When half a billion customers interact with your service each year, you gain rare insight into what truly drives—or destroys—customer loyalty. In this CX Pulse Check, Jeannie welcomes Marcus Story, Corporate Director of Customer Experience and Social Customer Care at Delaware North, for a candid conversation about the state of travel and hospitality during the busy summer season.

They take a hard look at American Airlines’ new customer experience advisory board—and the surprising lack of actual customers at the table. Marcus shares why involving real travelers is essential to driving meaningful change, especially as competitors like Delta and United prioritize more customer-focused strategies.

The discussion also explores the evolving role of AI in hospitality. While automation and personalization technologies open new doors, Marcus and Jeannie stress that technology should complement—not replace—genuine human connections. Through personal stories, they highlight how small, thoughtful gestures can leave a lasting impact.

Rounding out the episode, they examine United Airlines’ new airport arrival policy and what it reveals about communication gaps and the overall customer journey. Whether you work in CX or simply love to travel, you’ll walk away with fresh insights on balancing efficiency, innovation, and the timeless value of human touchpoints.

About Marcus Story:

Marcus brings nearly 20 years of experience managing and delivering exceptional customer and guest experiences across hospitality and service industries.

Marcus, who has been a Delaware North team member for 13 years, is the leader of the company’s global customer experience strategy and platform, called GuestPath®. Before Delaware North, Marcus honed his customer experience expertise at well-known organizations like Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and InterContinental Hotels Group.

Aside from his direct experience, Marcus has earned certifications as a Certified Customer Experience Professional (via the Customer Experience Professionals Association) and Lean Six Sigma Green Belt. He attended California State University, Sacramento, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies, and holds a Master of Science in Hospitality Management from California State University, Long Beach.

Follow Marcus on...
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcusstory/

Articles Mentioned:
- American Airlines names members of new Customer Experience Advisory Board (American Airlines Newsroom) -- https://news.aa.com/news/news-details/2025/American-Airlines-names-members-of-new-Customer-Experience-Advisory-Board-MKG-OTH-06/default.aspx
- How AI-powered CX strategies can better meet guest expectations (Hotel Dive) -- https://www.hoteldive.com/news/artificial-intelligence-cx-strategies-hotel-guest/749477/
- United Passengers Are Required to Check In Earlier Starting June 3 (Condé Nast Traveler) -- https://www.cntraveler.com/story/united-airlines-check-in-time-change

Resources Mentioned:
Experience Investigators -- https://experienceinvestigators.com

Want to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie on LinkedIn! www.linkedin.com/in/jeanniewalters/)

Why do so many customer experience initiatives fail to gain traction? Often, the challenge isn't the strategy itself, but how we build bridges with skeptical leaders.

CX leadership requires empathy, strategy, and communication. Stepping into a CX role means asking colleagues to embrace change, which can feel like added pressure. The most successful CX leaders recognize this challenge and approach it with empathy, connecting the dots between customer satisfaction and departmental goals—whether that’s showing finance how retention boosts revenue or demonstrating to operations how journey improvements reduce costs.

Effective CX leaders also make abstract ideas tangible through tools like journey mapping, customer feedback videos, and direct quotes. These bring the customer experience to life, helping leaders understand how their decisions affect the customer. By inviting participation early, you turn resistance into collaboration.

Customer experience is a commitment, not a department. As your initiatives grow, position yourself as a bridge—helping others see how CX can align with their goals—and watch them adopt customer-focused projects on their own.

Curious about where to focus your CX leadership efforts? Visit cxicompass.com to answer 11 simple questions and receive personalized guidance on your next steps. Your journey to organizational alignment starts with understanding that change happens with people, not to them.

Resources Mentioned:
Experience Investigators Website -- https://experienceinvestigators.com
Ultimate Guide to Customer Journey Maps -- https://experienceinvestigators.com/ultimate-guide-to-customer-journey-maps/
CX Success Statement Workbook -- https://bit.ly/cx-success-workbook
Take the CXI Compass™ assessment -- http://cxicompass.com

Want to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie on LinkedIn! www.linkedin.com/in/jeanniewalters/)

Customer experience failures often illuminate the path to real transformation. In this episode, we explore how common CX missteps—from disconnected tools and siloed teams to unused customer data—can undermine trust and stall growth.

