web01.fireside.fm Wed, 27 May 2026 12:46:50 -0500 Fireside (https://fireside.fm) CX without the BS - Episodes Tagged with “Fred Stacey Interview” https://cswithoutthebs.fireside.fm/tags/fred%20stacey%20interview Wed, 20 Aug 2025 15:00:00 -0400 Most CX podcasts are built for Fortune 500 buyers with seven-figure budgets and dedicated transformation teams... This one isn't. CX Without the BS is for the technology advisors, IT leaders, and business owners working in the trenches of SMB and mid-market companies - the "forgotten 5000" who get pitched enterprise solutions they can't afford and ignored by vendors who don't think they're worth the support call. Host Brian Nichols brings real practitioner perspective from the unified communications and contact center space. No guru theater. No vendor hype. No recycled LinkedIn thought leadership dressed up as expertise. Just the actual conversations advisors and buyers need to be having... about why CX deployments fail, where vendors quietly cut corners, which product categories are oversold, and what questions you should be asking before you sign a three-year contract. Each episode pulls from real customer scenarios, market situations, and the framework laid out in Brian's book, The CX Compass. Some episodes are solo deep dives. Others bring in practitioners, advisors, and operators who can break down the mechanics of what actually works - and what's quietly broken behind the demo. If you're tired of buzzword bingo and ready for the version of CX nobody's willing to say out loud... you're in the right place. Subscribe, share it with an advisor or buyer who needs it, and let's cut through the noise together. en-us episodic Honest takes on customer experience and UCaaS for the SMB and mid-market buyers enterprise vendors forgot... hosted by Brian Nichols. Brian Nichols Most CX podcasts are built for Fortune 500 buyers with seven-figure budgets and dedicated transformation teams... This one isn't. CX Without the BS is for the technology advisors, IT leaders, and business owners working in the trenches of SMB and mid-market companies - the "forgotten 5000" who get pitched enterprise solutions they can't afford and ignored by vendors who don't think they're worth the support call. Host Brian Nichols brings real practitioner perspective from the unified communications and contact center space. No guru theater. No vendor hype. No recycled LinkedIn thought leadership dressed up as expertise. Just the actual conversations advisors and buyers need to be having... about why CX deployments fail, where vendors quietly cut corners, which product categories are oversold, and what questions you should be asking before you sign a three-year contract. Each episode pulls from real customer scenarios, market situations, and the framework laid out in Brian's book, The CX Compass. Some episodes are solo deep dives. Others bring in practitioners, advisors, and operators who can break down the mechanics of what actually works - and what's quietly broken behind the demo. If you're tired of buzzword bingo and ready for the version of CX nobody's willing to say out loud... you're in the right place. Subscribe, share it with an advisor or buyer who needs it, and let's cut through the noise together. yes CX podcast, customer experience, UCaaS, CCaaS, contact center, unified communications, technology advisors, channel partners, TSD, SMB technology, mid-market IT, vendor evaluation, CX strategy, customer service technology, Brian Nichols, CX Compass, business communications, cloud communications, customer engagement, sales enablement, B2B technology buying, IT decision makers, Telarus, agent experience, omnichannel Brian Nichols brian@briannicholsconsulting.com Will AI Really Replace Call Center Agents? https://cswithoutthebs.fireside.fm/will-ai-really-replace-call-center-agents 77f448a1-91df-4f7c-8cd3-79faf0668cc1 Wed, 20 Aug 2025 15:00:00 -0400 Brian Nichols full Brian Nichols 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. 41:58 yes <p>Is AI really the future of customer experience—or just the latest overhyped buzzword? That’s the question every business leader is wrestling with right now. Companies are promised sky-high ROI, plug-and-play simplicity, and magical solutions that can “replace” people overnight. But is that really what’s happening inside the contact center? Or are organizations setting themselves up for disaster by skipping the fundamentals?</p> <p>In this episode of CX Without the BS, we dig into the truth behind the AI hype cycle. Technology is moving faster than ever—solutions that seemed like science fiction just two years ago are now shaping how companies communicate with customers. But speed comes with risk. If you’re investing without a plan, you may find your shiny new tool obsolete in just 18 months.</p> <p>Fred Stacey from Cloud Tech Gurus brings three decades of contact center experience to cut through the noise. He explains why AI is only as effective as the people and processes behind it, how change management makes or breaks adoption, and why “just plug us in” is the biggest lie in the space today. This isn’t about chasing shiny objects—it’s about building a foundation that lasts.</p> <p>We also tackle the human side of CX. Customers still crave connection with real people, especially when stakes are high. Fred and I break down how leaders can balance automation with empathy, why government regulation may force changes sooner than expected, and how forward-thinking companies are getting ahead of these shifts before they’re caught flat-footed.</p> <p>If you’ve ever been frustrated by IVR jail, worried about whether AI will really deliver, or wondered how to future-proof your contact center, this conversation is your roadmap. Don’t fall for the sales pitches. Get the real story—and learn how to actually prepare your business for the next wave of AI-driven CX. </p> AI customer service, AI in CX, contact center AI, call center automation, AI vs humans, customer support mistakes, customer experience strategy, AI hype vs reality, Fred Stacey interview, Cloud Tech Gurus, Brian Nichols Show, CX Without the BS, AI readiness, change management in AI, AI call center tools, future of customer experience, AI regulation, AI vs empathy, AI contact center solutions Is AI really the future of customer experience—or just the latest overhyped buzzword? That’s the question every business leader is wrestling with right now. Companies are promised sky-high ROI, plug-and-play simplicity, and magical solutions that can “replace” people overnight. But is that really what’s happening inside the contact center? Or are organizations setting themselves up for disaster by skipping the fundamentals?

