PODCAST · business
CX Gurus
by Jessica Voss, Darren Prine, Fred Stacey
We didn't study contact centers. We ran them.CX Gurus goes inside the enterprise contact center with the operators who've lived it — from 500-seat teams to 10,000+ global BPOs. Each week, host Darren Prine and guests break down what's actually working in CX and AI, and what's just noise.Expect straight talk on AI agents, QA, WFM, vendor selection, and the messy reality of transformation. No consultants who've never taken a call. No hype. Just the practitioner's view from the floor.Built by Cloud Tech Gurus.
Episodes
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Rebuilding the Floor: What Remote Contact Centers Are Still Missing
Six years ago the industry went home in two weeks. Most contact centers kept the org chart and lost the floor: the supervisor who spots a bad call, the two-minute coaching fix, the new hire learning next to someone good. Most never rebuilt it. In this episode of the CX Gurus Podcast, host Darren...
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The Longest Wait: What Kidney Failure Taught Me About Customer Effort
Wes Dudey spent his career designing customer journeys. Then a massive heart attack — six cardiac arrests, 55 shocks, a 1% survival odds — followed by kidney failure, put him inside a journey he didn't design. In this first episode of CX Gurus, host Jess talks with Wes about what he learned as a...
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Remote Work, Leadership, and the Future of Contact Centers | John Coulter
In this episode of Contact Center Journeys, Fred Stacey sits down with John Coulter, SVP of Sales at Five Star Call Centers, to talk about developing future leaders in today's remote world — and how mentorship, networking, and staying connected keep our industry growing strong. Timestamps /...
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Nate Brown's Journey in Customer Experience | From Customer Service to CX Leadership
Is customer service just a stepping stone, or can it be a meaningful, long-term career? In this episode, Fred Stacey sits down with Nate Brown, Head of Education & Enablement at Metric Sherpa and co-founder of CX Accelerator, for an honest conversation about careers in customer experience,...
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From Insurance Agent to Running Contact Centers Worldwide | Tyler Orrell
He walked into a random job fair with no plan, and walked out with a career that took him from answering phones to running contact centers across the globe, without a college degree. In this episode of Contact Center Journeys, host Fred Stacey talks with Tyler Orrell about the unlikely path, the...
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AI in CX: Bill Staikos on the Future of Contact Centers
Is AI transforming the contact center, or is the industry focused on the wrong things? In this full episode of the Contact Center Journeys Podcast, Fred Stacey sits down with Bill Staikos, CEO & Managing Partner at Be Customer Led, to break down the real future of customer experience, AI, and the...
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From Agent to CEO — Gina Gibson on Matching the Right Tech to the Right Problem
Gina Gibson — CEO of Think Forward and host of The Tech Matchmaker podcast — has led digital transformations for organizations ranging from 50 to 45,000 agents. In this episode she shares her journey from agent to CEO and her vendor-agnostic playbook for future-proofing the contact center. In…
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Why People Disengage at Work — Justin Robbins on Rebuilding Trust in CX
Justin Robbins is a thought leader in customer experience with a human-centric approach to workplace engagement and over two decades in CX operations and leadership. He joins Fred to unpack why disengagement happens at work — and the practical moves leaders can make to restore trust and…
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From Check Authorizations to AI ROI — Laura Zegar on 27 Years in CX
Laura K. Zegar is founder of Quantum CX, a customer service and customer experience consulting practice specializing in contact center transformation. Formerly VP of contact center and CX oversight at Bank of America and an Accenture management consultant, Laura got her start in 1999 in Equifax's...
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From Crisis Line to Call Center QA — Lorne Wood on Fixing What Technology Can't
Episode Notes: Lorne Wood, founder and managing director of Better Call Center QA, brings over 30 years in contact center quality assurance and BPO. His career began on an evening-shift suicide crisis line — and the lessons he learned there about helping people over the phone have shaped a...
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Where Performance Meets Fun — Cynthia Carrese on Building Cultures That Work
Cynthia Carrese is Founder and Managing Director of C2 Strategic Partners, a customer success and leadership strategist who turns contact and sales centers into places where performance and fun go hand in hand. With a career spanning Fortune 500 powerhouses and fast-moving startups, she scales...