The pandemic exposed just how fragile customer loyalty can be. Brands like Peloton had to pivot quickly as expectations shifted overnight, revealing the importance of clear communication and leadership.

True CX success begins with executive alignment, a defined mission, and a strategy that ties customer insights to business outcomes. Empower your teams to challenge assumptions and stay attuned to what matters now—not yesterday.

Ready to transform your approach to customer experience? Take our quick assessment at cxicompass.com to discover your organization's strengths and opportunities. Share this episode with colleagues who are passionate about customer-centricity, and join us in turning experience insights into strategic action.

Resources Mentioned:
Take the CXI Compass™ assessment -- http://cxicompass.com
Experience Investigators Website -- https://experienceinvestigators.com

Want to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie on LinkedIn! www.linkedin.com/in/jeanniewalters/)

Are you keeping pace with what your customers really expect? Customer behaviors—where they abandon journeys, which tools they use, and how they move between channels—reveal critical, unspoken expectations. Your competition isn’t just your industry; it’s every standout experience your customers have elsewhere.

AI holds powerful potential—but not as just a cost-saver. When applied strategically, it becomes an experience amplifier, enabling personalization, speed, and emotionally intelligent interactions at scale.

Modern customers build their own journeys across brands, platforms, and touchpoints. To stay relevant, CX leaders must respond with modular strategies, real-time responsiveness, and a bold, values-driven identity. The next generation of customers is already telling us: loyalty is earned through alignment, not just convenience.

Curious about where to start? Visit CXIMembership.com for on-demand resources, live events and a community of professionals tackling these same challenges. The future of CX demands we become true experience investigators – approaching our work with both strategic discipline and genuine curiosity about what tomorrow's customers will expect.

Resources Mentioned:
Experience Investigators -- https://experienceinvestigators.com
Learn more about CXI Membership™ and apply -- http://CXIMembership.com

Want to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie on LinkedIn! www.linkedin.com/in/jeanniewalters/)

What happens when we recognize employees as multi-dimensional humans instead of just job titles? The results can transform both customer and employee experience in powerful ways.

In this CX Pulse Check, John Garrett, author of What's Your And?, shares how companies that invest in employee experience see powerful returns—like 28% revenue growth and 50% higher sales from customer-facing teams who feel valued.

From knitting groups at ServiceNow to Starbucks choosing people over AI, we explore how personal passions at work drive connection, loyalty, and business success. John also highlights the need to support high-performing employees to prevent burnout and sustain long-term engagement.

This conversation is a compelling reminder: when people can be themselves at work, everyone wins—employees, customers, and the bottom line.

About John Garrett:
John Garrett—award-winning author and people-centric leadership speaker—is on a mission to create thriving workplaces. What the CPA-turned-professional comedian turned two-time Emmy nominee may do best is champion the human side of professionals, consulting with organizations to develop more productive cultures while shining a light on their people’s rich lives outside of work. And his book, What’s Your “And”?, was named a Distinguished Favorite by the Independent Press Awards and it was recently featured in Forbes.

Learn more about John and "What's Your And?" at https://thejohngarrett.com or https://whatsyourand.com/

Follow John and What's Your And on...
X/Twitter: https://x.com/The_JohnGarrett
X/Twitter: https://x.com/Whats_Your_And
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/John_R_Garrett
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/WhatsYourAnd
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thejohngarrett/

Articles Mentioned:
- Why These Companies Let Team Members Share and Explore Personal Passions at Work (Built In Seattle) -- https://www.builtinseattle.com/articles/why-these-companies-let-team-members-share-and-explore-personal-passions-work
- To Leverage Employee Passion, Save It for When It Counts (Harvard Business School) -- https://www.library.hbs.edu/working-knowledge/in-cost-cutting-era-save-passion-for-when-it-counts
- Starbucks doubles down on baristas, not AI, to fix its customer crunch (Business Insider) -- https://www.businessinsider.com/starbucks-investing-humans-rivals-bet-ai-2025-5

Want to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie on LinkedIn! www.linkedin.com/in/jeanniewalters/)

There's a world of opportunity waiting for marketing professionals looking to pivot into customer experience. In this episode, we tackle a timely question from a recent graduate wondering how to leverage his marketing background to break into CX.