In this episode of CX Without the BS, we dig into the truth behind the AI hype cycle. Technology is moving faster than ever—solutions that seemed like science fiction just two years ago are now shaping how companies communicate with customers. But speed comes with risk. If you’re investing without a plan, you may find your shiny new tool obsolete in just 18 months.

Fred Stacey from Cloud Tech Gurus brings three decades of contact center experience to cut through the noise. He explains why AI is only as effective as the people and processes behind it, how change management makes or breaks adoption, and why “just plug us in” is the biggest lie in the space today. This isn’t about chasing shiny objects—it’s about building a foundation that lasts.

We also tackle the human side of CX. Customers still crave connection with real people, especially when stakes are high. Fred and I break down how leaders can balance automation with empathy, why government regulation may force changes sooner than expected, and how forward-thinking companies are getting ahead of these shifts before they’re caught flat-footed.

If you’ve ever been frustrated by IVR jail, worried about whether AI will really deliver, or wondered how to future-proof your contact center, this conversation is your roadmap. Don’t fall for the sales pitches. Get the real story—and learn how to actually prepare your business for the next wave of AI-driven CX.

]]> Is AI really the future of customer experience—or just the latest overhyped buzzword? That’s the question every business leader is wrestling with right now. Companies are promised sky-high ROI, plug-and-play simplicity, and magical solutions that can “replace” people overnight. But is that really what’s happening inside the contact center? Or are organizations setting themselves up for disaster by skipping the fundamentals?

In this episode of CX Without the BS, we dig into the truth behind the AI hype cycle. Technology is moving faster than ever—solutions that seemed like science fiction just two years ago are now shaping how companies communicate with customers. But speed comes with risk. If you’re investing without a plan, you may find your shiny new tool obsolete in just 18 months.

Fred Stacey from Cloud Tech Gurus brings three decades of contact center experience to cut through the noise. He explains why AI is only as effective as the people and processes behind it, how change management makes or breaks adoption, and why “just plug us in” is the biggest lie in the space today. This isn’t about chasing shiny objects—it’s about building a foundation that lasts.

We also tackle the human side of CX. Customers still crave connection with real people, especially when stakes are high. Fred and I break down how leaders can balance automation with empathy, why government regulation may force changes sooner than expected, and how forward-thinking companies are getting ahead of these shifts before they’re caught flat-footed.

If you’ve ever been frustrated by IVR jail, worried about whether AI will really deliver, or wondered how to future-proof your contact center, this conversation is your roadmap. Don’t fall for the sales pitches. Get the real story—and learn how to actually prepare your business for the next wave of AI-driven CX.

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