Prine and guests break down what's actually working in CX and AI, and what's just noise. Expect straight talk on AI agents, QA, WFM, vendor selection, and the messy reality of transformation. No consultants who've never taken a call. No hype. Just the practitioner's view from the floor. Built by Cloud Tech Gurus.

  1. 2d ago

    Rebuilding the Floor: What Remote Contact Centers Are Still Missing

    Six years ago the industry went home in two weeks. Most contact centers kept the org chart and lost the floor: the supervisor who spots a bad call, the two-minute coaching fix, the new hire learning next to someone good. Most never rebuilt it. In this episode of the CX Gurus Podcast, host Darren Prine (CRO & Co-Founder, Cloud Tech Gurus) talks with Sameer Maini, CEO and Founder of CollaborationRoom.AI, who spent 20 years running contact center and BPO operations before building software for them. In this episode What contact centers actually glued together in March 2020What they lost when they left the building, and what it shows up as in the numbersWhy many remote centers are “surviving, not thriving”A before-and-after customer story: 33% more calls taken and 27% more revenue in 90 days (client-reported)What a great remote contact center looks like in 2026The talent a remote center can hire that a building never couldChapters0:00 Highlights0:44 Welcome: how remote work lost the floor3:25 March 2020: the scramble to go remote6:19 What centers lost when they left the building10:31 What is still broken in remote contact centers13:52 What a virtual contact center floor looks like17:57 Visible proof of compliance, and standing out as a BPO20:12 Customer story: LMM Inc.23:25 Supervisor alerts and agent safety24:43 The ideal remote contact center in 202627:16 ROI: productivity, handle time and attrition31:26 Raising a daughter and running a company, remote32:45 The talent a building could never hire36:13 Business continuity and disaster recovery36:53 Wrap-up Want a demo or a conversation about rebuilding supervisor presence in your remote operation? Reach out to Cloud Tech Gurus: https://cloudtechgurus.comPast episodes: https://www.cxguruspodcast.com/Subscribe on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@cxguruspodcast Results discussed are the guest’s own, reported by his customers. Cloud Tech Gurus is a partner and distributor for CollaborationRoom.AI. Produced by the Cloud Tech Gurus Team. Subscribe for more insights from industry leaders. Visit www.cloudtechgurus.com

    Rebuilding the Floor: What Remote Contact Centers Are Still Missing

  2. Aug 20

    The Longest Wait: What Kidney Failure Taught Me About Customer Effort

    Wes Dudey spent his career designing customer journeys. Then a massive heart attack — six cardiac arrests, 55 shocks, a 1% survival odds — followed by kidney failure, put him inside a journey he didn't design. In this first episode of CX Gurus, host Jess talks with Wes about what he learned as a patient that he never fully understood as a CX executive: what customer effort actually costs someone living it, not just measuring it. This episode also marks Jess's own first public conversation about her kidney disease journey — making this less an interview and more two practitioners comparing notes from the other side of the counter. Watch on YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@cxguruspodcast Produced by the Cloud Tech Gurus Team. Subscribe for more insights from industry leaders. Visit www.cloudtechgurus.com

    The Longest Wait: What Kidney Failure Taught Me About Customer Effort

  3. Aug 20

    Remote Work, Leadership, and the Future of Contact Centers | John Coulter

    In this episode of Contact Center Journeys, Fred Stacey sits down with John Coulter, SVP of Sales at Five Star Call Centers, to talk about developing future leaders in today's remote world — and how mentorship, networking, and staying connected keep our industry growing strong.   Timestamps / Chapters: 00:00 – Developing leaders in a remote world 02:30 – John's journey through the contact center space 08:10 – The challenges and opportunities of remote culture 14:00 – The importance of mentorship and finding your network 20:15 – Fred's key takeaways and closing thoughts   Hosted by: Fred Stacey Produced by the Cloud Tech Gurus Team. Subscribe for more insights from industry leaders. Visit www.cloudtechgurus.com

    Remote Work, Leadership, and the Future of Contact Centers | John Coulter

  4. Aug 20

    Nate Brown's Journey in Customer Experience | From Customer Service to CX Leadership

    Is customer service just a stepping stone, or can it be a meaningful, long-term career?   In this episode, Fred Stacey sits down with Nate Brown, Head of Education & Enablement at Metric Sherpa and co-founder of CX Accelerator, for an honest conversation about careers in customer experience, mentorship, leadership, and why CX still matters more than ever.   Nate shares his journey from frontline customer service roles to becoming one of the most respected voices in the CX community. Together, they unpack what makes customer experience a true competitive differentiator in a world where products can be copied, but loyalty cannot.   In this episode, we cover: Why customer service is more than an entry-level job - How mentorship shapes meaningful CX careers - The role of human connection in modern CX - Automation vs personalization in contact centers - Advice for the next generation of CX leaders - What the future of customer experience looks like Contact Center Journeys exists to inspire the next generation of CX and contact center professionals by sharing real stories from people who built their careers in this space. There are no sales pitches, just honest conversations and lessons learned. Produced by the Cloud Tech Gurus Team. Subscribe for more insights from industry leaders. Visit www.cloudtechgurus.com

