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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 insights from people who’ve been there and done that.
Table of Contents
- 👉In Conversation With Kel Kurekgi
- 1. How did you find your way into customer experience?
- 2. What’s the weirdest or most unexpected support request you’ve handled?
- 3. What’s one practical change you’ve implemented to make your team more customer-centric?
- 4. What’s one tool or app you can’t live without at work?
- 5. What’s one piece of advice you’d give someone entering customer support?
- 6. What’s a use case where AI actually made things better?
- 7. A book, podcast, or show you’d recommend
- 8. What’s one emoji you use regularly when interacting with customers?
- 9. If you weren’t in CX, what would you be doing?
👉In Conversation With Kel Kurekgi
Kel Kurekgi is the Director of Support at Zapier, a widely used automation platform serving millions of customers worldwide. He uses data-driven insights, like customer satisfaction scores, ticket volume, and conversation reviews, to spot where expectations break down. He sets clear ownership at every stage and specifies the following action, so customers know what happens next.
Before Zapier, he led support operations across automotive, tech, and consumer services. He reviewed misrouted tickets and updated routing rules so issues reached the right team on the first pass. He also tracked repeat issues, identified root causes, and worked with product teams to fix them before they resurfaced.
Kel began his career as a music journalist at the BBC. That background shaped his habit of asking precise questions and explaining complex issues clearly.
In this episode of CX Spotlight, Kel discusses a support case where a customer expected a trip to Spain to replace a broken CD player. He also shares his mentoring principles and habits that guide his leadership today.
1. How did you find your way into customer experience?
Accidental. I first worked in customer experience to support my goal of becoming a music journalist. But once I actually stepped into the media world, I realised I missed the clarity and teamwork that support work gave me. Helping customers felt more meaningful, so I stayed.
2. What’s the weirdest or most unexpected support request you’ve handled?
When I worked in the complaints department for a well-known car manufacturer, I handled a case where the customer’s brand-new car had a faulty CD player. We spoke a few times while sorting it out and ended up bonding over our shared love of music. Once the issue was resolved, I arranged a small gesture that felt fitting — a voucher and a note with music recommendations based on our conversations.
That’s when the surprise hit. The customer had been expecting something entirely different: a two-week, all-inclusive holiday to Spain.
It was the perfect reminder that if you don’t set expectations early, customers will create their own version of what “going above and beyond” should look like.
Recommended reading
3. What’s one practical change you’ve implemented to make your team more customer-centric?
Use your own product. It sounds simple, but it quickly exposes things you’d never notice from a dashboard or a ticket queue. When you only hear about issues secondhand, it’s easy for an “us vs them” mindset to creep in.
But the moment you use the product the way a customer does, things change. You start noticing the same slow paths, confusing steps, or missing details they point out. That firsthand experience makes you more empathetic and gives you a stronger voice when advocating for improvements.
4. What’s one tool or app you can’t live without at work?
ChatGPT and Zapier Agents. They help me work faster, automate simple tasks, and get answers without jumping between tools.
5. What’s one piece of advice you’d give someone entering customer support?
Follow the laws of PESH. It’s the simplest framework for anyone starting. Be Personable so customers feel they’re speaking to someone who cares. Be Empathetic so their frustration has space to land. Keep explanations Simple, especially when things get technical. And above all, stay Human in every interaction. These four habits will take you further than any script or process.
6. What’s a use case where AI actually made things better?
Use AI to review your tickets and identify areas where you can improve. When you’re close to your own work, it’s easy to overlook habits or gaps. AI gives you an outside view and highlights patterns you might not catch on your own. It’s a simple way to get more honest feedback, faster.
Recommended reading
7. A book, podcast, or show you’d recommend
Start With Why by Simon Sinek. It’s not a CX book, but the way it explains purpose and motivation applies directly to how teams show up for customers.
8. What’s one emoji you use regularly when interacting with customers?
🙂
9. If you weren’t in CX, what would you be doing?
Probably Customer Success or Project Management. Both roles lean on the same skills I enjoy most, i.e., solving problems, creating clarity, and helping people move forward.
✨Three Takeaways From Kel’s CX Playbook
- Set expectations before customers set their own. A thoughtful gesture only works when both sides understand the scale of the solution.
- Use your own product. Firsthand experience builds credibility and empathy faster than any training session.
- Lead with PESH. Personable, empathetic, simple, and human communication creates trust and reduces friction.
Enjoyed Kel’s take on customer experience? Connect with him on LinkedIn or explore more stories in the CX Spotlight series.
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