DCX Links | August 10, 2025
If it feels like the CX landscape is shifting under your feet—it is.
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Welcome to the DCX weekly roundup of customer experience insights!
If it feels like the CX landscape is shifting under your feet—it is.
Customers are tired of endless surveys, yet they expect brands to know them better than ever.
Budgets are tightening in some areas and exploding in others, with AI quietly becoming the backbone of service delivery.
And while automation is rewriting the rules, the human element has never been more critical.
This week’s roundup dives into the tension points shaping the future of customer experience: how to collect feedback without alienating your audience, where to place your 2026 bets, when premium support works (and when it backfires), and why your HR team might just be your most powerful CX ally.
Let’s dig in!
This week’s must-read links:
Survey Fatigue Is Undermining CX Efforts
2026 CX Budgeting: Invest, Cut, or Experiment?
How Verizon Is Using “Humanized AI” to Transform CX
The Perks and Pitfalls of Paid Customer Support
HR’s Secret Weapon for Better CX
Volaris Ends the Call Center Era
Survey Fatigue Is Undermining CX Efforts
Everywhere you go—doctor’s office, online store, even your local hibachi chef—someone’s asking for a five-star rating. Turns out, most people are just as overwhelmed as you are, and it’s starting to backfire for CX teams.
Why it matters:
People are fed up with endless feedback requests, so they’re either ignoring them or leaving reviews out of frustration—not honesty.
When everyone’s asking for a score, even good brands start to feel pushy, and trust takes a hit.
CX leaders risk drowning in low-value data while missing what really matters to customers.
State of play:
“Survey fatigue” is real—folks get annoyed before the survey even arrives, and even more so after the tenth one in a week.
Some customers push back—leaving negative reviews when asked for positive ones, or using surveys to complain about the process itself.
The FTC’s new rules (since Oct 2024) mean you can’t offer perks just for positive feedback, so authenticity matters more than ever.
The bottom line:
Too many surveys can hurt your brand and demoralize staff, especially if pay or perks depend on those ratings.
What actually moves the needle? Real, open-ended comments—just ask Amtrak, which improved services based on customer suggestions, not just star counts.
Time to rethink your approach: focus on fewer, better questions and make feedback feel like a conversation, not a chore.
The CX To-Do:
Ask smarter, not louder.
Time surveys better
Ask fewer questions
Make it clear you actually use the feedback
Because if your customers feel like they’re shouting into the void, eventually… they stop shouting.
🔗 Read the article → The Washington Post
2026 CX Budgeting: Invest, Cut, or Experiment?
If you’re planning your 2026 CX budget the same way you did last year, you’re already behind.
This isn’t a “trim the fat” moment — it’s about knowing where to double down, where to pull back, and where to take smart risks.
Why it matters:
The market’s volatile, expectations are higher, and exec teams want hard ROI.
CX leaders who can link budget decisions directly to business impact will keep their seat at the table. Those who can’t… won’t.
Where the money’s going:
27% of budgets are aimed at CRM, digital intelligence, and customer data warehouses.
A third of CX leaders are outsourcing strategy, analytics, and service to third parties.
AI isn’t optional anymore — leaders are investing in better data and employee training to drive transformation.
Don’t just maintain — experiment.
Predictive analytics, synthetic data, and next-gen AI tools aren’t “nice to haves” for 2026.
They’re the early bets that can fast-track ROI and build capabilities your competitors won’t have.
The CX To-Do:
Map every dollar to a clear business goal. Use the Forrester guide + workbook to prioritize, run scenarios, and decide what gets funded, delayed, or cut — before someone else makes that decision for you.
🔗 Get the Guide: Forrester, 2026 CX Budget Planning Guide + Workbook
How Verizon Is Using “Humanized AI” to Transform CX
If you’ve walked into a Verizon store lately or opened its app, you’ve seen it: the company is overhauling every customer touchpoint.
From retail counters to phone support, Verizon says it’s building a “customer-first” experience powered by AI without losing the human touch.
Why it matters:
It’s Verizon’s biggest CX transformation to date, aiming to make every interaction faster, more relevant, and more personal.
And instead of using AI to replace people, the company is betting on “Humanized AI” to lighten employee workload so they can focus on actual connection.
