CX without the BS
CX without the BS is a no-nonsense podcast that cuts through the jargon to deliver real insights into the Customer Experience (CX) industry. Each episode features candid conversations with industry experts, focusing on practical solutions and honest discussions about the latest trends and challenges in CX.
About the show
CX without the BS is a refreshingly honest and engaging podcast that dives deep into the world of Customer Experience (CX). Hosted by industry veterans Tom Milligan and Brian Nichols, the show aims to cut through the jargon and hype to deliver real, actionable insights for CX professionals and business leaders.
Each episode features candid conversations with CX experts, thought leaders, and practitioners who share their experiences, challenges, and successes in the field. The hosts and guests discuss a wide range of topics, from emerging technologies like AI and automation to the human elements of empathy, creativity, and problem-solving that are essential to delivering exceptional customer experiences.
What sets CX without the BS apart is its commitment to authenticity and practicality. Tom and Brian aren't afraid to call out the "BS" in the industry - the buzzwords, the fads, and the overhyped solutions that don't deliver real value. Instead, they focus on strategies and tactics that have been proven to work in the real world, drawing on their own extensive experience as well as the insights of their guests.
Whether you're a seasoned CX professional or just starting out in the field, CX without the BS offers valuable perspectives and actionable advice to help you navigate the complex and ever-changing landscape of customer experience. With its engaging hosts, expert guests, and no-nonsense approach, this podcast is a must-listen for anyone who wants to stay ahead of the curve and deliver exceptional experiences to their customers.
Episodes
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How Apple, Yeti, and Stanley SOLD Feelings - NOT Features
December 31st, 2025 | 34 mins 17 secs
apple marketing, brand culture, brand disruption, business leadership, culture building, customer experience, cx strategy, emotional branding, entrepreneurship, marketing psychology, marketing strategy, price vs value, relational selling, ryan chute, sales mindset, sales psychology, sales training, transactional sales, trust in business, wizard of ads
Most businesses don’t lose because of bad products - they lose because they never earned trust. Ryan Chute breaks down why empathy, culture, and certainty beat price cuts every time.
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Why UCaaS Quotes NEVER Match the Bill
December 16th, 2025 | 48 mins 38 secs
business communication, business phone systems, ccaas, channel sales, customer experience, customer journey, customer support, customer trust, cx without the bs, hidden fees, m&a impact, mergers and acquisitions, phone system pricing, tech advisors, tech sales, ucaas, unified communications, vendor transparency
Why do UCaaS quotes never match the bill? In this episode of CX Without the BS, Brian Nichols and Stephen Howard break down the pricing games, broken incentives, and quiet BS that keep customer experience stuck.
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How Do You Fix Bad Customer Experience FAST?
December 9th, 2025 | 31 mins 47 secs
bob phibbs retail doctor, brian nichols show, customer experience, cx without the bs, how to boost sales, improve customer experience, pattern recognition adhd, retail customer service, retail sales training, retail selling skills, sales mindset, sales strategy, small business growth, small business marketing, small business tips, why customers leave
Your store isn’t losing sales because of “the economy.” It’s losing sales because people walk in… and walk out empty handed. Bob Phibbs breaks down why customer experience is the real battlefield and how sharper sales habits fix more than any marketing plan ever will.
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Why AI Won’t Save Your Bad Customer Service
December 1st, 2025 | 27 mins 35 secs
ai hype vs reality, ai in customer service, business communications, business phone issues, contact center tips, customer experience 2025, customer service tips, customer support problems, customer trust, cx basics, cx strategy, cx trends, phone system outages, small business tech issues, tech support failure, technology advisor help, ucaas problems, ucaas review, unified communications, vendor problems
The big problem in CX right now isn’t AI… it’s vendors who can’t even get the basics right. This episode breaks down the real stories from the road and exposes why customers no longer trust the hype.
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Why KPIs Are Killing Your Business
October 24th, 2025 | 51 mins 51 secs
agent performance, ai in contact centers, brian nichols, business strategy, call center management, contact center, customer experience, customer lifetime value, customer loyalty, customer retention, customer service, cx leadership, cx metrics, cx strategy, cx without the bs, key revenue indicators, kpi mistakes, kpis, revenue growth, sonic cx
Are KPIs actually killing your business? Justin Jones joins CX Without the BS to explain why chasing numbers destroys customer experience — and how to turn every service call into a revenue event.
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How Do I Fix Bad Customer Service at My Business?
October 14th, 2025 | 52 mins 1 sec
agent experience, ai in cx, call center, ccaas, chatbots, contact center, csat, customer complaints, customer experience, customer journey, customer loyalty, customer retention, customer service, cx, cx metrics, employee engagement, first contact resolution, generative ai, help desk, hold times, human support, ivr, nps, omnichannel, reduce churn, self-service, service design, small business cx, support tips, ucaas, voice of customer
Is AI fixing CX or just getting in the way? In this no-BS episode, we show how to use AI where it helps, bring humans back where it matters, ditch vanity metrics, and fix the basics that win loyalty.
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Top 5 Unified Communications Trends for 2025 (And Beyond!)
October 1st, 2025 | 39 mins 20 secs
brian nichols show, business communication tools, customer complaints, customer experience, customer retention, customer service problems, cx strategy, cx trends 2025, cx without the bs, how to keep customers happy, sales and marketing strategy, small business communication, smb growth, smb technology, unified communications, why customers leave
Why do so many businesses keep failing at customer experience? 🤔 In this episode of CX Without the BS, we break down the real reasons customers get frustrated — and the simple steps SMBs can take to finally fix it
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What Are the Top 5 Customer Experience Trends for 2026?
