December 09, 2025

Start with the Customer In Mind Featuring Peter Cross

27 minutes

Closing the Gap Between Customer Expectation and Customer Experience

Shep interviews Peter Cross, customer behavior expert, keynote speaker, and author of Start with the Customer: How to Deliver World-Class Customer Service. He talks about the importance of company culture in delivering amazing experiences and how to close the gap between customer expectations and their lived experiences.

This episode of Amazing Business Radio with Shep Hyken answers the following questions and more:  

How can brands empower employees to deliver exceptional customer experiences?

What are the most common changes in customer expectations in recent years?

How does technology, such as automation and AI, impact customer service delivery?

How can organizations make customers feel valued, even when their requests can't always be fulfilled?

What role should leadership play in promoting a culture of excellent customer service?

Top Takeaways:  

Technology may be advancing quickly, but customer needs have stayed the same. Customers still want trust, transparency, inspiration, expertise, and genuine human connection. While new technology like AI and digital experiences can make customer service easier, it's important not to lose sight of what customers truly expect from you.

Modern customers compare every experience they have to the best companies, not just direct competitors. Brands need to aim for world-class service, no matter the industry, in order to thrive.

Customers are not always right. They sometimes have unrealistic expectations or behave poorly. Regardless, even though employees shouldn't have to deal with unreasonable requests, they should always make customers feel valued and listened to.

Customers come with expectations, whether they say it or not. When there is a gap between what customers hope for and what actually happens, problems can occur. The goal is to always listen to what the customers need and aim to close the gap with every interaction.

Brands don't need to go over the top to close the expectation gap. All brands need to do is what they promised their customers. When customers say, "they are always friendly, always helpful, always knowledgeable," the word "always" in front of all those expectations describes where amazement happens.

Customer service is cultural. It's a team effort. Every person in the organization, from the leadership to the newly hired employees, is responsible for delivering an amazing customer experience.

Customers are willing to pay more for service that is friendly and, more importantly, convenient. Making it easy and pleasant to do business with you should always be a top priority. Convenience and friendliness are more than just nice. They are what keeps customers coming back.

Plus, Shep and Peter discuss more insights from new research by the Institute of Customer Service (ICS) and Start with the Customer. Tune in!

Quote: 

"How meeting customer needs may have changed because of technology, but the needs themselves haven't changed at all. They still want to be inspired. They want trust, transparency, and connection."

About:  

Peter Cross is a customer behavior expert, consultant, speaker, and the co-author of Start with the Customer: How to Deliver World-Class Customer Service. He is Vice President at the Institute of Customer Service, an Ambassador for the Retail Trust, and a Leader in Residence at the University of Leeds. 

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and host of Amazing Business Radio.

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By Shep Hyken & C-Suite Radio

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