Top 5 Customer Service & CX Articles for Week of August 3, 2026

Every week, I read dozens of articles on customer service and customer experience from a wide range of sources. Below are my top five picks from last week, along with my takeaways. I’d love to hear your thoughts as well.

Why Loyalty Programs Are Hitting a Growth Ceiling by Arielle Feger

(Emarketer) Consumers are collecting memberships much faster than they’re building habits. The average consumer now belongs to 17.4 loyalty programs, up 60% over the past decade, according to Upside’s “Escaping the loyalty plateau” report. But active participation has risen just 8% over the same period, to 8.4 programs.

My Comment: We kick off this week’s Top Five with an article about customer loyalty programs. The average customer now belongs to 17.4 loyalty programs but is only using about half of them. Joining the program is easy. To get participation, companies must offer perks, but one of the most powerful ways is to personalize their experience.

If Loyalty Programs Are so Important, Why Doesn’t Trader Joe’s Have One? by Michael Brady

(CX Dive) Rather than investing in a costly, complex loyalty program, Trader Joe’s relies almost exclusively on its private-label products, high-touch customer service and everyday low prices to drive loyalty.

My Comment: This is the perfect article to follow up on the first article of this roundup. While loyalty programs seem to be popular, what if a brand chooses not to have one, even if competitors do? Does competition steal customers away? Not if the brand is Trader Joe’s, which, despite not having a loyalty program, has the highest loyalty among US grocers! Read this article and learn from one of the best!

Why Companies Willingly Underinvest in Customer Experience by Braden Kelley

(CustomerThink) Enter your customer count, revenue per customer, and churn rate (or start from an industry baseline if your internal numbers are still messy) and you can estimate the annual revenue and cost-to-serve impact of a defined experience improvement. Then copy a plain-language summary into the slide where CX proposals usually go to die.

My Comment: Handle complaints well, and you not only fix the problem, but you also fix the customer, so much so that they trust you more than if the complaint had never happened at all. This article shares the “many flavors of complaints,” which include problems, incorrect assumptions (the customer is NOT always right), customers who are having a bad day, and more. And that’s just the start of this excellent article.

How to Handle Customer Complaints and Earn More Trust by Mathew Patterson

(Help Scout) If nobody is complaining about your business, you’re just not reaching enough people yet. Complaints are inevitable, and they cannot (and should not) be avoided. They must be heard and handled.

My Comment: Handle complaints well, and you not only fix the problem, but you also fix the customer, so much so that they trust you more than if the complaint had never happened at all. This article shares the “many flavors of complaints,” which include problems, incorrect assumptions (the customer is NOT always right), customers who are having a bad day, and more. And that’s just the start of this excellent article.

10 Effective Customer Service Techniques to Delight Your Customers by Lavenda Morin Atieno Atieno

(BoldDesk) With the ever-rising customer expectations, brands must go above and beyond to guarantee the best services and boost satisfaction. Customer-facing teams must implement the best customer service techniques to make every interaction count.

My Comment: It’s time to get back to basics with an article that includes ten customer service techniques, including listening, personalization, empathy, proactive service, empowering employees, and five more. For most reading this article, all ten of these techniques will apply to you and your organizations.

BONUS

The Best CX Leaders Design Backward From What Customers Feel by Joseph G. DeRosa

(CMSWire) Confidence, relief, trust — that’s where CX strategy should start. Not the CRM, not the copilot, not the workflow.

My Comment: Recently, Call Centre Helper interviewed me about how customers feel about AI. While AI is getting better, it is still not where it needs to be for most customers to feel comfortable using AI-fueled self-service options. Most customers still prefer the phone for help, but some demand a self-service option. I also referenced findings from my annual CX research to support my comments.

Shep Hyken is a customer service/CX expert, award-winning keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling author. Learn more about Shep’s customer service and customer experience keynote speeches and his customer service training workshops. Connect with Shep on LinkedIn.