The Customer Success Playbook
Welcome to “The Customer Success Playbook,” a fresh podcast initiative spearheaded by Kevin Metzger and Roman Trebon. Immerse yourself with us in the dynamic realm of customer success, where we unravel the latest insights, inspirations, and wisdom from recognized leaders in the Customer Success domain.
Our journey began with a simple yet profound belief: that meaningful conversations can significantly impact our professional trajectory. With this ethos, we’ve embarked on a mission to bring to you the voices of seasoned and revered professionals in the field. Our episodes have seen the likes of Sue Nabeth Moore, Greg Daines, Jeff Heclker, James Scott, David Ellin, and David Jackson, who have generously shared their expertise on a variety of pertinent topics.
We’ve delved into the intricacies of Profit and Loss Statements in Customer Success with Dave Jacksson, explored the potential of Customer Success Platforms with Dave Ellin, and unravelled the role of AI in Customer Success with all guests. With Sue, we navigated the waters of Organizational Alignment, while Greg brought to light strategies for Reducing Churn. Not to be missed is James insightful discourse on the Current Trends in Customer Success and Jeff’s thoughts on Service Delivery in CS.
Each episode is crafted with the intention to ignite curiosity and foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement among customer success professionals. Our discussions transcend the conventional, probing into the proactive approach, and the evolving landscape of customer success.
Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or a newcomer to the industry, our goal is to propel your customer success prowess to greater heights. The rich tapestry of topics we cover ensures there’s something for everyone, from the fundamentals to the advanced strategies that shape the modern customer success playbook.
Our upcoming episodes promise a wealth of knowledge with topics like CS Math, Training, AI, Getting hired in CS, and CS Tool reviews, ensuring our listeners stay ahead of the curve in this fast-evolving field. The roadmap ahead is laden with engaging dialogues with yet more industry mavens, aimed at equipping you with the acumen to excel in your customer success journey.
At “The Customer Success Playbook,” our zeal for aiding others and disseminating our expertise to the community fuels our endeavor. Embark on this enlightening voyage with us, and escalate your customer success game to unparalleled levels.
Join us on this quest for knowledge, engage with a community of like-minded professionals, and elevate your customer success game to the next level. Your journey towards mastering customer success begins here, at “The Customer Success Playbook.” Keep On Playing!!
The Customer Success Playbook
Customer Success Playbook S3 E40 - Shep Hyken - Why "Fine" is a Four-Letter Word in Customer Experience
Get ready for a masterclass in customer service strategy with the legendary Shep Hyken. In this milestone episode of the Customer Success Playbook podcast, Shep breaks down key takeaways from his newly released "2025 State of Customer Service and CX" report. Discover why being merely "fine" won't cut it anymore, how consistency trumps heroics, and the one word that defines customer loyalty.
Detailed Analysis: In this lively and enlightening conversation, Kevin Metzger and Roman Trebon sit down with renowned speaker and author Shep Hyken to unpack the shifting expectations shaping the future of customer service. Shep's insights challenge the outdated belief that "satisfactory" is good enough. Spoiler alert: it's not. According to his report, 27% of customers say they'll start looking elsewhere if a company only delivers a satisfactory experience. In his words, "Fine is the F-bomb of customer experience."
But what does it take to rise above "fine"? Shep doesn’t just point to grand gestures; instead, he emphasizes the power of small, consistent actions. Whether it’s using a customer’s name or always being helpful and approachable, it’s about showing up reliably and slightly exceeding expectations. Shep shares how legendary brands like Ritz-Carlton win not by going over the top, but by being just 10% better than average—consistently. That 3.3 on a 5-point scale? That’s where magic lives.
This episode is packed with actionable gems for anyone in customer success, support, or CX leadership. If you're looking to fine-tune your 2025 customer strategy, Shep delivers the roadmap with charm, clarity, and a touch of humor.
Now you can interact with us directly by leaving a voice message at https://www.speakpipe.com/CustomerSuccessPlaybook
Check out https://funnelstory.ai/ for more details about Funnelstory. You can also check out our full video review of the product on YouTube at https://youtu.be/4jChYZBVz2Y.
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You can also find the CS Playbook Podcast:
YouTube - @CustomerSuccessPlaybookPodcast
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You can find Kevin at:
Metzgerbusiness.com - Kevin's person web site
Kevin Metzger on Linked In.
You can find Roman at:
Roman Trebon on Linked In.
Customer success.
Roman Trebon:Hi everyone, and welcome to the Customer Success Playbook podcast, your go-to for actionable insights on modern customer service and experience. I'm your host Roman. Joined by me, as always, is my cohost, Kevin Metzger. Kevin, happy Monday. We have an amazing guest lined up. I am so excited about this. Um, you ready to get going?
Kevin Metzger:Ready to get going. Very excited. Today we're thrilled to have Shep Hyken, world renowned keynote speaker and customer service and customer experience, and the author of the Just Released 2025 State of the Customer Service and CX report. Shep, welcome to the Shep.
Shep Hyken:Hey, thanks. Great to be here. Excited to talk about anything related to customer service and experience. It's what I live and breathe.
