CX Spotlight: Jeannie Walters on Why Customer Effort Beats Delight, and the Case of the Antique Heirloom

CX Spotlight is a series where we speak to customer experience leaders from across industries who are rethinking support, building customer-first cultures, and finding clarity in the messiness of real-life CX.

Every edition is a quick, candid conversation. No fluff. No jargon. Just real-world insights from people who’ve been there and done that.

👉 In Conversation With Jeannie Walters

“Sometimes the biggest barrier to better customer experience isn’t a missing tool or metric, it’s a mindset,” wrote Jeannie Walters in her latest LinkedIn post.

For more than 20 years, she has helped leaders shift customer experience from a siloed function to a core business strategy. As Founder and CEO of Experience Investigators, she designs CX programs and leads executive workshops. 

She helps cross-functional teams turn customer insight into prioritized initiatives with clear owners and measurable outcomes. Over the years, she has worked with companies like Verizon, SurveyMonkey, and Citrix. Her work has also been featured in Forbes and NPR.

In this episode of CX Spotlight, she shares why Customer Effort Score often predicts loyalty better than delight. She also tells the story behind an antique heirloom watch that almost disappeared.

1. Tell us how you found your way into the world of customer experience. Was it intentional or accidental?

A crooked road led me here. I started in fundraising and marketing, but saw too many well-funded initiatives move forward without anyone standing up for the customer. That realization pushed me into customer experience over 20 years ago, and I haven’t looked back since.

2. What would your support alter ego be called—and what would their superpower be?

The Strategist. I design customer experiences proactively, so you’re not stuck reacting to issues. When the strategy is clear, your customers, your employees, and your business all win.

3. What’s one practical change you’ve implemented to make your team more customer-centric?

We have a clear customer experience mission rooted in intentionally designing experiences that support both customers and business goals. It acts as our filter for priorities and tough tradeoffs. When things get messy, it keeps decisions aligned with measurable outcomes that matter to customers, not just what’s easiest for the business.

4. What’s the most “CX” thing you’ve ever done outside of work?

I’ve helped countless strangers in airports find the ride share pickup spot, often without speaking the same language. I guess I can’t help noticing friction and wanting to fix it, even off the clock.

5. The most underrated customer service metric in your opinion?

I’ll resist saying “it depends,” but context matters. If I had to pick one, it’s Customer Effort Score (CES), which measures how easy it is for a customer to get their issue resolved. Every extra step, repeat explanation, or follow-up increases churn risk.

6. What’s the weirdest or most unexpected support request you’ve ever handled?

A customer accidentally returned an antique heirloom watch instead of a recently purchased one. We helped track it down and reunite the owner with something deeply meaningful. It wasn’t just a return issue. It was personal, and we had to treat it that way.

7. What’s a use case where AI actually made things better — for either a customer or your team?

AI has made it easier for reps to access information in real time. Instead of searching through multiple systems, they can ask questions naturally and get what they need right away. That means shorter handle times, and more confident conversations during live interactions.

Enjoyed Jeannie’s take on customer experience? Connect with her on LinkedIn or check out more stories in the CX Spotlight series.

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