As AI handles routine inquiries, human agents are left with the toughest, most emotionally charged customer interactions. In this episode, Myra Golden shares her psychology-based 3R framework—Regulate, Redirect, Resolve—to help teams de-escalate conversations, build trust, and close interactions with clarity. She also reveals how AI can elevate training, coaching, and scale in the modern CX organization.

You'll walk away with:

• The 3R Conversation Control Framework and how to apply it in high-stakes moments

• Practical ways to use AI for real-time coaching, role-play, and frontline enablement

• New CX metrics to track in an AI-first world—like recovery after AI-to-human handoffs

Whether you're a CX pro, team leader, or brand builder, this episode will inspire you to see customer experience through a more human—and more powerful—lens.

Mentioned in this Episode

• The 3R Conversation Control Framework (Regulate, Redirect, Resolve)

• AI-powered role-play personas and Copilot integration

• “Ask Myra” AI coaching companion

• Metrics: CSAT, AHT, and AI-to-human recovery rate

🎧 Produced by Larj Media

📩 For more CX insights, follow Nicole on Linkedin

If you have questions or comments about CX email us: SimplyCX@microsoft.com

Additional Resources

Myra Golden – Customer Experience Expert, Consultant, and Creator of the 3R Framework. Specializes in de-escalation, conversation control, and AI-enabled CX training.

In this episode of Simply CX, Nicole McKinley sits down with Corinne Martinez, owner and partner of Berryessa Gap Vineyards, to explore how a family-owned winery transformed both customer and employee experience through intentional CX leadership and smart use of technology. From vineyards to tasting rooms to Teams Voice and chatbots, Corinne shares practical lessons on communication, change management, and delivering joy at every touchpoint.

You'll walk away with:

• How small, practical technology changes can dramatically improve customer and employee experience

• Why communication breakdowns are often the root cause of CX failures—and how to fix them

• Real-world lessons on applying change management in a small, people-driven business

Whether you're a CX pro, team leader, or brand builder, this episode will inspire you to see customer experience through a more human—and more powerful—lens.

Mentioned in this Episode

• Microsoft Teams Voice and Auto Attendant
• Chatbots for customer self-service
• Change management best practices
• Wine club and tasting room experiences
• Vertically integrated winemaking (from rootstock to bottle)

🎧 Produced by Larj Media

📩 For more CX insights, follow Nicole on Linkedin

If you have questions or comments about CX email us: SimplyCX@microsoft.com

Additional Resources

Guest: Corinne Martinez

Role: Partner & Chief Operating Officer

Company: Berryessa Gap Vineyards

Focus Areas: Customer experience, winery operations, technology-enabled CX

In this episode of Simply CX, Nicole McKinley sits down with Jess Loren, Founder and CEO of Global Objects, to explore how photoreal digital twins are transforming industries from media and entertainment to energy, education, and cultural preservation. Together, they unpack why accuracy, trust, and emotional connection are becoming essential pillars of customer experience in an AI-driven world.

You'll walk away with:

• Why photoreal digital twins unlock both emotional impact and operational efficiency

• How accuracy and trust are becoming core components of modern customer experience

• Real-world examples of cost savings, sustainability, and collaboration through immersive technology

Whether you're a CX pro, team leader, or brand builder, this episode will inspire you to see customer experience through a more human—and more powerful—lens.

Mentioned in this Episode

• Global Objects and photoreal digital twins

• Virtual production and cloud-based collaboration

• Azure cloud infrastructure

• Gaussian splat technology, LiDAR, and photogrammetry

• Cultural preservation, studios, and immersive media

🎧 Produced by Larj Media

📩 For more CX insights, follow Nicole on Linkedin

If you have questions or comments about CX email us: SimplyCX@microsoft.com

Additional Resources

Jess Loren, Founder & CEO of Global Objects — a company creating physically accurate, photoreal digital twins of real-world environments and objects for studios, enterprises, and emerging immersive experiences.

In this episode of Simply CX, host Nicole McKinley sits down with Neil Iversen, Vice President of Professional Services at TTEC Digital, to unpack a real-world airline contact center transformation that reduced average handle time by 30% while dramatically improving agent and traveler experiences. Together, they explore how AI, journey design, and early agent involvement came together to turn one of travel’s most stressful moments into a more human, efficient experience.

You'll walk away with:

• How AI-powered context and summarization can radically reduce agent effort and customer frustration

• Why customer agent experience design is the fastest path to better customer experience outcomes

• Practical lessons on change management, adoption, and building CX and AI together—not separately

Whether you're a CX pro, team leader, or brand builder, this episode will inspire you to see customer experience through a more human—and more powerful—lens.