    Nate Brown's Journey in Customer Experience | From Customer Service to CX Leadership

  5. Aug 20

    From Insurance Agent to Running Contact Centers Worldwide | Tyler Orrell

    He walked into a random job fair with no plan, and walked out with a career that took him from answering phones to running contact centers across the globe, without a college degree.   In this episode of Contact Center Journeys, host Fred Stacey talks with Tyler Orrell about the unlikely path, the hard lessons along the way, and what keeps him up at night as AI reshapes the global contact center industry.   Tyler's story is exactly why this show exists: the contact center isn't a dead-end job — it's one of the best places to build a career.   Tyler Orrell — Konnect Media Solutions: www.konnectmediasolutions.com Host Fred Stacey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredstaceyaincx/   About Contact Center Journeys Contact Center Journeys shares the real stories of the people who built their careers in CX and contact centers — to inspire the next generation coming up. No pitches, no selling. Just the journeys. Hosted by Fred Stacey. Produced by the Cloud Tech Gurus Team. Subscribe for more insights from industry leaders. Visit www.cloudtechgurus.com

    From Insurance Agent to Running Contact Centers Worldwide | Tyler Orrell

  6. Aug 20

    AI in CX: Bill Staikos on the Future of Contact Centers

    Is AI transforming the contact center, or is the industry focused on the wrong things?   In this full episode of the Contact Center Journeys Podcast, Fred Stacey sits down with Bill Staikos, CEO & Managing Partner at Be Customer Led, to break down the real future of customer experience, AI, and the workforce.   Bill shares powerful insights on: Why companies misunderstand AI's role in CX - The danger of replacing people instead of augmenting them - How AI will reshape work, culture, and customer expectations - Why surveys are failing modern CX teams - What the next 5 years of contact centers will look like - The rise of wearables, multimodal AI, and agent-to-agent interactions - What younger professionals should do to build a future-proof career This is one of the most grounded, forward-looking CX conversations you'll hear this year.   About the Speakers   Fred Stacey — Host of Contact Center Journeys & CEO at Cloud Tech Gurus. A veteran CX and contact center expert focused on elevating the next generation of leaders.   Bill Staikos — CEO & Managing Partner at Be Customer Led. CX/EX leader with 20+ years across financial services, consulting, and enterprise transformation. Produced by the Cloud Tech Gurus Team. Subscribe for more insights from industry leaders. Visit www.cloudtechgurus.com

    AI in CX: Bill Staikos on the Future of Contact Centers

  7. Aug 10

    From Agent to CEO — Gina Gibson on Matching the Right Tech to the Right Problem

    Gina Gibson — CEO of Think Forward and host of The Tech Matchmaker podcast — has led digital transformations for organizations ranging from 50 to 45,000 agents. In this episode she shares her journey from agent to CEO and her vendor-agnostic playbook for future-proofing the contact center. In this episode: Gina's origin story: from frontline agent to CEO The vendor-agnostic approach to matching tech to the actual problem Future-proofing the contact center without losing the human element Leading transformations from 50 to 45,000 agents Making technology work better for the people behind it Produced by the Cloud Tech Gurus Team. Subscribe for more insights from industry leaders. Visit www.cloudtechgurus.com

    From Agent to CEO — Gina Gibson on Matching the Right Tech to the Right Problem

  8. Aug 10

    Why People Disengage at Work — Justin Robbins on Rebuilding Trust in CX

    Justin Robbins is a thought leader in customer experience with a human-centric approach to workplace engagement and over two decades in CX operations and leadership. He joins Fred to unpack why disengagement happens at work — and the practical moves leaders can make to restore trust and motivation. In this episode: Justin's origin story and the paper-route lesson in honoring preferences Why disengagement actually happens Removing the friction points that frustrate agents Using technology to support — not replace — human connection The leader's role in engagement, and why continuous learning matters Produced by the Cloud Tech Gurus Team. Subscribe for more insights from industry leaders. Visit www.cloudtechgurus.com

    Why People Disengage at Work — Justin Robbins on Rebuilding Trust in CX
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About

We didn't study contact centers. We ran them. CX Gurus goes inside the enterprise contact center with the operators who've lived it — from 500-seat teams to 10,000+ global BPOs. Each week, host Darren Prine and guests break down what's actually working in CX and AI, and what's just noise. Expect straight talk on AI agents, QA, WFM, vendor selection, and the messy reality of transformation. No consultants who've never taken a call. No hype. Just the practitioner's view from the floor. Built by Cloud Tech Gurus.

Information

  • Creator
    Jessica Voss, Darren Prine, Fred Stacey
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    47
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 CX Gurus
  • Show Website
    CX Gurus

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