Flip

BESTIES! Zoe Kahn and I are hosting an event on August 8 in downtown Portland at The Departure Restaurant and I’m so excited about it I can hardly stand it. If you want to hang out with us and some truly rad locals in the ecomm/retail space, lemme know and I’ll send you the registration link. The good news is you get to skip out on work a bit early that Friday, and the even better news is the food, location, and company are GREAT. I had to go scope things out for us and can confirm this restaurant looks a bit like a spaceship, but in like a cool, fun way. Anyway, see you there?!? Flip Gorgias Inevitable Agency #PortlandEvents #PDX

Oh hey, 3K 😍😍😍 Thanks for following along, friends - really can’t say how much I needed to see this nice surprise today. Love you all - MEAN IT

Caela Castillo's CX hot take was so spot on it almost made me forget how awful the cinnamon rolls we tried made me feel. Want to deliver a great experience? Admit your customers really do want to talk to you and then give them support in whatever channel they want it in. It goes straight back to that sage "meet your customers where they are" advice I heard years ago when I first started to work with the greatest people in the world: CX people. Want to take it a step further? Automate what can be automated in those channels so when your customers actually want to talk to a real, live human - you have the bandwidth to give them a white glove experience. That's where the magic happens and where you get to turn CX into a revenue driver. It all makes so much more sense than a sickly salty salted caramel cinnamon roll that's delivered cold for you to microwave even though microwaved bread is... not good. Anyway, this week's ep of #FlipOrFlop is live! Link to the full thing in the comments. Def watch with a glass of milk and take a sip every time I complain about the horrible cinnamon rolls. You're welcome 😎

Imagine getting through to an agent just to say this... 😍 😎 Good job Flip x Ruggable

I experienced a "voicebot" last week that wasn't Flip and it made me wonder - what's the point of of a conversational experience when it doesn't actually resolve the issue your customer is calling about? In the case of this one, it was no more than a voice-activated IVR instead of a button press activated one. It asked questions simply to route me to the right queue instead of asking how it could help me self-serve. It got me to the right place, but the issue I was calling about was an easy one to resolve and a good voicebot would have been able to help me resolve it without routing me to a human agent. Sure it sounded good and it was a better experience than one where I'd have to press a bunch of buttons, but still... I left the call feeling like whatever vendor this company chose for its voice experience didn't bother to think past "how can we make this sound better?" when the real question—the one we ask every day at Flip—is how can we actually improve the call experience and enable callers to resolve the issue they are calling about? So brands, if all your voice solution is doing is routing callers to the right place through speech, you don't have voice AI and you aren't giving your callers anything better than an outmoded system that's shinier than the last one. I imagine this particular vendor promised a fully custom solution, but what's the point of that when "custom" really only means a decision tree for routing and a nice, non-robotic sounding voice? Give your callers/customers something truly better. They'll love you for it. At least I know I would. #VoiceAI #PhoneSupport #CustomerExperience

Let's talk about that one time Michael Ludwig gave a literal master class on how to do CX while introducing me to the best sandwiches I've ever had ever. We covered a lot: from why brands need to listen more, to what vendors can do to be good partners, to the possibilities of AI. One thing that always sticks with me after a convo with Michael is that nothing comes between him and making the customer experience a better one. And the vendors that get it, get it. As a vendor, Flip's job isn't to build a product that we think will be helpful for him and his customers. Our job is to build the product that Michael and the CX experts we have the pleasure of working with every day tell us is what they need. For him, that means removing friction from the customer experience. That's the North Star. And from the vendor perspective, when we can help remove friction in the channel we own—Voice—that's when our product goes from good to great. Hopping from one soapbox to another: Bay Cities Italian Deli has the best sandwiches in the world and if you go there and don't get the Godmother, you're doing it wrong. Anyway, Michael's episode of Flip Or Flop is now live. Link in the comments. Def give it a watch - I know I was there, but still - highly recommend. ENJOY 😎 #FlipOrFlop #CustomerExperience

In yesterday’s hashtag of the day, I talked about motivation and specifically how in the CX world, we’re driven to make our customers proud. But… what if we shouldn’t be?! 👀 Last month, Roma Yumul, Director of CX at Ruggable, sat down with Zoe Kahn and Kristina Keene and dropped a hot take: The customer isn’t always right and sometimes, we need to stop over-apologizing and nip it in the bud. Because let’s be real: great CX isn’t about saying “sorry” for everything or sugarcoating tough moments. It’s about setting clear, kind, and confident expectations while still delivering a wow experience. Customers don’t always need a “yes.” They need honesty, clarity, and a partner who will help guide them to the right solution. #sayno #hottake #CX

K, so this move thing is actually happening lol. Today’s task: get all the Flip swag moved out of my basement and shipped to our NYC office. Decided to throw some random silly things in with it all so that I’d be represented in the office. The great news is that KK’s Swag Distribution Co—aka the worst distributor on the planet—is officially closed. The other good news is that Brian Schiff will have a Dammit Doll to throw at Will van der Linde. If you’re in or near SLC and want to come help or raid my closet, you’re welcome and I’ll also send you home with a pint of ice cream. DM me. Happy Saturday y’all!

We are saddened to learn of the passing of Leonard A. Lauder, a visionary whose extraordinary leadership helped transform and elevate the global beauty industry. As the architect behind The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. extraordinary growth, Mr. Lauder transformed a family-founded business into a global portfolio of iconic brands. His strategic foresight, unwavering values, and commitment to excellence redefined the beauty landscape for generations. Estée Lauder made its retail debut at Saks in 1948, marking the beginning of a rewarding and long lasting partnership. We are honored to have shared in his mission to deliver exceptional beauty to our  customers around the country. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and all who were touched by his visionary spirit and extraordinary legacy.

Yesterday, Michael Ray and I had a rare opportunity and got to interview our first-ever in-person guest on Walk-Ins Welcome! Ava Winslow made the trek from California to Birmingham and spent the day with us chatting voice-AI and how it's changing the urgent care space, having great BBQ (at a Creekside BBQ in Pelham for all the Bham locals, I had never been before but def 10/10,) and co-working in the office. It was so great getting to spend some time with her and I'm so happy to be able to call her a friend 🩷 (Miss u already Pls come back soon!!!) Y'all get ready for this incredible Flip x Patient Care Marketing Pros interview dropping in a few weeks 😎 🤖 🎉