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The Power of Connection: Valerie McSorley on People-First CX and Communities That Thrive
Valerie McSorley is an award-winning producer, podcast host, and networking expert with deep roots in the contact center and customer experience industry. Over 25+ years she's turned relationships into results — and she joins Fred to talk about connection as a strategy, not a soft skill. In this...
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30 Years of Fixing Contact Centers: Shellie Plymale on Doing CX the Right Way
Shellie Plymale, CEO of Plymale Enterprise Group, brings over 30 years of experience transforming contact center operations — from omni-channel strategy to performance optimization. With a Six Sigma background and APAC leadership on NICE CXone, she delivers high-impact, vendor-agnostic solutions....
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What If Your Contact Center Was Perfectly Staffed - Every Hour, Every Day?
Every contact center leader makes the same bad bet every morning: overstaff and burn labor, or understaff and burn your CX. The traditional 8-hour shift was built for a world that no longer exists. In this episode, host Darren Prine sits down with **Jon Brown, SVP of Client Results at LiveOps**…
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Escape the AI Graveyard: Why Most Bots Fail & How to Build AI That Actually Resolves
Every contact center has an AI graveyard. Failed chatbots. Pilots that never scaled. The root cause is almost never the technology — it's a lack of AI readiness, unclear use cases, and AI that was built to respond rather than resolve. In Episode 5 of the Contact Center Gurus Podcast, host Darren...
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Stop Paying for Agents. Start Paying for Outcomes. | Ft. Siddharth Victor, Movate
The BPO industry is splitting in two — commodity providers heading toward irrelevance, and transformation partners capturing all the growth. In this episode, Darren Prine sits down with Siddharth Victor, SVP & Head of Support Services at Movate, to break down why the traditional BPO model is...
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Stop Buying Chatbots, Start Deploying AI Agents
Most healthcare contact centers have tried chatbots and been burned. But what's possible today with AI agents is dramatically different. In this episode, Darren Prine sits down with Rebecca Clyde, Co-Founder and CEO of Botco.ai, to break down what AI in regulated environments actually looks like...
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Why the Simplest Contact Center in the Room Keeps Winning
Jim Murphy didn't start out building contact centers. He started with a pager business out of a college apartment in the San Fernando Valley. Then the 1994 Northridge earthquake flooded his inventory, FEMA sent a $2,000 check, and a business mentor told him to stop pretending and get a real…
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AI Readiness vs. AI Deployment: Why Getting the Order Wrong Costs Millions
Most organizations buy AI and call it a day. But that's exactly where the real work begins. Darren Prine sits down with Wayne Butterfield, Founder of STX-AI, to unpack why so many AI initiatives fail — not because of the technology, but because of what happens after the purchase. What you'll…
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From AI Chaos to Customer Confidence: Building Virtual Agents That Actually Work
Guest: Adam Fenwick, SVP Global Alliances, Boost.ai Topic: Conversational AI in contact centers Focus: Strategy, design, regulation, and scale Audience: CX leaders, contact center executives, IT and digital leaders Produced by the Cloud Tech Gurus Team. Subscribe for more insights from industry...
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Modern Knowledge Management: Unlocking Real CX Results
Guest: Tyler Dixon, SVP of Sales at LivePro Host: Darren Prine — The Contact Center Gurus Podcast Connect with us: Website: https://cloudtechgurus.com/ YouTube: The Contact Center Gurus Podcast Produced by the Cloud Tech Gurus Team. Subscribe for more insights from industry leaders. Visit...
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Automation and AI in Support: Keeping the Human Touch
This episode dives deep into the balance between automation and human connection in modern customer support. Dan O’Connell, CEO of Front, joins Darren Prine to unpack how Front powers over 9,000 businesses to deliver seamless, personalized service at scale — using AI the right way. From breaking...
