VP, CX Insights & Community at PartnerHero | Talking about creating your customer experience from scratch. I build and scale customer-facing teams that give a shit and can help you do the same.

I transitioned from being a barista to working in customer experience 20 years ago, and life hasn't been the same since.

I've been fortunate enough to work at companies like Wistia, Atlassian, Trello and Appcues. I've worked with amazing customer-facing folks to create scalable strategies and delight customers. 

Now, I spend my time helping to elevate leaders of teams and empower them to create the best customer experience. Employee-centered teams with simple, beautiful processes are where I find my joy.

Outside of my work with Boldr, I also consult and write for businesses such as Help Scout, HubSpot, and others. Let's work together!

Mercer Smith

Some of you have never spent 3 hours wrestling with a Zapier webhook payload, crying, googling “why won’t this JSON work,” and then discovering you missed ONE curly brace…and it shows.

I just thought I'd give Zapier's copilot a little spin to create a custom Slack bot and it just...works? What?

Send help, I'm about to automate everything.

CX Strategy & Solutions at Boldr; Author of CXOXO | Talking about creating your customer experience from scratch. I build and scale customer-facing teams that care and can help you do the same.

If you're feeling the ripple effects today… you’re not alone. Lots of DTC/ecomm teams are feeling the Shopify wobble, and EVERYONE is quietly doing the same 3–4 moves to keep things sane. If you're stressed, here are the things that actually help (and you can do all of them in the next 15 minutes):

1) Set expectations everywhere customers look.
Homepage banner, help center note, updated auto-replies, one pinned social post. Nothing fancy, just “We’re experiencing platform issues; replies may be delayed; your order is safe.” This alone cuts inbound fast.

2) Switch support into triage mode.
Not everything needs to be answered right now. Focus on:
 • cancellations
 • address changes
 • fraud/chargebacks
 • time-sensitive shipping issues
 For everything else, acknowledge the limitation and promise a follow-up once visibility returns.

3) Use any source of truth that isn’t affected.
If your 3PL, WMS, ShipStation, AfterShip, or carriers are still giving clean data, respond from that. If you can’t confirm something, don’t guess! It’s okay to say “we’ll follow up when system access is back.”

4) Don’t add pressure while things are wobbly.
Lots of teams are temporarily slowing promos or pausing paid spend until checkout/admin visibility stabilizes. 

Does anyone have a great reply that they've used or ARE using in this case that could help the class? If so, drop it below.

But genuinely: you’re doing great. You’re not powerless. There are moves you can make TODAY that lower chaos immediately. You’ve got this. Happy Cyber Monday!

Some of you are out here using AI for PrOdUcTiViTy while I am creating a GPT to DM and manage 4 other AI-generated player characters through Curse of Strahd because I can’t maintain a regular game night and I miss tabletop. 

We are not the same.

Average Handle Time is the MLM of CX metrics. It really is out here “Hey Girl”-ing your entire org.

It's all fun and games until you realize the whole thing is propped up by bad incentives, magical thinking, and a promise that “if you just do MORE, you’ll be successful.”

It rewards hustle over outcomes (“Just answer faster! Grind harder! Crank those numbers!”). It turns your team into performers instead of problem-solvers. It punishes anyone dealing with real complexity, and the only people who benefit are the ones SELLING THE NARRATIVE (hi, CFO dashboards).

Fast doesn’t equal good. Short conversations don’t equal resolution. And also, spoiler alert, if your human AHT isn’t going up, it means your bot isn’t doing nearly enough/the right things.

One time I accidentally reopened 40k closed tickets, and when I reached out to Desk support to try to get help they said that I was SOL. So instead, I had to operationalize a dream team of my colleagues to help tackle the backlog and get back to a good place with the queue.

Nightmares like these can be learned from. Let my (and our other speakers') mistakes be your advantage.

Come hang out on the 20th to get more! and bring your own stories!!

Open article: Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: “When SaaS teams learn the hard way”. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. by zoom.us

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: “When SaaS teams learn the hard way”. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.

Everyone in CX has a horror story, the kind where you think it can’t get worse… until it does.

We are 3 days away from our Masterclass for SaaS leaders who’ve lived through the burn-it-all-down kind of CX chaos: angry customers, team burnout, and “we’ll fix it later” moments that came too late.

In 45 minutes, we’ll show you where to actually invest in CX to improve retention, which tools are worth your time (👀 CSAT, we’re looking at you), and how to turn CX from a cost center into a growth advantage.

