Customer Service and Customer Experience Expert | Keynote Speaker | NYT Bestselling Author | Shep helps companies deliver AMAZING customer service experiences!

Customer Service Keynote Speaker | Customer Experience Keynote Speaker | NYT Best-selling Business Author | Researcher | Podcast Host

•	SHEP HYKEN, CSP, CPAE, is a customer service and experience speaker and is an international leading authority on customer service, customer experience and loyalty in business.

•	NEW YORK TIMES & WALL STREET JOURNAL BEST-SELLING AUTHOR Author of eight best-selling books that have made the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today and more. Shep has worked with thousands of companies and organizations that want to build loyal relationships with their customers and employees. These include First Abu Dhabi Bank, Agricultural Retailers Association, Sub-Zero Group, The Federal Savings Bank, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Clayton Homes, Self Storage Association, Benihana, NAMM, C.R. England, Comcast, UniGroup, Whataburger, FedEx.

•	HALL OF FAME SPEAKER Shep has been inducted into the National Speakers Association Hall of Fame for lifetime achievement in the speaking profession.

•	HIRE SHEP TO SPEAK To book Shep for your next meeting contact us at 314-692-2200, email cindy@hyken.com or visit hyken.com. Visit Shep.TV for hundreds of business videos and samples of Shep speaking.

Shep works with companies and organizations that want to create amazing customer service experiences for their customers and employees. His articles have been read in hundreds of publications, and he is the author of Moments of Magic®, The Loyal Customer, The Cult of the Customer, The Amazement Revolution, Amaze Every Customer Every Time, Be Amazing or Go Home, The Convenience Revolution and I'll Be Back. He is also the creator of The Customer Focus™, a customer service training program that helps clients develop a customer service culture and loyalty mindset. (Now available as an online/web-based training program!)

For years, I’ve said customer service is not a department. It’s a philosophy. Yet when leaders roll out a customer experience (CX) strategy, many make the same mistake, they focus on the customer before focusing on the organization. Customers don’t need to know your CX strategy. They only need to experience it.

And what they experience isn’t the strategy, it’s the system. The people. The processes. Every touchpoint working together (or not).

A strong CX strategy starts inside the company with culture and training. Employees must understand the CX vision, know their role in delivering it, and have the tools to bring it to life, whether they’re customer-facing or behind the scenes. When people and process align, CX stops being aspirational and starts being operational.

Remember this: Even though your CX strategy is about the customer, customers don’t experience your strategy. They experience your system.

• Shep Hyken

Customer Service Speaker | Customer Experience Speaker | Keynote Speaker | Best-selling Business Author

•	SHEP HYKEN, CSP, CPAE, is a customer service and experience speaker and is an international leading authority on customer service, customer experience and loyalty in business.

•	NEW YORK TIMES & WALL STREET JOURNAL BEST-SELLING AUTHOR Author of seven best-selling books that have made the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today and more. Shep has worked with thousands of companies and organizations that want to build loyal relationships with their customers and employees. These include First Abu Dhabi Bank, Agricultural Retailers Association, Sub-Zero Group, The Federal Savings Bank, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Clayton Homes, Self Storage Association, Benihana, NAMM, C.R. England, Comcast, UniGroup, Whataburger, FedEx.

•	HALL OF FAME SPEAKER Shep has been inducted into the National Speakers Association Hall of Fame for lifetime achievement in the speaking profession.

•	HIRE SHEP TO SPEAK To book Shep for your next meeting contact us at 314-692-2200, email cindy@hyken.com or visit hyken.com. Visit Shep.TV for hundreds of business videos and samples of Shep speaking.

Shep works with companies and organizations that want to create amazing customer service experiences for their customers and employees. His articles have been read in hundreds of publications, and he is the author of Moments of Magic®, The Loyal Customer, The Cult of the Customer, The Amazement Revolution, Amaze Every Customer Every Time, Be Amazing or Go Home, The Convenience Revolution and I'll Be Back. He is also the creator of The Customer Focus™, a customer service training program that helps clients develop a customer service culture and loyalty mindset. (Now available as an online/web-based training program!)

