The Customer UnSuccess Podcast The Trust Tightrope: Rebuilding Customer Confidence After a Misstep w/ Kevin Metzger
Communication in customer success hinges not on what you say, but what your customer hears, as Kevin Metzger discovered when a casual comment about contractual obligations spiraled into a three-month recovery process with an enterprise client.
• Customer's SSL certificate expired causing application issues
• According to contracts, certificate renewal was customer's responsibility
• Kevin's off-the-cuff remark about contract terms damaged relationship
• Previously excellent customer service included clearing 150-issue backlog
• Proactive handling of day-zero security issue before incident
• Recovery process took months despite initial good relationship
• Understanding perception versus intention is critical in communication
• Consistent actions to rebuild trust more important than being right
• Later developed honest communication about miscommunication patterns
• Relationship eventually strengthened, leading to renewal of eight-figure contract
• Future of communication increasingly involves emotional intelligence as AI handles factual elements
• Different cultural contexts require additional communication awareness
📢 Guest Spotlight:
- Kevin Metzger — Customer Success Leader with 20+ years of experience, known as “The AI Assistant Guy” https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinmetzger/
- Host of the Customer Success Playbook podcast
🟣 Tools & Technologies Discussed:
- ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini — AI tools referenced for communication and content strategy
- Notebook LM — Used for synthesizing information, content planning, and structuring timelines or papers
- SalesApe.ai — AI-powered SDR tool that qualifies leads via email communication
- Sesame.com — Voice AI tool used for realistic spoken conversation with AI agents (Miles and Maya)
🌐 Website
https://www.joedoestechtouch.com/
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🔗 Connect with Joe on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephdigrande
📺 Watch Full Episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaH58ojbaWym4ej_PedQ4Fw
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