Amazon Calls Itself “Customer Obsessed.” Then It Cut 30,000 People Who Served Those Customers.

June 08, 2026 | By: John DiJulius

When Your Brand Promise and Your Internal Culture Point in Opposite Directions, Your Customers Feel the Gap The Most Ironic Headline in Business Right Now Amazon has now cut nearly 30,000 corporate roles since late 2025 — its largest workforce reduction in company history. Thousands of those roles were in customer service, human resources, and... Read Full Article

Harvard Business Review Just Validated Everything I’ve Been Teaching for 25 Years.

May 26, 2026 | By: John DiJulius

The May/June 2026 Cover Story on Customer Loyalty Says “Good” Is Not Good Enough. Here’s How to Get to “Love.” Harvard Just Said What I’ve Been Saying Since 1998 The May/June 2026 issue of Harvard Business Review landed on my desk this week, and I want to be direct with you: I read the cover... Read Full Article

The Lazy Way Out: Why Your Customer Experience Inconsistency Is a Leadership Problem, Not a People Problem

May 04, 2026 | By: John DiJulius

What Marc Benioff’s Callout of His Fellow CEOs Reveals About Building a Turnkey System for Consistency Marc Benioff Said Something This Week That Every Leader Needs to Hear On April 7th, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff went on record with a take that made headlines across the business world. Speaking about the wave of tech layoffs... Read Full Article

Tariffs Are Scaring Your Customers Into Shopping on Price. Here’s How You Win Anyway.

April 13, 2026 | By: John DiJulius

Your Customers Are Scared. What Are You Going to Do About It? I’ve been in the customer experience business for over 25 years. I’ve consulted through recessions, a global pandemic, and more rounds of “unprecedented uncertainty” than I can count. But what’s happening right now, in April 2026, is one of the most important moments… Read Full Article

The Buc-ee’s Paradox: How America’s Cult Convenience Store Earned an “F” While Everyone Still Loves It

April 06, 2026 | By: John DiJulius

When expansion moves faster than your service culture, the cracks always show up in the customer relationship — not the clean restrooms. A look at what Buc-ee’s BBB “F” rating really means, and the five steps every scaling brand must take before it’s too late. ▪ THE NEWS — MARCH 2026 The Better Business Bureau… Read Full Article

What Are the Top Service Trends CEOs Can’t Ignore?

March 30, 2026 | By: John DiJulius

Why the Companies Rushing to Replace People with AI Are Already Reversing Course The Research That Confirms What I’ve Been Saying for Years I’ll be honest — I wasn’t surprised when I read this. But I was glad the data finally caught up. According to new research from Gartner released in February 2026, half of… Read Full Article

Your AI Customer Service Strategy Is Driving Customers Away. Here’s How to Fix It.

March 02, 2026 | By: John DiJulius

The AI customer service backlash isn’t about the technology. It’s about what companies are using it for. Here’s the headline that should terrify every C-suite executive in America: according to a January 2026 Kinsta/Propeller Insights survey of over 1,000 U.S. consumers, 93.4% prefer talking to a human over AI for customer service. Nearly 50% would… Read Full Article

Your Customers Aren’t Tired of Subscriptions. They’re Tired of Being Lied To.

February 20, 2026 | By: John DiJulius

How subscription price increases exposed the companies that forgot what a promise means. On February 2, 2026, anime streaming service Crunchyroll raised prices across all tiers for North American subscribers. The Fan Tier jumped from $7.99 to $8.99. The Mega Fan Tier went from $9.99 to $11.99. And the Ultimate Fan Tier climbed from $14.99… Read Full Article

Your Signature Experience Is Not a Perk. It’s the Product

February 17, 2026 | By: John DiJulius

What Every CEO Can Learn from Southwest Airlines Right Now. On January 27, 2026, Southwest Airlines boarded its last open-seating flight. Passengers who had flown Southwest for decades lined up one final time without knowing which seat they would sit in. By the next morning, the airline that had been defined for 53 years by… Read Full Article

Building True Customer Loyalty: The Power of Small Gestures

February 02, 2026 | By: John DiJulius

How world-class companies create lasting customer loyalty through intentional details, not expensive reward programs—featuring proven strategies from Ritz-Carlton, Starbucks, and hospitality leaders. Your competitor just launched a flashy new loyalty program. Points, tiers, exclusive perks. Your leadership team is nervous. Should you match it? Go bigger? Offer deeper discounts? Here’s what most leaders miss: The… Read Full Article