174: Meeting People Where They Are to Drive Influence With Jesse Hernandez
Release Date: 02/01/2025
192: People Squared - Leading in an AI World With Nikki Barua
Customer Service Academy
People Squared - Leading in an AI World With Nikki Barua For more than 25 years, Nikki Barua has helped global brands reinvent their culture, capabilities, and competitive edge. In this episode, Nikki introduces the idea of “People Squared.” Let AI do what machines do best, while humans double down on connection, empathy, and judgment. When leaders combine both, teams become exponentially more capable. We explore what leadership, customer experience, and human connection look like in a world where AI is reshaping how work gets done. In this episode: Why great service is about being...
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191: Why Experience Matters as Much (Or More) Than Product With Dan Thumberg, Swan Brewing
Customer Service Academy
Why Experience Matters as Much (Or More) Than Product With Dan Thumberg, Swan Brewing Tony interviews Dan Thumberg, founder of Swan Brewing in Lakeland, Florida. Dan’s background spans the carnival and amusement park industry, beer distribution, and leadership roles at American Express and Apple. He now combines enterprise-level service systems with small-business hospitality to build community-centered experiences. Plus, Dan shares insights from his journey across large customer service organizations and into entrepreneurship - and how those lessons shape the way he leads today. Key...
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190: The Year of Experiential Hospitality
Customer Service Academy
In this episode, I introduce 2026: The Year of Experiential Hospitality and why it’s time to stop treating customer experience and hospitality as separate conversations. Customer experience is the strategy. Hospitality is how that strategy shows up in real moments, on the front line, every day. Experiential hospitality is about intentionally creating moments where people feel welcomed and understood, and using those moments to build trust, loyalty, and differentiation. In this episode, we cover: Why experience is the clear differentiator in a commoditized marketplace How hospitality...
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189: Leading Customer Experience, Employee Engagement, and Hospitality in 2026
Customer Service Academy
As we head into 2026, leaders are facing a familiar challenge in a new form. Expectations are higher. Attention spans are shorter. Technology is accelerating. And yet, the differentiator hasn’t changed. In this episode I talk about what is needed to drive employee experience, customer experience, and hospitality to drive business results. In this episode, you’ll learn: • Why leadership, hospitality, and CX are no longer separate conversations • How employee experience directly shapes customer behavior and loyalty • Why hospitality is a strategic growth lever, not a “soft” skill...
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188: Customers Want to Buy, Not Be Sold with Geoffrey Reid
Customer Service Academy
Host: Tony JohnsonGuest: Geoffrey Reid Author: The Revenue Catalyst: Mastering the Art of Sales In this episode, I sit down with Geoffrey Reid, a globally recognized sales leader with a rare blend of academic depth and real-world execution. Geoffrey’s journey from public policy and mediation to sales leadership gives him a unique lens on how selling really works and why so many organizations struggle to teach it well. We dig into why customers want to buy but hate being sold, how sales has become a full business discipline rather than a single function, and what leaders must do to build...
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187: The Thanksgiving Check-In: Winning the Last Mile of 2025
Customer Service Academy
As the year winds down and the holiday rush kicks into high gear, leaders face a critical question: Are you coasting… or closing? In this Thanksgiving-themed leadership check-in, I break down how to keep your team sharp, energized, and aligned during the toughest stretch of the year while positioning your organization to win in 2026. Whether you lead a frontline team, a regional operation, or an entire organization, this conversation gives you the tools to finish 2025 strong and start 2026 with purpose. You could be a CEO, VP, Owner, or Entrepreneur - there is something in here for everyone...
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186: How Humans in the Loop + Good Data Create AI Success with Kevin Dean
Customer Service Academy
Artificial Intelligence is changing everything about customer service and leadership, but only if we use it wisely. In this episode, I sit down with Kevin Dean, Founder and CEO of ManoByte, who’s been leading AI-driven business transformation since 2007. Kevin and I dig into what it really means to combine AI and humanity to create better experiences, not just faster ones. We explore how organizations can audit their data, prepare their people, and adapt their leadership playbooks to keep up with the accelerating rate of change. You’ll walk away with practical ideas to strengthen your data...
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185: Is Your Hospitality a Horror Show?
Customer Service Academy
Some hospitality experiences are so bad, they could star in their own horror movie. In this Halloween special, we pull back the cobwebs on the five scariest mistakes that haunt businesses everywhere - from ghosted guests and zombie employees to haunted processes and cursed consistency. Discover how to bring your hospitality back from the dead by re-engaging your team, simplifying your service, and designing customer journeys that delight instead of frighten. Whether you lead a restaurant, event venue, university department, call center, small business, or front-line service team, these lessons...
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184: Conquering Your Fear of AI and Jumpstarting Innovation in Your Business With John Kim
Customer Service Academy
Great customer service should be helpful, proactive, and built to solve problems, not create new ones. In this episode, I sit down with John Kim, Co-Founder and CEO of Sendbird, the customer communications platform powering more than 4,000 of the world’s most popular digital applications and connecting over 320 million people every month. John shares his perspective as both a successful entrepreneur and Korea’s former number one pro gamer to unpack how AI, testing, and consistency are changing the techn-enabled service game. We dive into: Why great customer service is proactive,...
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183: Your Leadership Wake Up Call - 5 Lessons From Labor Day
Customer Service Academy
This leadership wake up call will help you create your workplace of the future - where people want to be, not where they have to be. Labor Day isn’t just a long weekend. It's an annual celebration of American workers. In this episode of the Customer Service Academy, I take a closer look at the history of Labor Day and the lessons it still holds for leaders today. From the 10,000 workers who marched in the very first Labor Day parade in 1882 to the diverse workforce powering today’s experience economy, this holiday reminds us to honor the people behind the progress. I’ll unpack five...
info_outlineThis week we welcome Jesse Hernandez into the studio. Jesse has experience as a leader in the construction space, where he learned to meet people where they are in their journey and inspire teams through intentional communication and listening.
- Customer Experience is about consistent quality.
- Great leaders are great listeners.
- Practicing vulnerability can deepen connections with your team.
- Stop solving problems for your team and help them solve problems themselves through critical thinking.
Visit https://thetonyjohnson.teachable.com/ to invest in yourself and your team.
Tony Johnson is a Customer Experience Expert, Keynote Speaker, and Author with a wide background including decades in retail and restaurants. He regularly speaks and coaches organizations to IGNITE THEIR SERVICE using his common sense approach to Customer engagement. Tony has spoken to government agencies and Fortune 500 companies to unlock their amazing capacity for excellence.
Check out my FREE Resources and Training Tools:
Web: https://www.igniteyourservice.com/
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