Marketing and customer experience share significant DNA - both focus on understanding customers, building relationships, and communicating value. The key difference? While marketing often zeroes in on conversion, CX professionals must adopt a holistic view of the entire customer journey. Your marketing skills in audience segmentation, messaging, and basic journey mapping provide a solid foundation, but success in CX requires shifting your perspective to consider how customers feel at every touchpoint, from first awareness through ongoing loyalty and even departure. The full customer journey extends far beyond the sale.

You have foundational skills that will set you apart in customer experience, and you're joining a field known for collaboration and knowledge sharing. Connect with the CX community, explore resources like our Learning Center at experienceinvestigators.com, and embrace the journey of continuous growth that defines this dynamic profession.

Resources Mentioned:
Experience Investigators -- https://experienceinvestigators.com
Learn more about CXI Membership™ and apply -- http://CXIMembership.com
Take the CXI Compass™ assessment -- http://cxicompass.com

Want to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie on LinkedIn! www.linkedin.com/in/jeanniewalters/)

What truly creates an exceptional employee experience? The answer goes far beyond competitive compensation and trendy office perks.

Employee and customer experiences are inextricably linked - you simply cannot separate these two crucial elements of business success. When employees feel valued, aligned with purpose, and empowered to make decisions, that positive energy naturally flows through to customer interactions, driving better results for everyone.

The foundation of great employee experience rests on three essential pillars. First, a purpose-driven culture rooted in a clear mission statement gives employees something bigger than themselves to work toward. Second, employees need clarity around what success looks like and how their specific role contributes to it. The third pillar is genuine empowerment through proper tools, training, trust and support.

While benefits and compensation matter, they're merely table stakes. The true elevation of employee experience comes when people connect to purpose and understand that customer experience is everyone's business.

Ready to transform your employee and customer experiences? Visit experienceinvestigators.com for resources or join our membership at cxmembership.com to access on-demand courses that will help you build a truly customer-centric organization from the inside out.

Resources Mentioned:
Download the free CX Mission Statement Workbook -- https://bit.ly/cx-mission-workbook
Get the Employee Journey Map Template -- https://bit.ly/ejmtemplate
Learn more about CXI Membership™ and apply -- http://CXIMembership.com
Experience Investigators -- https://experienceinvestigators.com

Want to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie on LinkedIn! www.linkedin.com/in/jeanniewalters/)

What happens when customer experience principles meet public service? Jeannie Walters answers a thoughtful question and explores how government agencies and public institutions can create exceptional citizen experiences despite not being driven by traditional profit motives.

The conversation begins with reimagining success metrics beyond customer acquisition and retention. For public sector organizations, value creation takes different forms—like operational efficiencies, higher compliance rates, and broader service accessibility. Jeannie explains how connecting back to purpose through an experience mission statement creates the foundation for meaningful improvements that align with public good.

Journey mapping emerges as a powerful tool for identifying friction points in citizen interactions. By examining specific processes with clear goals and scope, organizations can simplify procedures, humanize interactions, and clarify requirements—addressing common complaints about government bureaucracy.

The podcast explores practical strategies for co-creation with citizens, employee empowerment, and designing for inclusivity. Jeanne shares compelling examples of public institutions that transformed service delivery models to reach underserved populations, demonstrating that creativity and empathy can flourish even within government frameworks. Her insights on communication improvements, measuring meaningful metrics, and sharing success stories provide a roadmap for any public sector organization ready to elevate their citizen experience.

Ready to transform your organization's approach to citizen service? Listen now for actionable strategies that respect people's time, needs, and dignity—ultimately strengthening public trust and delivering on your mission.

Resources Mentioned:
Experience Investigators -- https://experienceinvestigators.com

Want to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie on LinkedIn! www.linkedin.com/in/jeanniewalters/)