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The Analytics Advantage: Why the Right QA Solution Defines Your CX Success
Can analytics turn your contact center from a cost center into a driver of revenue and loyalty? In this conversation, Darren Prine and Jim Iyoob explore the new era of QA, one that’s powered by AI, data, and predictive insights. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why QA must evolve from checking…
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AI, Humans & the Future of CX 🚀
What happens when AI meets the human side of customer experience? In this episode, we discuss: How to break down silos across voice, email, chat, and social Where AI is making the biggest impact today (agent assist, routing, analytics) Why balancing automation with empathy is the real...
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The AI Secrets Most Companies Don’t Know (Yet)
Host: Darren Prine Guests: Brad Garner & Aaron Symbolik (Krista) What can AI really do for enterprises right now? Spoiler: it’s far more than chatbots and hype. In this episode, we dive into real-world wins, missed opportunities, and why leaders can’t afford to “wait and see” when it comes to AI...
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Future of Knowledge Management | Martin Hobratschk
Guest: Martin Hobratschk, CEO of Cognita Knowledge Management Host: Darren Prine, Cloud Tech Gurus Episode Overview Knowledge management is often overlooked — or worse, misunderstood. Many companies think a SharePoint folder or Google Docs library is enough. In reality, these “digital landfills”...
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Next Generation CX with Jeofrey Bean: Why Gen Z Is Rewriting Customer Experience
Welcome & Background – Jeofrey’s journey and why Gen Z is the focus of his new book. Why Gen Z is Changing Everything – habits, buying power, and expectations. The Importance of Trust and Peer Reviews – how Gen Z validates decisions. Customer Experience Intelligence (CXI) – using data and…
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Customer Success Myth Buster – Separating Fake News from Reality
While the book(s) on Customer Success were already written years ago, embracing Customer Success is still a challenge for many CEO’s and CSL’s. In a sea of opinions, it is easy to follow those who tell you what you like to hear and call uncomfortable messages Fake News. Follow the lead of the…
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How Do You Fix a Fast Moving Train
About Vicki Brackett Recognized as a subject-matter operations expert on virtual/work-at-home environments and leadership development, Vicki Brackett has written for and been interviewed by Forbes, Fast Company, Fortune Magazine, CFO Magazine, CEOWorld, HR News, Woman Diversity, Training…
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Innovations Driving The Contact Center
Things you will learn in this episode: Advantages of cloud contact centers How to track agent productivity. New innovations in contact center space. How AI can be integrated into the contact center space. How contact centers are moving towards conversations. Episode Sponsors www.supportlogic.io...
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Cultural and Employee Engagement
Hear how a national non-profit organization nearly doubled their internal NPS employee satisfaction score by using proven tools and concepts to address and improve their agency's culture and by using technology to assist in employee engagement in a nearly 100% remote working environment. Short…
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The Great Resignation: How we can leverage AI & Gig Workers
In This episode you will learn how the Great Resignation is effecting many companies around the world and what are some things we can do to ease the squeeze. Learn about new AI Technology Trends Learn about the importance of Gig Workers. Learn about working with Alex and Aarde to Level Up Your...
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Ready or Not, Here Comes The Cloud
In this episode, you will learn how the Pandemic has significantly accelerated the movement from premises to cloud deployments for CX, as well as tactful strategies and approaches to migrating. * Enterprise Cloud Adoption * Embrace vs Stay the Path * Care is the New Sales * What the Cloud…
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Why You Should Stop Shopping for AI
In this episode you will learn how to explain AI in simple business terms to your leadership; why this category of technology is so exciting and deserves all the attention it is getting right now; and why you and your leadership should stop "shopping for AI" solutions or saying "we already have…
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Mentorship: Understanding and developing the next generation of Customer Success Leaders
In this podcast you’ll hear about motivations for up and coming CS leaders, the support, structure and touchpoints needed to help them develop and some of the projects that they can look to co-own as part of their development. You can reach Eddie on Linkedin Here:...
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Reducing Turnaround Time To Train Agents With MicroLearning
In this session you will learn ways to create micro learnings in order to train agents on a short program, new process, or a new line in a cost-effective manner and at the same time check for understanding. What is microlearning? How do you create microlearning courses? Is microlearning for...