📅 November 20th
🕛 12:00 PM CT
Come for the lessons. Stay for the laughs. 

🔗 Register now: https://hubs.ly/Q03TB00g0

Content & Comms Strategist | Knowledge Manager | Experience Architect

Hi, friends! As my temporary contract as a Senior Support Content Strategist at Coinbase comes to a close, I’m looking for my next step.

I don’t just write communications and content - I build the systems behind them. Mature operations, smoother reviews, and faster launches. That’s the impact that I bring.

Over the last few years, I’ve focused on:

 🔨 Building scalable knowledge base & help center content
 🔁 Designing and maturing the systems that power content intake, production, and review
 🤖 Structuring content for both AI-forward and human-first support experiences
 📣 Strengthening change management and team culture through thoughtful internal and executive communications

I’m open to opportunities in:

 🧠 Knowledge management
 📖 Content operations & marketing operations
 💬 Internal communications
 🌐 Web content production & maintenance
 🎯 Program and project management
 ❓ More? My skills flex into all sorts of roles!

And while I’m flexible on industry, I have deep experience in:

 💰 Fintech & financial education
 🎨 Artist tools & the creator economy
 📺 Entertainment, media, & events

I’m largely looking for a full-time role, but I’m also open to contract and freelance opportunities. If something crosses your feed that feels “very Alex,” please send it my way!

I’m lucky to have built meaningful relationships with so many talented teammates and collaborators, and I’m grateful for the support as I figure out what’s next. ✨

I built a product, and it only took me 4 days. 

I wanted to solve a few problems for myself:
- I love tabletop gaming, but have too many children to do it (right now).
- I want to play Strahd, but so few DMs will run it.
- I like doing things asynchronously so I can stop and start as needed.
- I am almost always the DM, never a PC.

AI is evil, yada yada yada, but I knew that AI could help me with this. So, I built myself an AI DM. Then I made it so that the AI DM could take in homebrew content, or official campaign content that they player already legally owned. 

Then I built out all the rules and character creation, and an interface for multiplayer so myself and other friends that have too many children could also play campaigns together asynchronously.

Then I made it so that if we didn't have enough players to make the gameplay compelling, AI could fill that in, too. 

I call it Long Rest. Link in the comments.

Customer Experience Maven, Events & Community Enthusiast, and Believer in the Best in People.

🐍 2025 was a 9 year, an ending year, the year of the snake. A year to slither out of that old skin that doesn't fit or leave room for growth and cast it behind, drying to dust. 2026 is a 1-year, the new beginning year, the year of the horse. We gallop into our future, trodding over the broken dreams of this horrible, tension-filled year, and we propel ourselves into the next, great things waiting for us with ferocity. To wrap up the 2025 year in CX, Erica Clayton, Mercer Smith, and I are going live on Dec 10! What a year it's been, and what a future we're stepping into.  🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎

My nine year old just asked me “mama, how did bowser raise his funding?”

Happy Saturday.

Never heard of the phrase shadow support, but Ben is wicked smart so I’m curious!!

Regional Director for North America at Helpfeel

Shadow support is huge and growing fast. It's when customers go to reddit, a group chat, or their favorite personal AI instead of getting support from an official channel 👻  

Help me get a pulse on this:

You may have heard of shadow IT. Have you heard of shadow support?

The author can see how you vote. Learn more

I love seeing others sharing the stuff that I see about our company. Feels good to be seen. Thank you Neal Travis 🌱 for sharing this and your kind words.

Helping professionals be better at what they do - Head of CX @ AIHR - Host of Growth Support

Came across this interesting piece of news yesterday. 

It's a move from Boldr showcasing how classic BPOs are evolving in the new landscape of CX. 

Boldr is launching services that go beyond staffing, and is now supporting the work that leads to it. (https://www.boldr.cx/)

There is a huge opportunity here. 

You might think that you need a BPO or more people because of the way that you have your operations in place. 

But you might be missing some key pieces ahead of that. 
Are they set up in the best way possible in the first place?

I think it's a pretty great move by Boldr 
Ensuring that customers are set up to scale smarter, not harder

Especially in an age of CX that is dominated by smarter technology, where just needing to fill seats is no longer something that works.

What do you think? Are more 'Operations Partners' becoming needed?

P.S. See the full release here from CEOTimes: https://lnkd.in/e9uuErim

Yo have you ever seen a better lineup? I'm not on the picture, but I will ALSO be leading this conversation with the ever amazing Chrissy and Jessica-Rose. 

