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Management MuseAuthor: Cindi Baldi and Geoffrey Tumlin
Management Muse is a leadership and management podcast for professionals who want to improve communication, increase employee engagement, and build high-performing teams. Hosts Cindi Baldi and Geoffrey Tumlin draw from organizational science, management research, and decades of experience to deliver actionable insights that improve workplace performance. Topics include leadership development, team dynamics, performance management, workplace culture, change leadership, and strategic communication. Whether youre leading a team or working within one, Management Muse helps you strengthen your skills and drive meaningful results. Language: en Genres: Business, Management Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Ep 93 - The New Rules of Customer Service: Making Work Better for Customers and Frontline Teams
Episode 95
Monday, 26 January, 2026
Endless hold music. Clunky bots. Repeating your story five times. We’ve all been there. But what if customer service didn’t have to feel like a test of patience? In this episode of Management Muse, Cindi Baldi talks with Rick DeLisi, author and lead research analyst at Glia, about the new frontline of support: AI-enhanced service that puts results over sympathies. Rick shares how smart systems now handle simple requests, route complex issues with full context, and tee up human reps to actually solve problems instead of just soothing frustration. Not only is the experience better for customers, it also makes frontline jobs more interesting, more humane, and a whole lot less stressful. Whether you're designing customer experiences or just tired of bad ones, this episode offers a look into a more efficient, effortless future. Episode Highlights: Why human reps and phone support aren’t going anywhere A new definition of empathy in support roles The one metric that actually predicts customer loyalty How new centralized systems create seamless customer experiences The impact of AI on employee experience and retention About Rick DeLisi: Rick DeLisi is a leading voice in customer experience strategy and the co-author of two influential books: The Effortless Experience and Digital Customer Service. As Lead Research Analyst at Glia, Rick brings over two decades of expertise in the psychology of customer interactions and their impact on loyalty. A former Gartner VP and award-winning journalist, his insights have shaped how companies worldwide train service teams, measure success, and adapt to the digital-first landscape. His work has been featured in Harvard Business Review, and he’s delivered keynotes in more than 25 countries. Watch This Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/XKIMyY4G8Ho *Purchase your copy of The Uncertainty Playbook here *Sign up for our newsletter and our FREE guide to the 6 science-backed habits you NEED to level up your management skills in 2026! Want to Go Deeper? Check Out Our Recommended Reading: DeLisi, R, Dixon, M, and Ponomareff, L. “Kick-Ass Customer Service,” Harvard Business Review, Jan-Feb. 2017, https://hbr.org/2017/01/kick-ass-customer-service Rose, Todd. The End of Average: How We Succeed in a World That Values Sameness, HarperOne, 19 Jan. 2016, https://www.amazon.com/End-Average-Succeed-Values-Sameness/dp/0062358367 Join Our Community & Follow Us: - Youtube Channel - LinkedIn - Instagram -Facebook -TikTok - Website












