Intercom

😬 What’s the worst holiday mistake customer support teams make? 🫣 If you’re in support, you already know the holiday storm is coming. Long hours, frantic customers, and enough stress to power a small city. But hey, we’ve all been there—holiday madness is part of the deal. That said, there are some mistakes no team wants to make this season. Understaffing, poor communication, or forgetting that your team is human (and also needs snacks and breaks). So, let’s get into it: What do YOU think is the biggest mistake teams make during the holiday rush? Vote below and help your fellow support support warriors survive the chaos.

them: is Fin really 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 good? us:

Customer service is... complicated. It's team-oriented but also relies on individuals. It requires hard skills, soft skills, strategies, patience, and quick reactions. So, if customer service was an Olympic sport, what would be the main event? Bobby asked Robert Richman this question on a recent episode of The Ticket podcast, and Robert's answer was an absolute [𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚝 𝚜𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚘𝚐𝚢 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎*]! Watch below, and catch the full episode wherever you get your podcasts! *Home-run. His answer was a home-run.

You can't control the chaos, but you 𝙘𝙖𝙣 laugh at it. Black Friday Bingo: it's cheaper than therapy and way more fun.

🤔 Something for you to think about this week, courtesy of Benedict Evans. When every company has the ability to deliver high-quality customer service at scale, the customer experience will still be a big differentiator – if businesses are thoughtful about some big questions: ‣ What is customer service really solving for us? ‣ How does our customer service shape our brand identity? ‣ Does "great service" solve problems, or avoid them altogether? What do you think? PS: You can watch the full town hall from Pioneer with Benedict on our YouTube channel!

companies that actually listen to customer feedback and incorporate it into the product. that's it. that's the post.

Even heroes need help sometimes. We’re just one week away from the busiest customer support days of the year, with support agents gearing up for what can feel like a losing battle. But this time, it’s different—today’s CS teams have backup. Shoutout to all you pioneering leaders who’ve taken the leap and set your teams up for a more balanced holiday season. While AI handles the ticket surge with speed and precision, your support reps can focus on what they do best: connecting with customers and delivering those unforgettable human moments, even during the busiest time of the year.

AI-driven or assisted customer support is the future. But here’s a surprising (and slightly painful 🥴) stat from Gartner: after just four clicks, 64% of customers give up on getting support. The reason why is less surprising: early chatbots were… 𝘣𝘢𝘥. Clunky interactions, unhelpful answers – it left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. Today’s AI agents are 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 better than they once were, but how do we rebuild trust after years of awkward, frustrating interactions? One answer is something that doesn't get talked about nearly enough → preparing and training customers to interact with AI. In this edition of The Ticket, Ruth O'Brien writes about how support teams can make AI interactions feel smooth, trustworthy, and human without hiding the fact that it’s, well… AI. 👇 Read it below and subscribe to join the 22,500+ customer service leaders who are the first to know when a new issue drops 🎟️⚡️

Movies have introduced us to some pretty incredible robot sidekicks – but if you had to pick one as your AI sidekick, who are you going with? Here's Fred, Conversation Designer at Intercom, walking us through his choice on a recent episode of The Ticket Podcast. To be fair, he makes quite a compelling case... We'd love to hear who you would choose as your sidekick and why – let us know in the comments! You can watch the full episode on our YouTube Channel, or wherever you get your podcasts!

Obrigado, Lisbon! Web Summit finished up last week, but we're still thinking about the Startup Party we hosted Tuesday... Thanks to the 250+ founders, investors, pioneers, and tech leaders that attended and made it such a good time!