CX without the BS

How to Spot a Bad Phone Provider in Under 2 Minutes

February 20th, 2026  |  1 min 50 secs

billing transparency, business phones, ccaas, customer experience, cx, hidden fees, it buying, onboarding, porting, smb tech, support, telecom, ucaas, vendor selection, voip

Most buyers don’t realize they purchased a support problem until after onboarding starts - these two pre-sign questions force vendors to show their true support model and their real fees.

Why Customers HATE Calling You | Forget AI Chatbots, Fix Your DAMN Phone System First

January 29th, 2026  |  13 mins 48 secs

brian nichols, business communications, business efficiency, business growth, call center, contact center, customer experience, customer service, cx strategy, cx without the bs, entrepreneurship, level365, marketing operations, phone systems, revenue operations, saas sales, sales strategy, small business tools, smb tech, tech audit, tech stack, tech support, ucaas, unified communications

Brian Nichols reveals why Unified Communications is the hidden revenue killer in 2026 and why the "Wall Street Trap" is destroying your Customer Experience.

Most SMBs think they have a "tools" problem, stacking AI chatbots and complex routing while their actual front door—the phone system—remains completely broken. In this episode, we expose the "Invisible Failure" of missed calls and dead-end voicemails that are costing you deals every single day. You need to hear this blueprint for fixing your digital front door, auditing your communications in 30 seconds, and escaping the enterprise pricing games that treat you like a number, not a partner.

SMB Buyers KEEP STALLING | Here’s the Truth Vendors HATE

January 13th, 2026  |  16 mins 35 secs

business freedom, buyer confidence, ccaas sales, channel sales, customer experience, cx without the bs, liberty mindset sales, real world sales, sales process friction, sales transparency, small business technology, small business trust, smb buyer experience, smb sales, tech sales mistakes, technology advisors, ucaas sales, vendor fatigue

SMB buyers aren’t “hard to close.” They’re reacting rationally to slow responses, forced contracts, and bloated sales processes.

In today’s CX Without the BS, I break down why the tech industry keeps losing SMB deals to indecision - and how to fix it.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.