If you are looking at 2026 and shakin' in your boots, feel that fear no more.

Your 2026 CX plan isn’t going to magically appear in your stocking, unfortunately.

We’re bringing in a trio of CX minds who know how to turn year-end chaos into clarity: Jessica-Rose Garcia, Chrissy Sebald, and our host Mercer Smith. Together, they’ll share their tips on how to step back, rethink what actually matters, and build a 2026 plan that doesn’t immediately ⚠️self-destruct⚠️.

📅 December 17th 
⏰ 12:00 PM CT

Because if you wait until January to get strategic, 2026 is going to roll in like “Hey bestie, remember that pile of unresolved CX problems?”

Jen is amazing, and any role working with her would likely be sooooo much fun. If you are in the NYC area, have a look at what she's got cooking!

GM, US Operations & Head of Global Customer Support at Tapstitch | Sweetgreen CX Scale ($50M→$600M) | ex-Warby Parker | Building Customer Experience, Operations & Service Design Systems That Scale

I’m excited to share that I’ve stepped into a new role as GM of U.S. Operations & Head of Global Customer Support at Tapstitch.

We’re building the U.S. team from the ground up: owning the customer journey, GTM and lifecycle strategy, and the systems, culture, and operating model that will carry Tapstitch through our next phase of growth. I feel incredibly grateful for our 120+ cross-border teammates in Guangzhou whose garment sourcing, production, logistics, product, and development work is the backbone of everything we do.

Tapstitch is a fast-growing Series A company with a simple mission: to make it easy for creators, entrepreneurs, and small businesses to bring their fashion & brand ideas to life.

Our platform connects U.S. customers (and beyond) directly to a flexible fashion supply chain in China. We offer an on-trend catalog, powerful design tools, and seamless dropshipping so  creators can focus on what they do best: building their brand. We integrate with Shopify, Etsy, Wix, etc., making scale frictionless.
Our U.S. team in DUMBO is small but mighty: high-EQ, analytical, creative, and driven. Every day we get to partner with inspiring customers across industries and creator communities.

And now… we’re hiring.
I’m looking for creative, analytical builders who want to shape something from day one. Open roles:
Customer Success Manager
CX Strategy & Standards Manager
CX Vendor & Workforce Optimization Manager
If you love building systems, improving experiences, and working closely with creators and entrepreneurs, there’s so much opportunity here.

We’re NYC-based, working out of a sunny loft in DUMBO, and moving fast.
If this sparks something for you (or someone you know), drop me a note!

PS: This also doubles as my ‘I’m officially back in NYC’ announcement. If you have any great gluten-free or dairy-free spots, farmers markets, or epic coffee shops, the Californian in me would love your recs.

The power of AI AND HUMANS TOGETHER cannot be understated.

As customer expectations rise, evolving from a scripted chatbot to a generative AI agent isn’t just smart; it’s essential. At IPSY, making that shift helped us achieve a 943% ROI in just four months.

I recently connected with the ada CX team to discuss IPSY’s AI transformation journey and the progress we’ve made in a short amount of time. Since launching our ACX program earlier this year, the results have been exceptionally strong. The momentum has given us the confidence to continue investing and to pursue even more ambitious opportunities.

This work has meaningfully elevated the role of Customer Care across IPSY. Our advancements in AI have unlocked new investments, strengthened cross-functional partnerships, and set a new standard for how we approach automation across the organization.

While AI is central to this progress, the driving force has been the people leading it. I want to recognize Anna Prince (Ricci), our AI & Automation Strategy Manager, whose early leadership played a pivotal role in our success.

For the full story, you can read the case study here:

Open article: IPSY | Ada | Case Study | Ada by ada.cx

Musubi

- Leading Trust & Safety strategy, market development, and product vision for an AI startup delivering advanced content & user moderation services.
- Architecting LLM policy engineering and developing expertise in prompt engineering for highly effective AI-powered content moderation.
- Educating customers on AI-driven safety solutions and contributing to the responsible development of LLM technology in Trust & Safety.

Head of Trust & Safety

PartnerHero

Advisory services for T&S development within PartnerHero

Senior Advisor

I ran the Trust & Safety and Content Moderation line of business at Partner Hero, a premium, for-good outsourcing company.
- Grew revenue by 76% in first year
- Brought in several new customers and strategic partnerships
- Implemented best-in-class practices for Trust & Safety and Content Moderation outsourcing

VP, Trust & Safety and Content Moderation

Trust in Tech

Co-founder of the Trust in Tech podcast, by integrity professionals, for integrity professionals. Distributed by the Integrity Institute (as part of a visiting fellowship).