Where AI is making the difference:
Instantly analyzes customer profiles when they reach out, so agents start the call knowing who they’re talking to and why.
Predicts and prevents issues before they happen.
Speeds up transactions, cutting wait times and frustration.
The bigger shift:
Network speed used to be the top customer demand. Now, Verizon says customers want to feel seen, understood, and valued with plans and support that adapt to them, not the other way around.
The CX To-Do:
Look beyond AI as a cost-cutter. Use it to strip out friction, anticipate needs, and give your people the space to deliver the kind of service customers actually remember.
🔗 Get The Details → Retail Customer Experience
The Perks and Pitfalls of Paid Customer Support
Some companies are now charging for better customer support.
Airlines, banks, and even social media giants are testing tiered service models to either reward loyalty or unlock new revenue. The results? Mixed.
Why it matters:
Three-quarters of consumers say they’ll pay more for a premium experience, and two-thirds say they’d pay for better support.
But when the execution fails, it doesn’t just waste money — it can erode trust fast.
The good:
Delta’s loyalty tiers give frequent flyers access to VIP phone lines and faster help.
Spend-based perks can boost retention and revenue when done right.
The bad:
Meta’s $15/month “Verified” tier promised live support but delivered the same ineffective help as the free option.
Nearly 35,000 people have signed a petition demanding real human support.
The risks:
Problem-based tiers work best because they match issue complexity to expertise.
Spend-based and pay-per-use tiers risk alienating lower-tier customers.
In mission-critical industries like healthcare, charging for human help could be disastrous.
The CX To-Do:
If you’re exploring tiered support, start with research. Know what customers will pay for, define service levels clearly, and deliver every time. Without transparency and trust, a premium tier becomes a PR problem.
🔗 Read the article → CX Dive
HR’s Secret Weapon for Better CX
According to Payam Navi, If your customer experience is falling flat, HR might be the fix.
When employees feel valued, trained, and connected to the mission, they deliver the kind of service customers remember. The reverse is true too — disengaged employees can derail even the best CX strategy.
Why it matters:
Employee experience (EX) and customer experience (CX) are directly linked. Motivated, well-supported employees create loyal customers.
HR can turn CX from a department goal into a company-wide culture shift by aligning hiring, training, incentives, and performance reviews to customer outcomes.
The playbook:
Hire for empathy. Use behavioral interviews to find candidates with adaptability, problem-solving skills, and a customer-first mindset.
Train with purpose. Make CX skills like active listening and conflict resolution part of onboarding and ongoing development.
Reward what matters. Tie bonuses, promotions, and recognition to CX metrics like NPS and CSAT.
Invest in EX. Give employees the tools, flexibility, and well-being support they need to succeed.
The CX To-Do:
Partner HR with CX leadership. Align every stage of the employee lifecycle to your customer promise — from recruitment to rewards — and you’ll build a workforce that naturally delivers exceptional experiences.
🔗 Read the article → CMS Wire
Volaris Ends the Call Center Era
Volaris, the ultra-low-cost airline serving Mexico, the US, and Central America, has rebuilt its customer service around one idea: meet customers where they already are. That means messaging, automation, and AI, not waiting on hold.
Why it matters:
Volaris became the first airline to eliminate the traditional call center.
The shift drove 360% growth in customer interactions year over year while increasing agent headcount by only 9 percent.
Digital containment hit 78 percent, meaning most inquiries are now resolved without a phone call.
How it works:
Digital-first engagement: Customers reach Volaris through WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook, or other messaging platforms.
Smart routing: Chatbots handle common questions, then pass complex issues to agents. Urgent cases like missed flights or unaccompanied minors are flagged and prioritized automatically.
Cutting-edge automation: Keyword detection and intelligent triage keep critical needs at the front of the queue.
The bigger shift:
Volaris’ “messaging everywhere” model turns customer care into an always-on, always-available service. By meeting customers on their preferred platforms, they have reduced friction and scaled support without ballooning costs.
The CX To-Do:
Audit where your customers actually want to connect. Then design your support model to meet them there, with automation for speed and human agents for moments that matter.
🔗 Go Deeper: Verint and Volaris interview with Daniel Gelemovich → Verint
Thank you!
I hope you found value in this week’s links. See you next Sunday at 8:15 am ET!
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