It always surprises me when someone says, “We hear this all the time.” 

I then ask, “Why?” If you hear it all the time, why haven’t you done something about it?  

How often do we find ourselves fixing the same problem two times (or more) for a customer? 

Every repeat call that is eliminated pays dividends in the form of time, money, and customer goodwill. And that’s what a great customer service experience looks like: fixing problems once, not apologizing for them twice!

Read more: https://lnkd.in/ezQdaSb8

Creating an amazing experience isn’t just for customers who say please and thank you. 

It’s for every customer, even if they are angry, rude, or difficult to please. By the way, abuse is never acceptable. There is always a line that should not be crossed.

The point is this: when you remove expectations, you stop being disappointed, you stop being resentful, and you start delivering consistent and intentional experiences that get customers to say, “I’ll be back!”

Read more: https://lnkd.in/gXPgdpAh

Trust is the foundation of customer experience.

If customers don’t trust you, it doesn’t matter how good your service or CX is. Trust is built by keeping promises and delivering when you say you will, following up when you say you will.

Research shows that 8 out of 10 customers say a great experience increases their trust. One of the fastest ways to earn that trust is personalization.

Not just using a name but remembering what customers bought, why they bought it, and how you’ve helped them in the past. When customers feel known, they ask, “Why would I go anywhere else?”

Personalization doesn’t just improve CX. It builds trust, and trust becomes your competitive advantage.

Lately, I’ve been writing a lot about the link between trust and the customer experience. I’ve come to the conclusion that if a customer doesn’t trust

•Shep Hyken

Why Customer Trust Is An Important Measure Of A Great Customer Experience

Claudette Harris

Most bad experiences are caused by internal friction and broken or poorly designed systems, not front-line behavior.

My point is that I hear so many people complaining about customer service, but in many cases, it’s not the people.

It’s the system. Some of the reasons customers complain about customer service or experience due to broken or poorly created systems are: https://lnkd.in/eFGV4-Zg

Happy New Year! This is the season when many people (and companies) take time to reset and prepare to kick off the new year. Some have already made their plan. Others choose to do it at the beginning of the year. It doesn’t matter when you choose to reset as long as you do it.  

I’d like to offer up something to consider: Twelve New Year’s resolutions in the form of what you should STOP doing! https://lnkd.in/es7B5gyb

Most companies try to “wow” customers, only to exhaust their teams.

There’s a smarter, more sustainable way to create an amazing experience. One simple idea from the co-founder of the Ritz-Carlton explains why consistency beats flash every time.

Learn the "10% rule" that keeps customers coming back.

I am thrilled to announce my continued membership on the 2026 Customer Contact Week Advisory Board!  
CCW continues to be one of the most impactful communities in customer experience, contact centers, and customer service, and I’m excited to help shape what’s ahead in 2026.

 If you’re looking to connect with industry leaders and dive into what’s next in CX, you must attend CCW Orlando, January 21–23, at the JW Marriott Bonnett Creek.

As an Advisory Board member, I’m happy to share my exclusive 20% off promo code for passes.

📍 Orlando, FL
📅 January 21–23
🎟️ Use my Advisory Board code for 20% off: CCWORL_ADBOARD

REGISTER NOW: https://lnkd.in/g4qzJymJ

#CustomerContactWeek #CCW #CustomerExperience #FutureOfCX 
#Leadership #CXInnovation #Liveops #AdvisoryBoard

Sweetwater is a powerful reminder that great customer experience is built on common sense, consistency, and genuine care.

I recently wrote about what’s fueled Sweetwater’s success over four decades, based on a conversation with their Chief Sales Officer, David Fuhr. The lessons are simple but not easy: hire the right people, invest relentlessly in training, empower employees to do the right thing, and focus on solving the customer, not just the problem.

They don’t chase transactions. They build relationships. And that’s why customers keep coming back.

If you’re looking for proof that CX doesn’t have to be complicated to be effective, Sweetwater is a masterclass.

