Angela Vargo - Transparency and Information as the Key to CX Artwork

The CX Iconoclast

If you’re exhausted by traditional approaches to CX, impatient with the stunning lack of progress in the field, and done re-hashing the “best practices” that don’t change anything, you’ve found your podcast. Here’s what we know: Companies gain competitive advantage through exceptional customer experience, and customer insights are the best decision-making tool there is. But traditional CX approaches have run their course and it’s time for the next revolution in CX. Tune in every two weeks as Richard Owen, co-founder of OCX Cognition, hosts conversations and interviews with business leaders, academics, and thinkers whose ideas can guide the CX profession to think in new ways about what success looks like. Most of them aren’t CX professionals, but all of them have something to teach us about CX. We’ll take a clear-eyed look at the problems that have hampered the discipline and explore the compelling ideas behind a re-engineering CX for a modern world. Come disgruntled, leave inspired. Find us at www.ocxcognition.com

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The CX Iconoclast

Angela Vargo - Transparency and Information as the Key to CX

February 06, 2023 • OCX Cognition • Season 1 • Episode 4

Sometimes, it’s unexpectedly good news for all involved when technology limits the role of people play in the customer experience. But during times of unavoidable glitches in the customer experience, humans are critical, says our guest, Angela Vargo, VP of Marketing at Breeze Airways.

Breeze calls itself America’s newest and nicest airline. With a focus on leisure travel, Breeze offers affordable, nonstop flights to underserved routes. A start-up airline is, of course, rare enough that it’s probably worth a conversation for that reason alone, but it’s especially true here because Breeze took a “technology-first approach.” As you’ll hear, Breeze’s approach provides an instructive example of what experience-driven disruption can look like, even in long-established industries.

Angela stepped into lead Breeze’s marketing as the country emerged from the most restrictive phases of pandemic – and displayed a great deal of eagerness for travel. She was well suited to the job, drawing on more than two decades of experience in aviation and other industries.

Richard Owen and Angela talked about some areas specific to Breeze, like the controversial decision to use chat in place of a traditional telephone-based call center, and some of the challenges faced in a heavily regulated space like airlines. But there’s lots to learn from our conversation no matter your industry. Some areas of discussion to listen for:

The effects of technology can reverberate in unexpected ways – at Breeze, technology radically changed the role people play in providing the customer experience.
Fundamentally, the pandemic shifted how people spend and value their time, and that means businesses are operating in a new environment.
Information is the coin of the realm. It’s critical to know the difference between the situations people will forgive or overlook, and those that create intractable dissatisfaction, so you can head them off.
It’s when a company can’t solve a problem that the human element of experience becomes critical.

Find Angela on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/avargo99/

Angela on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AngelaVargo

Find out how predictive CX analytics can help your business: https://ocxcognition.com/
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocxcognition/
Connect with Richard Owen on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/richard-owen-98ba3

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Richard Owen

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