Roman Trebon:I know Shep Shep we're so excited when we first started this podcast, uh, two and a half years ago. A little quick anecdote. I said, Kev, you know, who's, who are we gonna have on the show? And, and we started listing like, potential guests down the line and your name popped up. And I said, I don't think we're ever gonna get there, Kev. Well, today's the day we've gotten there. You're joining the show and, uh, it, it's a milestone for, for the podcast. Well, you should have called me two years ago. I would've said yes. Yeah, we had a work up to it. You may have said yes, Shep, but we had a work up to it. So, uh, I feel like we, we have a sense of accomplishment now that we're, uh, a hundred episodes in and, and you're now joining us, so Well, thank you. Yeah. Awesome. Well let, let, let's get into it. Shep, uh, from your, from your 2025 state of the customer service and CX report, what's the single most important insight you'd give to any brand or organization looking to elevate their customer service strategy in 2025?
Shep Hyken:There's like two or three main points in there. But let me just first say that the most convenient experience you can provide will win. All things being equal product pricing, if you just make it easier for the customer. The other thing is to recognize, and I'll just give you two of them. Uh, we found that, I think it's, uh, 26. Yeah, well, it's about one in four, 27%. I'm looking at it right here. 27% of US consumers, and by the way, we survey what's essentially a, a match to the US census of population. Everybody from Gen Z at 18 years old, all the way up to age 70, which are the boomers. So there's four generations represented. Same. We look at gender, ethnicity, geography. This is a cross section of the United States, and here's what we found is that 27%, that's basically one in four. If all you do is satisfy, your customers are gonna be looking for other opportunities to do business with companies that do a little bit more than just give them an okay experience. And in other words, satisfactory is average. It's just okay. It's just fine if you will. Fine is not fine. It's the FBO of customer experience. Stay away from the four letter word that starts with F that is known as fine. Love it. Love it.
Kevin Metzger:So Chef, what's an example of the customer experience that's above and beyond that keeps customers coming back?
Shep Hyken:So, let's, I, I'm gonna give you an answer that isn't what you probably expect.'cause above and beyond I. To me, that only happens when there's a problem or you notice a special occasion. You know, I could be a server at a restaurant and overhear a couple talking about their 10 year anniversary and surprise them with a piece of cake and a candle that's above and beyond. They weren't expecting it. If you call me with the problem and it's a difficult problem, and I figure out a way to solve it for you. I that might be considered above and beyond, but day in and day out, you're probably not gonna have these opportunities. So the companies that win in Excel that people say, I love doing business with them, there's the word always followed by something positive. So it's a consistent and predictable experience. They're always so helpful. They're always so knowledgeable. They're always so friendly. Even when there's a problem, I know I can always. Count on them. So that word always followed by something, uh, positive. And that's why uh, I think being amazing and creating that experience that gets people to want to come back again and again is within grasp and reach of anybody in any business. They just have to recognize that simple idea that, you know, we just need to be consistent and meeting expectations the other way of doing it. And, and I have had a great opportunity to talk several times with Horse Schultz of. Ritz Carlton fame. He was the first president and co-founder of the Ritz Carlton Hotel Chain. And I said, what does it take to be the iconic brand worldwide recognized for a great experience? And he says, you just need to be a little above average, not over the top, above average, just a little. And I said, how much is a little. Because I've been preaching a little above average all the time. And by the way, if all you do is simply consistently meet the expectation, you don't have to go above and beyond. That's better than average because most companies can't do it. But he defined above average as little things that count. For example, using the guest's name when they check in, um, maybe when they get out of the car, the person working the door looks at the luggage tag. Ask, are you Mr. Hyken? Yes, I am. Well, welcome to the Ritz. You come inside. This is Mr. Hyken. He's here to check in. Uh, then the person later on sees me walking through the hall and said, Mr. Hyken, how's your room? So they're using my name, but his definition was little things and I said, gimme a number. And he said, 10% better than average. That's it. That's what it takes. So on a scale of one to five, where one is bad and five is amazing, three is right in the middle, that's average. So 3.3 is what makes you an iconic brand. But here's the key, back to the word I use consistency. You slip down to being just average or below average. Uh, and the overall experience you're done. Love it. Shep, this
Roman Trebon:is amazing insight. This is terrific. You're gonna come back and join us on Wednesday, I hope, right? With more, more insight. I'm there. I'm already there. You're back on Wednesday. Awesome. I love it. Um, for our audience, uh, I hope you enjoyed our, our first episode with Shep. We, we we're, he's guaranteed he's coming back for one more episode. We can hope we get him twice for our, our, our entire three part series. Um, for our audience. Sure. It would be a hard series. If I only came back twice, I will be here. I guarantee it on Shep's coming back two more times. We're getting'em all week. All right. You heard it here first. Alright. Uh, Wednesday is our one big question. We're gonna focus on balancing price sensitivity, uh, and delivering a, a remarkable experience. Shep will talk more about that. Stay tuned. Uh, make sure you subscribe like the show. You'll be notified when that next episode gets released. Kevin, until next time. Keep on playing.