Thank you to Freshworks and Dan Tynan for including my prediction in its recent article.

In 2026, more customers will accept AI-fueled self-service as a viable customer support channel, as they appreciate the speed and accuracy of the answers AI can deliver. But that won’t eliminate the need for contact center employees, which companies will continue to rely on to build deeper relationships with their customers. When a problem gets complicated or emotional, people still want to talk to a human who can listen, understand, and make decisions.

https://lnkd.in/eiYsFnUm

First impressions are way more than just a smile or a fancy logo. 

Most of the time, it comes down to one simple detail that tells a customer exactly how much you value them. It is all about how fast you get back to them. 

On this episode of the Super Amazing Show, Brittany Hodak, CSP and I break down why response time sets the tone for the entire relationship. It tells the customer who you are before they ever spend a penny. 

Is your first impression helping or hurting you?

When we say AI-first, we don’t mean AI-only.

On this week’s Amazing Business Radio, I sat down with Michele Carlson, Director of Product Marketing & Head of Content Strategy at NiCE, to talk about the AI trends reshaping customer experience and contact centers.

We discussed how companies are using AI to deliver faster answers and quicker resolutions, without eliminating human support.

We also talked about Agentic AI, systems that can understand customer data, determine what needs to be done, and take action autonomously. 

Plus, Michele discusses more stats on AI-powered experiences that can help you enhance customer satisfaction and streamline business operations. Tune in! https://lnkd.in/ezZksqwu

Honored to be invited as the keynote speaker at Pegamento’s exclusive Contact Brewery event on April 15, 2026, at the Spoorwegmuseum in Utrecht.

Customer experience has become the baseline. When products and prices are easy to copy, loyalty is earned through culture, consistency, and the choices leaders make every day. I’m looking forward to sharing global CX insights and turning them into practical ideas leaders can use to shape customer contact, AI strategy, and sustainable growth.

Thank you to Serge Poppes and the Pegamento team for bringing together such an important conversation for the CX and customer operations community in the Netherlands.

Op woensdag 15 april 2026 is •Shep Hyken keynote speaker in het Spoorwegmuseum in Utrecht tijdens de Contactbrouwerij, het jaarlijkse invite only event van Pegamento voor leiders en professionals in klantcontact, customer operations en CX.

Waarom dit nú relevant is: Customer Experience is steeds vaker de ondergrens. In markten waar producten en prijzen snel kopieerbaar zijn, draait het om één vraag: waarom blijven klanten bij jou? Loyaliteit ontstaat niet uit losse initiatieven, maar uit CX als cultuur en strategisch kompas.

“Wij volgen Customer Experience niet, wij brengen wereldwijde inzichten en Nederlandse praktijk samen,” zegt Serge Poppes, CEO van Pegamento. “Met Shep Hyken halen we toonaangevend internationaal CX-denken naar Nederland, en maken we het concreet voor leiders die vandaag keuzes moeten maken over klantcontact, AI en groei. Exclusief, relevant en vooral praktisch.”

#CustomerExperience #CustomerLoyalty #Klantcontact #CX #AI #CustomerConvenience

This week's Amazing Business Radio is a little different from our usual episodes.

On this episode, I am the guest on my own show! We have a lot to cover, from the five most important trends and predictions for 2026 to what you should STOP doing to create a better customer service experience.  

Plus, I share a sneak peek at the findings from my latest customer service and experience research. What is more important to customers, service or price? What makes them trust a business more? What makes them come back again and again? 

Tune in! https://lnkd.in/gCFu_djg

Customers will tell you what they want.

They’ll share when your product’s too expensive, or the value’s not there. If you train your team to really listen and decode the message, you’ll be ahead of the curve. 

As ⭐Ty G., Founder of CX Collective, shares on this week’s Amazing Business Radio, contact centers can be transformed into growth engines by proactively addressing customer needs and empowering employees through training. 

Plus, Shep and Ty discuss more ways a call center can drive growth and revenue. Tune in! https://lnkd.in/ecxK8Bhf

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