September 16th, 2025 | 37 mins 44 secs
accidental contact center, ai co-pilot not replacement, ai in customer service, business growth through cx, customer experience 2026, customer service tips 2026, cx data analytics, cx strategy, cx trends 2026, cx without the bs, human support vs chatbots, month-to-month contracts ucaas, smb customer service, technology advisor cx trends, turning cx data into action, ucaas trends 2026
Forget the hype... AI isn’t replacing people, contracts are dead, and human support is back. Here’s what actually matters if you want to win with customers next year...
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Why Small Businesses Need CX Systems Too
September 8th, 2025 | 50 mins 46 secs
accidental contact center, avoid bad reviews, brian nichols, business growth, call center mistakes, communication chaos, customer experience, customer loyalty, customer service strategy, cx risks, cx tips, cx without the bs, employee burnout, fix customer experience, how to improve customer service, lost customers, missed calls, scaling customer service, small business cx, small business phone system
Most businesses are already running a contact center without realizing it—and this episode shows how to move from accidental chaos to intentional customer experience.
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AI vs Humans: Who Wins in Customer Experience?
August 27th, 2025 | 28 mins 21 secs
ai customer service, ai hype, ai vs hi, ai vs human support, better customer support, chatbots fail, customer experience 2025, customer loyalty, customer service tips, customer trust, cx strategy, cx without the bs, first contact resolution, human experience cx, human intelligence vs ai, reduce customer effort, technology advisors, why chatbots don’t work
Is AI actually fixing customer experience... or just making it worse? Brian Nichols breaks down why Human Intelligence vs Artificial Intelligence always decides the Human Experience... and why that’s the only scoreboard that matters.
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Will AI Really Replace Call Center Agents?
August 20th, 2025 | 41 mins 58 secs
ai call center tools, ai contact center solutions, ai customer service, ai hype vs reality, ai in cx, ai readiness, ai regulation, ai vs empathy, ai vs humans, brian nichols show, call center automation, change management in ai, cloud tech gurus, contact center ai, customer experience strategy, customer support mistakes, cx without the bs, fred stacey interview, future of customer experience
AI won’t magically fix your customer experience—it only works if your people and processes are ready. In this episode of CX Without the BS, we break down the biggest lies about AI in contact centers and what actually works.
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What Is the Biggest CX Mistake Companies Make?
August 13th, 2025 | 46 mins 57 secs
ai customer support, ai in customer service, avoid cx mistakes, bad cx examples, choosing cx vendors, contact center tips, customer experience, customer journey mapping, customer service technology, cx governance, cx leadership, cx roadmap, cx strategy, first call resolution, fixing customer friction, frontline employee feedback, improve customer experience, knowledge management, self-service tools
Most CX fails start before the customer ever calls — with bad tech decisions, ignored employees, and the wrong strategy. In this episode of CX Without the BS, we show you how to fix it before it costs you customers.
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5 Reasons Why AI Makes Customer Service Worse
August 5th, 2025 | 9 mins 32 secs
ai customer support problems, ai dashboards issues, ai in call centers, ai in customer service, ai myths in business, ai tool review, ai vs human support, bad ai examples, broken ai promises, contact center ai, cx mistakes with ai, cx without the bs, fake personalization ai, how to fix customer experience, real cx talk, robotic customer service, smart support tips, tech buyer ai guide, technology advisor podcast, why ai fails in support
AI was supposed to fix customer experience — but most companies are just frustrating people faster.
In this week’s episode of CX Without the BS, we expose 5 big ways AI is making CX worse (and how to fix it). -
Is Your UCaaS Vendor Lying About AI?
August 4th, 2025 | 4 mins 53 secs
ai call routing problems, ai fail examples, ai in ucaas, ai myths in ucaas, ai powered ucaas, ai red flags, cx without the bs, fake ai warning signs, how to spot fake ai, level365, press 1 for sales, real ucaas solutions, small business phone system, smart call routing, technology advisor tips, ucaas ai, ucaas demo advice, ucaas for smbs, ucaas phone menus, ucaas tips, unified communications ai
If your customer is still hearing "Press 1 for Sales, Press 2 for Support" — that’s not intelligence. That’s a script with a buzzword mask. In this episode of CX Without the BS, we’re breaking down the #1 red flag that tells you your vendor might be full of it.
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Do Cold Calls Still Work in 2025?
July 30th, 2025 | 42 mins 9 secs
ai in sales, appointment setting tips, b2b sales tactics, cold calling tips, cold outreach, customer experience, cx podcast, how to cold call, how to follow up in sales, linkedin outreach, outbound sales strategy, sales authenticity, sales call mistakes, sales call script, sales development, sales development podcast, sales objections, sales pipeline, sdr coaching, sdr training
Cold calling isn't dead - bad cold calling is. In this episode, I sit down with John from LevelUp Leads to break down how SDRs can stop sounding robotic, block objections before they happen, and finally build real pipeline through human connection.
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How Do I Get More Replies to Cold Emails?
July 23rd, 2025 | 37 mins
b2b sales email tips, cold email strategy, cold outreach that works, customer experience sales, customer journey starts in sales, cx and sales connection, email automation problems, email copywriting tips, email deliverability tips, fix your sales emails, how to get more sales meetings, human touch in sales, outbound sales done right, real vs fake personalization, sales copy that converts, sales development strategy, why buyers are confused
Cold outreach isn’t just sales – it’s your first customer experience touchpoint, and if your email confuses people or doesn’t feel human, they’re never gonna buy from you.