S3E4: Talking chatbots with Declan Ivory from Intercom

This episode marks two firsts in the season. One: the first person from Klaus joining to talk about customer service careers. Two: The first person who thinks AI is coming for our jobs! But there is a lot of nuance in that answer. Listen in to find out what Mervi Sepp Rei, PhD, Klaus’ Head of ML and Data thinks are the most important skills in customer service today, and how her work benefits those wanting to get smart about customer service data: klausapp.com/blog/quality-conversations-mervi-sepp-rei

As the founder of ElevateCX, Sarah Hatter brings together customer experience folks from far and wide. We explore the impact of AI and she emphasizes that the need for connection & empathy are not going anywhere. Listen for tips on how, as a customer service professional, you can be the best human in your role. Read the full transcript at klausapp.com/blog/quality-conversations-sarah-hatter

Klaus’ guest this episode is Mercer Smith. Mercer is a dynamic and driven CX leader who has worked with companies like Wistia, Atlassian, Trello and now PartnerHero. Mercer likes to empower customer service teams, so we talk about what that looks like in an era of change. How do you persuade a team to embrace AI when they are wary? How do you embrace AI if you are wary? Find the full transcript and show notes here: klausapp.com/blog/quality-conversations-mercer-smith

Our guest this episode is Declan Ivory, VP of Customer Support at Intercom. Grace and Declan discuss the need for support teams to prepare for AI, and their role in refining tools like chatbots. With Intercom’s release of smart bot, Fin, Declan has a unique viewpoint both at a strategic level and on the frontlines.

In this episode, we talk to Sylvain Mlodyszewski, looking at new tools in the AI space and some new career paths that will unfold as a result. Sylvain hails from Ultimate, a company that helps other businesses use AI to enhance and automate customer service. So he knows a lot about how different companies and people are successfully evolving with these new technologies. He emphasizes the need for upskilling, and we discuss the emergence of roles like chatbot managers and automation specialists. Find the full transcript and show notes at klausapp.com/blog/quality-conversations-sylvain-mlodyszewski

Hosam Hassan is a customer service agent turned entrepreneur, and is now Director of CXT Strategy at PartnerHero. Automating parts of his workflow proved a huge stepping stone for him. He weighs in on upcoming trends and gives practical advice on how you and your team can take a step up by embracing new technologies. Find the show notes and transcript here: klausapp.com/blog/quality-conversations-hosam-hassan

Quality Conversations with Klaus is back! This season, we'll tackle the topic of AI and customer service careers. This first episode explains AI for you in human terms. Our guest Christopher Penn is renowned for making the complicated accessible – and, actually, it's not even as complicated as you might think. Find the show notes at klausapp.com/blog/quality-conversations-ai

We’re quickstarting the year with a quality conversation with Inna Grynova, the Head of Support at Shares. Inna breaks down the valuable lessons she’s learned from scaling support teams, as well as the importance of getting conversation samples right within quality assurance to find your blind spots.

This week’s episode is an absolute treat! John & Niclas speak with Arielle Yoder. Arielle is the Customer Experience Quality Manager at Fi, a smart dog collar company based in New York. Arielle shares how they keep their pack of customers happy with personalized customer interactions, and why a transparent QA process is important for teams from the get-go. 

Our hosts Niclas & John didn’t have to look far for this week’s guest. Stephanie Robilliard is the Project Manager for Service Operations at VanMoof, a next-generation e-bike company based in Amsterdam. The three Amsterdammers discussed the influence that globalization & automation have had on customer expectations in the B2C sphere, and Stephanie spilled the beans on how peer reviews have helped VanMoof nurture a collaborative feedback culture.