Kustomer

A former frontline agent turned customer experience executive puts a name to something many of us feel but rarely say out loud: the emotional labor crisis. As AI deflects simpler interactions, the contacts reaching human customer service agents are increasingly complex and emotionally charged:

Amazon is shifting Prime Day to June 23–26, citing the FIFA World Cup and July 4th. The more telling story: perishables are front and center, not just tech tools and home appliances. Consumers are stretching budgets shopping with value in mind. Read more: www.kustomer.com/resources/ne...

There's no need to be rude to customer service workers

USA Today has named the companies with best customer service for 2026, gathering insights from 32,000 consumers and 3.1 million customer reviews. Is your favorite company on the list?

Happy Cyber Monday to all the frontline customer service workers out there. You've got this!

The 2026 Qualtrics CX Trends Report shows AI customer support is falling short. Survey fatigue is rising, customers are prioritizing value over price, and trust in data use is shaky. The head of thought leadership at Qualtrics says this is from brands using AI to cut costs, and customers can tell.

A study of over 4,000 U.S. and Canadian consumers found an all-time-high for customer dissatisfaction: 71% of consumers feel most companies need to improve their customer service - double the rate from 2019.

it’s that time of year again so here is your reminder to NOT take your holiday frustration out on customer service workers. be kind to them, they do not control sales or stock they are just trying to do their job. RESPECT CUSTOMER SERVICE WORKERS

Academic researchers studied the impacts of humans witnessing other humans mistreat robot workers, finding that some have real human empathy for these machines. If your brand uses robots in any customer-facing fashion, go ahead and stick those googly eyes on them to anthropomorphize them.

Target launches new friendliness initiative for store associates. What do you think? Will this improve the customer experience, or does it seem forced or inauthentic? www.thestreet.com/retail/targe...

Will businesses get lost in AI translation? AI can help make customer support information available in multiple languages, but still struggles with nuances in language - which can lead to negative impacts on customers.

Salesforce has only converted 12,000 of its 150,000 customers to Agentforce. Customer service tools are finding the balance of which AI features are behind the paywall vs. included in the base platform and existing tools: www.cxtoday.com/crm/free-age...

Gen Z is twice as likely as baby boomers to provide feedback on companies to third-party review sites or on social media, and nearly three-quarters of Gen Z consumers have shared their experiences on third-party review sites: www.customerexperiencedive.com/news/gen-z-t...

Chick-fil-A was rated by Newsweek and Statista as having the best fast-food customer service in America.

Ricoh finds that the majority of consumers report that brands relying on mostly human support will be the most trusted, and 85% of consumers are more likely to remain loyal to companies prioritizing “genuine human service” - but Millennials are the most open a blend of human and AI customer service.

2/3 of consumers have abandoned a digital task because the process was too annoying. Why? Well, just one-third of respondents report that digital self-service instructions clear. Plus, 84% reported they’ve re-entered information that a company should already have. #customersupport #customerservice

The plans include: - Giving state 6 months to implement a Customer Experience Improvement Plan - State agencies filing quarterly reports - Expanding the state’s online portal to state services, programs, and information - Launching a hotline for residents to share experiences with state agencies

Starting in October, Amazon will offer French Sign Language (LSF) customer support, enabling an estimated 200,000 customers in France to connect via video interpreters with no additional software required. This is a win for making customer service more inclusive, accessible, and responsive.

Taco Bell’s experiment with AI order-taking shows how fragile customer trust can be. Glitches and trolling - from endless water requests to botched drink orders - left diners frustrated while human workers had to spend time fixing mistakes, prompting the chain to scale back automation.

Marc Benioff says he was able to reduce support headcount from 9,000 to 5,000 due to the rise of AI Agents. He says across 26 years there were 100 million leads that were never called back because they did not have enough people. AI Agents might be able to call leads back, but can they convert them?

The American Consumer Satisfaction index reports that consumer satisfaction continues to fall. While it’s far above where it stood at a low in 2022, the organization’s own headline is pretty dire, calling out that it's not a sign of a well-functioning economy: theacsi.org/the-acsi-dif...

The Keep Call Centers in America Act aims to curb offshoring and automation in customer service by withholding federal benefits from companies with 50 or more employees that relocate call center jobs overseas. It's a bipartisan effort backed by the Communication Workers of America. Read more:

Starbucks is launching Green Apron Service, an initiative to “return to what makes Starbucks special: human connection” but also has a focus on speedy service. Do you think these two goals are conflicting?

