Next in Queue

The right song in the right scene in the right movie cements itself in your brain. Last year’s Loser by Tame Impala is featured in Spider-Man: Brand New Day and that scene brought the Australian psychedelic band a legion of new fans. Worldwide streams for the track jumped over 800% following the film's opening weekend. It will no doubt be prominent on many Spotify Wrappeds the end of this year. Wrapped is very personal. It’s a view into the songs and podcasts that resonated with you throughout the year. It leverages a lot of data and packages in a way that makes you feel seen, not watched. It’s that relational context that allows us to trust Spotify, says Christina Garnett. But they walk a fine line and breaking that trust could completely alter our view of Spotify forever. • How teaching informed her view of CX• The Customer Trust Equation• When personalization becomes creepy • Establishing brand trust• The missing voice in strategy sessions• The role of people in AI-powered customer experiencesConnect with Christina on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinamgarnett/ Transforming Customer-Brand Relationships – https://www.amazon.com/Transforming-Customer-Brand-Relationships-Emotional-Connection/dp/1398621323/ref=sr_1_1 Music courtesy of Big Red Horse – https://www.facebook.com/bigredhorseband/

AI in 80’s films was often scary. WOPR in WarGames. Skynet in The Terminator. Master Control Program in Tron. But 1985’s Weird Science made AI sexy, that is, if you can call Kelly LeBrock’s Lisa character AI. But she was created on a computer and trained on all the data Gary and Wyatt could feed it. How “human” she was exceeded all their expectations. But when Lisa became part of their reality, Gary and Wyatt found themselves in new and challenging situations. Those experiences helped them gain confidence and “grow up.” Today’s AI can solve complex problems just like Lisa. Corinne Flanagan should know – she’s deployed a virtual agent named Kate to help Smartsheet users through all kinds of technical questions. That has reserved the new and challenging situations for her team of human support agents. And they’re gaining confidence and evolving to Smartsheet’s Support Agent 3.0 – human concierge agents that provide incredible customer experiences. • Support evolution at Smartsheet• The team’s response to AI• How training and hiring have changed• Lessons learned from AI deployment• AI’s impact on agent burnout and job satisfaction• Building community and recognition among support teamsConnect with Corinne on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/corinne-flanagan-6b20842/ Music courtesy of Big Red Horse – https://www.facebook.com/bigredhorseband/

Many rock musicians have been honored as inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But John Fogerty’s 1985 hit, Centerfield, got him honored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Today, it’s a fixture at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, and just about every ballpark across the country. Baseball and its heroes have been mythologized as a deeply American tradition. But like anything else, it has evolved with technology, even so far as to use an Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System in the Major Leagues as of 2026. While technology is continually being introduced in sports, humans are still at the center of the action. Sports are hardly the only domain where technology has continued to drive change. Customer Service interactions have long evolved as new technologies have been introduced to contact centers. AI “bots” or Virtual Agents are simply the next evolution. But humans should still be at the center of the action, says Jeff Toister. Jeff’s authored five books on Customer Service and this year, he was inducted into the ICMI Hall of Fame. This week, we discuss: • The Human Element in Customer Service• The Impact of Greetings on Customer Experience• AI in Customer Service: Opportunities and Concerns• The Evolution of AI and Human Interaction• Creating Human Connections in Customer Service• The Role of AI in Routine Transactions• Skills Unique to Humans in Customer Service• The Future of AI and Human CollaborationConnect with Jeff on LinkedIn - https://linkedin.com/in/jefftoister Jeff Toister's Website - https://toistersolutions.com/ Human Service Book - https://humanservicebook.com/ Music courtesy of Big Red Horse – https://www.facebook.com/bigredhorseband/

One of the most enduring basslines of all time was the lead into one of the greatest rock collaborations of all time – Queen and David Bowie. 1981’s Under Pressure became a #1 hit in the UK. Under Pressure explored how navigating the labyrinth of normal life could bring people to a breaking point. 9 years later, that same (slightly altered) bassline would spawn another hit, Vanilla Ice’s Ice Ice Baby. Not long after, Vanilla Ice was under pressure, facing a landmark copyright lawsuit that was eventually settled out of court. The feeling of being under pressure constantly can quickly lead to burnout, a topic we’ve tackled on this show in the past. The ideal way to deal with burnout is to remove yourself from the cause – often your job. But more often than not, that’s an unrealistic solution because we all have bills to pay. This week, Steph Lundberg joins Next in Queue to talk about strategies to mitigate burnout for those of us who need to carry on. • The Birth of Support Human and Bad Job Bingo• Understanding Burnout and Its Symptoms• Navigating Job Challenges and Burnout• The Importance of Taking Time Off• The Evolution of Work Ethic• Rethinking Going Above and Beyond• Career Planning During Burnout• The Importance of Networking, Community, and Support• Prioritizing Personal Well-beingConnect with Steph on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/smlundberg/ Support Human – https://supporthuman.cx/ Music courtesy of Big Red Horse – https://www.facebook.com/bigredhorseband/

Employing a stark departure from the bland, clinical approach previous manuals had taken, Alex Comfort’s 1972 book, The Joy of Sex, took the world by storm. The illustrated manual spent over a year in the top five of the New York Times Best Seller list. It was an entirely different and liberating approach to the intimate relationships that are part of the human experience. The following year, Motown soul legend, Marvin Gaye, released the #1 single, Let’s Get It On, his own musical plea for sexual liberation. The Joy of CEHX, that’s C for Customer, E for Employee, H for Human, and X for eXperience, is a different kind of plea for liberation. Aileen Day has written a book that also employs a stark departure from the bland, clinical approach previous CX manuals have taken. She joins Next in Queue this week to discuss: • The Joy of Sex and Customer Experience• The Human Experience in Business• Trust and Brand Loyalty• The Dynamics of Retail and Manufacturing• Online Dating and Authenticity• The Importance of Honest Feedback• An Exercise in Trust • XM Global Collaborative and Future EndeavorsConnect with Aileen on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/aileen-day-1800valued/ The Joy of CEHX – https://aileenday.com.au/book/ XM Global Collaborative – https://www.xmgc.org/ Music courtesy of Big Red Horse – https://www.facebook.com/bigredhorseband/