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Why Customer Support is No Longer the Red-Headed Stepchild
Summary of what you will learn: How to Transform your Support Team to becoming more Proactive and Engaged What are some tools being used to Elevate your Support Team to the Next Level Moving from a Cost Center to a Revenue Generating Center You can reach Emre via Linkedin here:...
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AI Adoption Study
The results from the survey will help companies cut through the noise and understand industry best practices. In addition, it will help executives understand: -How they stack up to their peers -Why companies have and haven't adopted AI -What were the results by those who have adopted AI...
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Work From Home - The New Office
In This Episode You Will Learn: The New Working From Home Dynamics. How it allows you to hire the best and how to keep everyone feeling like part of a team. How Workforce Engagement Management Tools are a Must Have Keeping Employees Morale Up And More.... Episode Sponsors www.supportlogic.io...
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Why Contact Center Tech won't save you from Needing Salespeople on the Phones
Today's Episode, you will learn about: - Why your potential customers still want to talk to a salesperson (even though its "dangerous") - Priorities for ensuring your team fundamentally succeeds - When to start thinking about adding technology to scale your sales operation Episode Sponsors...
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Why 79% of Your Team Managers are Poor Coaches and What to Do About It
What You Will Learn: Why coaching is critical to contact center success. How our evolution as hunter-gathers is preventing your team managers from coaching well. What skills your team managers must develop to coach effectively. What a cohesive coaching system looks like. Why measuring coaching...
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How is AI-Powered Speech Analytics transforming Contact Center Performance
How is AI-Powered Speech Analytics transforming Contact Center Performance What drives changes in CX? What are the most important metrics when it comes to CX? How to combine the power of AI-powered speech analytics and human intelligence to drive better CX and employee performance? Get insights...
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Customer Support Sucks....But Does It Have To?
In this episode you will learn about a New Support Experience Platform called, Supportlogic. A better way to Predict and Prevent Customer Escalations. Turn your Reactive Customer Support Center into a Proactive One. Getting better Customer Satisfaction with Sentiment and NLP as opposed to…
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Artificial Friction & Empathy
How to maximize deflection while maximizing efficiencies in interactions without creating Artificial Friction. We will discuss how the advent of AI has created new challenges in the Customer Interaction space. Why does decision making with Empathy impact the bottom line. Episode Sponsors...
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Intro to Artificial Intelligence in the Contact Center
Every contact center leader knows they need an AI strategy, but what exactly are the benefits? AI promises reduced costs, better efficiencies, and a deeper understanding of customer experience if implemented correctly. The question then becomes where to start? How can individuals look into their...
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Lean Techniques in the Contact Center
Paul has a BS in Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point and an MBA in Finance from Boston University. Paul's work experience begins as a paratrooper and Infantry officer. After grad school he moved into corporate finance. From a finance role he transitioned into field...
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Engaging Contract to Hire Staff in a Tough Contact Center Labor Market
The Phoenix Contact Center market is highly saturated, and post pandemic, it’s like the Wild, Wild, West. There are so many factors outside of our control, it can be disorienting. What can you control and what are the best decisions under the circumstances? Recruiter orientation Wages and/or...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
We didn't study contact centers. We ran them.CX Gurus goes inside the enterprise contact center with the operators who've lived it — from 500-seat teams to 10,000+ global BPOs. Each week, host Darren Prine and guests break down what's actually working in CX and AI, and what's just noise.Expect straight talk on AI agents, QA, WFM, vendor selection, and the messy reality of transformation. No consultants who've never taken a call. No hype. Just the practitioner's view from the floor.Built by Cloud Tech Gurus.
HOSTED BY
Jessica Voss, Darren Prine, Fred Stacey
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does CX Gurus have?
CX Gurus currently has 47 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is CX Gurus about?
We didn't study contact centers. We ran them.CX Gurus goes inside the enterprise contact center with the operators who've lived it — from 500-seat teams to 10,000+ global BPOs. Each week, host Darren Prine and guests break down what's actually working in CX and AI, and what's just noise.Expect...
How often does CX Gurus release new episodes?
CX Gurus has 47 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to CX Gurus?
You can listen to CX Gurus on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts CX Gurus?
CX Gurus is created and hosted by Jessica Voss, Darren Prine, Fred Stacey.
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