A new report studying customer care responses on social media has some intriguing findings about AI-powered support: 56% of consumers surveyed say they prefer a human for customer support issues, but 71% report that they were satisfied with customer support experiences that involved AI.

Dr. Christian Terwiesch, professor at the Wharton School, acknowledges the trade-offs in cost and quality of customer service. He says good customer support is “nothing you can do on an assembly line." knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/can-...

Any time you call customer service, you're speaking with the person who could fix your problem, not the person who caused it. Act accordingly.

customer service frontliners of the world, unite

Global consumer confidence still has yet to rebound to the consistent levels prior to the pandemic due to economic and geopolitical uncertainty, shown by consumers holding off on large purchases. Is customer service instrumental in turning this around? www.forbes.com/sites/jocaus...

Taking notes 📝

Consumer trust is key to growth! Get Maine Lobster is a lobster DTC brand that tripled sales to $9 million in five years - all thanks to great customer service: - Knowing the customer’s needs - Expanding methodically while staying true to the core product - Being available for consumer questions

Looks matter in customer service: A new study reveals that physical attractiveness significantly influences customer perceptions of service Attractive employees are more likely to be viewed as likeable, competent, and trustworthy, especially men. olemiss.edu/news/2025/06...

The super power of being in customer service for over 10 years is you know all the cheat codes speaking to other customer service reps when you need help

The CEO of Red Lobster is bringing the chain back by going back to what made it successful in the first place: “incredible food, great service and hospitality, and an amazing ambience.” The plan? Testing after listening to what customers have to say. www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/...

Some call this justice: The New York State Electric & Gas Corporation (NYSEG) faces an $11.2m penalty for failing to meet customer service stands in 2024 - and that’s double the penalty it faced in 2023 for its failure then. #customerservice www.fingerlakesdailynews.com/local/nyseg-...

Even discount stores know they need to focus on customer experience. The Five Below CEO shared on the Q1 2025 earnings call how the chain’s investments in customer experience paid off with sales rising 7.1%. www.customerexperiencedive.com/news/five-be...

Nearly 70 U.S. and Canadian transit agencies are investing in customer experience to improve ridership, satisfaction, loyalty, and safety. Programs span CX departments, journey mapping, real-time feedback, and employee training. www.masstransitmag.com/management/a...

BJ's Wholesale Club is enhancing the customer experience with a long-term focus on loyalty and convenience. These efforts have increased digitally enabled sales by 35% year over year and driven membership fee income up 8.1%. www.customerexperiencedive.com/news/bjs-who...

New research finds that Southwest Airlines tops satisfaction rankings for economy flyers, while JetBlue leads in first class and Delta in premium economy. What sets them apart from the competition? People skills. www.customerexperiencedive.com/news/people-...

This is why human in the loop is essential!

Your best marketing channel? Happy customers. Word of mouth is the only ad platform that never dies. #Ecommerce #CustomerExperience

Omnichannel is Gen Z’s expectation, not a bonus. Across all age groups, in-store use of retailer apps, shopping lists, coupon codes, and price comparisons increased year over year. www.customerexperiencedive.com/news/grocers...

Consumers are more loyal to their wallets than brands: www.customerexperiencedive.com/news/tariffs...

“Automate the predictable, humanize the meaningful.” - Ben Segal, Director of Customer Service at Cosm Read more on creating unforgettable customer experiences: www.kustomer.com/resources/bl...

People want the human connection!

Important considerations here! www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

CX is transforming how state governments serve people - not by changing policy, but by rethinking delivery: www.route-fifty.com/customer-exp...

AI has huge opportunity to help mitigate fraud within the payments industry, as well as aid in customer service. www.americanbanker.com/news/can-ai-...

AI assistants like Siri and Alexa will have a big impact on customer service as we know it. However, the Head of Thought Leadership at Qualtrics XM Institute discusses how in 2025, businesses are still doing important groundwork: www.customerexperiencedive.com/news/third-p...

Consumers find online shopping functional, but predictable and lacking magic. Almost 4 in 5 report that online shopping is lonely and overwhelming with too many product choices. www.criteo.com/news/press-r...