Top 5% podcast from Apple podcasts.

Founder/ co-host/ editor/ producer

Grindr

Global department head for Customer Experience, Customer Support and Trust & Safety. Stakeholder for all things authenticity, user safety, anti-abuse. Customer champion and advocate.

In my time leading CX and T&S at Grindr, I (and my team, obviously) achieved: 
- 50% reduction in user reports of illegal and prohibited activity, even as user base grew, through onboarding machine learning models and proactive moderation.
- 86% reduction of user reports of spam, through implementation of AI, ML, and custom rules engines.
- 39% reduction in accounts banned for suspected solicitation, due to in-app warnings and education systems alongside ML models.
- 98% content moderation QA scores (up from 70%) through moderator training, oversight, and process improvement.
- 60% less support ticket volumes, while doubling help center visits from 1 million to 2 million / month.

VP, Global Head of Customer Experience (support, trust & safety, user insights)

Senior Director, Global Head of Customer Experience

OpenAI

Did adversarial testing of GPT-4 model prior to public launch, especially in the areas of harmful content, influence operations, and bias.

Adversarial Tester / Red Team

OkCupid

Global head of Customer Support and Trust and Safety departments, through high growth period. 
Developed OkCupid's customer support team from the ground up (from being employee ~20 to taking OkCupid public as part of Match Group purchase).

In my time there, I achieved: 

- 50%+ reduction in user reports of spam (Onboarded machine learning systems and vendors at OkCupid for the first time).
- Launched comprehensive Account Takeover program, proactively detecting suspicious activity on tens of thousands of accounts. 
- Overhauled T&S culture, policies, and operations, resulting in low-turnover frontline team and consistent 95%+ quality scores.
- Wrote and developed policy and enforcement for community guidelines.

Director & Global Head of Customer Experience

Created and developed OkCupid's customer support team from the ground up. Was the first support hire at the company, and built up the department to a team that could support millions of customers around the world.

Director of Customer Support

Customer Support Manager

Trust and Safety Analyst

Viva La Vinyl

- Founded an online community for trading and talking about vinyl records. Included an archive and index of rare pressings.
- Responsible for community building and management, content moderation/ trust and safety policy and guidelines, marketing, business operations, web content

Founder

Twenty Sided Store

Co-founded the awesome Twenty Sided Store in Brooklyn, NY

Co-founder

Vice Magazine

Editor

Leopard Films

Lead Assistant Editor

I'm a Trust & Safety leader with 15 years of experience across the industry, known for building inclusive and robust T&S and Community functions from the ground up. I thrive on making sense of complex online integrity challenges and translating them into actionable strategies. My diverse background spans policy, operations, business strategy and development, and advocacy, all united by a commitment to positive impact.

My current focus is on shaping the future of online safety through artificial intelligence. At Musubi, I'm leveraging cutting-edge LLM technology to innovate content moderation. I'm leading the charge in developing prompt engineering best practices for Trust & Safety, ensuring responsible AI innovation for a safer, more inclusive digital environment.

Alice Goguen Hunsberger

We hear about T&S layoffs all the time, but there is one area of T&S that is actually growing, and is likely to stay very stable.

Data from Trust and Safety Jobs shows 1 in 5 (ONE IN FIVE!) new T&S roles so far in 2025 have been in Policy & Compliance.

And 14% of those are AI-specific. 

This shift is driven almost entirely by regulation (like the DSA). And online safety regulation isn't slowing down any time soon. 

It’s creating a new, stable career path, but it requires a very different set of skills than more traditional T&S ops roles. 

It's important to note: there are career compliance professionals who have those skills already and can transfer them to T&S easily, so not all these jobs may be going to T&S veterans. 

❓ If you're working in a job like this -- how's it going? What should people do to prepare for a role like this?

🔗 Resources/ links:

Full article (by me) "The most secure job in T&S might be compliance" https://lnkd.in/eaQATpFE

The rise of the compliant speech platform (Daphne Keller) https://lnkd.in/e3kihyNH

Navigating the Shifting Sands of the Responsible Tech Job Market (All Tech Is Human) https://lnkd.in/eYd5Brae

Head of Trust & Safety @ Musubi --> AI for T&S

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