Mentioned in this Episode

• Neil Iversen, Vice President of Professional Services, TTEC Digital

• Microsoft Dynamics Customer Service

• Power Platform, Dataverse, and Copilot capabilities

• Journey mapping and experience design for contact centers

• AI-driven routing, summarization, and agent guidance

🎧 Produced by Larj Media

📩 For more CX insights, follow Nicole on LinkedIn

If you have questions or comments about CX email us: SimplyCX@microsoft.com

Additional Resources

Guest: Neil Iversen

Role: VP of Professional Services, TTEC Digital

Expertise: AI-enabled CX transformation, contact centers, enterprise service design

In this episode, Nicole sits down with Mark Chamberlain, Global Managing Director of Customer Experience at Kantar, to challenge conventional thinking about CX metrics. Together, they explore why long‑term memory—not momentary satisfaction—is the real driver of customer choice, brand growth, and competitive advantage.

You'll walk away with:

• A new way to think about CX as the business of shaping long-term memory

• Why frictionless experiences matter—but rarely differentiate

• How the MDX (Meaningfully Different Experience) framework connects CX to real business growth

Whether you're a CX pro, team leader, or brand builder, this episode will inspire you to see customer experience through a more human—and more powerful—lens.

Mentioned in this Episode

• Net Promoter Score (NPS)

• Meaningfully Different Experience (MDX) framework

• Octopus Energy as a CX‑led growth example https://link.cohostpodcasting.com/01806067-d268-480c-8efa-7cea4ea73848?d=enJor4dtb&v=8526

• Virgin Atlantic’s signature experience moments

• Apple’s unboxing experience

🎧 Produced by Larj Media

📩 For more CX insights, follow Nicole on LinkedIn

If you have questions or comments about CX email us: SimplyCX@microsoft.com

Additional Resources

Mark Chamberlain is the Global Managing Director of Customer Experience at Kantar, where he helps organizations connect customer experience, brand strength, and commercial growth through evidence based measurement frameworks.

In this episode of Simply CX, Nicole McKinley sits down with Allison West Hughes, Corporate Vice President of Global Small and Medium Business at Microsoft, to unpack how Microsoft became its own “customer zero” by deploying an autonomous AI sales agent—Agent Riley. Together, they explore what it takes to balance scale, trust, privacy, and human-centered design while transforming the Small and Medium Business customer experience with agentic AI.

You'll walk away with:

• How Microsoft used AI to solve a real CX and scale challenge in its SMB business

• Practical lessons on testing, iterating, and governing agentic AI responsibly

• Why SMB customers are embracing AI-led experiences faster than larger enterprises

Whether you're a CX pro, team leader, or brand builder, this episode will inspire you to see customer experience through a more human—and more powerful—lens.

Mentioned in this Episode

• The concept of “Customer Zero” at Microsoft

• Agent Riley (Autonomous Sales Agent)

• Agentic AI and the Frontier Firm mindset
• • Data integrity, privacy, and legal considerations in AI deployment
• • SMB adoption trends of AI and Copilot agents

🎧 Produced by Larj Media

📩 For more CX insights, follow Nicole on Linkedin

If you have questions or comments about CX email us: SimplyCX@microsoft.com

Additional Resources

Guest: Allison West Hughes

Corporate Vice President, Global SMB, Microsoft

Leader of one of Microsoft’s fastest-growing and most complex global organizations serving millions of small and medium businesses

In this episode, Nicole talks with Jim McDonnell, Microsoft’s Global Lead for Customer Advocacy, about how AI-native developers, students, and small businesses are reshaping customer expectations. Jim shares why AI agents are now part of the customer ecosystem, how to eliminate friction for developers, and what he’s learned about experience design from running multiple restaurants.

You'll walk away with:

• Why AI agents are becoming key influencers in customer decision-making
• How to build loyalty in an AI world
• Practical ways leaders can identify high-impact, low-risk AI starting points

Whether you're a CX pro, team leader, or brand builder, this episode will inspire you to see customer experience through a more human—and more powerful—lens.

Mentioned in this Episode

• Copilot Researcher

• AI agent ecosystems and developer forums

• Early-stage developer platform decision-making

• Microsoft Hackathon multi-agent orchestration

• Restaurant guest experience “know me” principles

Produced by Larj Media

For more CX insights, follow Nicole on Linkedin

If you have questions or comments about CX email us: SimplyCX@microsoft.com

Additional Resources

Guest: Jim McDonnell — Global Customer Advocacy Lead, Microsoft

Focus Areas: Digital natives, education, SMB, corporate segments; developer experiences; AI adoption strategies

The first season of Simply CX was full of insights from creating emotional loyalty and building organizational culture to AI-driven innovation and omnichannel experiences. In this episode, Nicole shares the themes and stories that shaped the season—and the conversations that stood out.

You'll walk away with:

• Why culture is the foundation for CX innovation

• How aligning on metrics creates accountability and impact

• The role of AI and creativity in scaling personalized experiences

Whether you're a CX pro, team leader, or brand builder, this episode will inspire you to see customer experience through a more human—and more powerful—lens.

Mentioned in this Episode

• Emotional loyalty

• Metric alignment at e& UAE

• AI-powered oncology breakthroughs and inclusion in education

🎧 Produced by Larj Media

📩 For more CX insights, follow Nicole on LinkedIn

If you have questions or comments about CX email us: SimplyCX@microsoft.com

Additional Resources

• Connect with Nicole McKinley on https://www.linkedin.com

• Learn more about Larj Media at https://larjmedia.com