Top 5 Customer Service & CX Articles for Week of May 18, 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.

How Smart CMOs Transform Data Into Emotional Loyalty by Brittany Hodak

(CMSWire) Dashboards are full, reports are polished and KPIs are tracked down to the decimal. Yet many brands still miss the deeper signal hiding beneath all that activity: how customers actually feel, and why those feelings translate into loyalty, advocacy or indifference.

My Comment: We kick off this week’s Top Five with a robust article in CMS Wire written by my good friend and fellow CX expert, Brittany Hodak. The “gist” of the article is about recognizing customer signals and feedback that can be activated to create better experiences for all customers. The emphasis is on finding the emotional connection that helps a company understand why customers come back.

How Costco Keeps Prices So Low — and Shoppers So Loyal by Liz Provencher

(Food & Wine) The chain’s success didn’t happen by chance. Instead, Costco uses multiple smart strategies to ensure it offers the best deals on the market and keeps shoppers coming back. We examined the bulk retailer’s business model and consulted an expert to better understand how Costco keeps its prices so low.

My Comment: I love learning about the brands that do CX right, and there’s no doubt that Costco is one of the best. This article gives us a behind-the-scenes look at how thinner margins, which means low prices, is one way to keep their members renewing year after year. They have built trust through a consistent experience, which, by customer service standards, is high.

Customer Satisfaction with US Business Stagnates, Despite Billions Invested: ACSI by Kristen Doerer

(CX Dive) U.S. businesses have poured over $100 billion annually into customer experience since 2013, according to ACSI. Thirteen years later, their satisfaction score is the same.

My Comment: According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), customer satisfaction is at best stagnated, and in the past few years, it’s been down. According to Forrest Morgeson, director of research emeritus at the ACSI, the issue might be that brands look at the wrong KPIs. It’s nice to see an improved KPI, as long as it’s the right KPI.

One Call Makes the Difference in Customer Retention by Matt Vartabedian

(No Jitter) Multiple surveys over the past year have shown that while customers say they prefer speaking with a human agent, they will use AI for simple things like checking order status, appointment scheduling, etc. A customer experience survey from ServiceNow in April 2026, argued that the phone isn’t competing with AI-powered self-service. Instead, it’s the “option customers reach for when self-service falls short.”

My Comment: Here is a sobering finding from Verint’s 2026 State of Customer Experience. 80% of customers are one call away from staying with a company after a good experience, but if it’s a poor one, 79% (basically the same) will leave. The point is that the gap between keeping and losing a customer is “thinner than ever.” In short, the opportunity for a second chance is slim. This short recap of some of the insights from the report covers customers’ preferences for talking to a live agent versus a bot, the importance of a quick resolution, and more.

Eight Ways CX Professionals Are Asking the Wrong Questions… by Annette Franz

(CustomerThink) Culture shapes what employees experience every day; it’s the precursor to employee experience. What employees experience determines how they show up for customers; employee experience drives customer experience. How they show up for customers shapes what customers feel, decide, and tell others. And what customers feel, decide, and tell others determines the outcomes the business produces.

My Comment: We wrap up this week’s Top Five with a list of the wrong questions CX professionals are asking. Of course, Annette Franz, another friend and fellow CX expert, shares the right questions to ask. This is great information to have the next time you sit down with your team to discuss survey responses, low NPS scores, training, and more. The fix lies in her “Golden Thread” concept, which is the connection between culture, employee experience, customer experience, and business outcomes.

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.