Olivia: What percentage of a bank's new customers do you think leave within the first year? Jackson: Hmm, that’s a tough one. I’d guess maybe 10%? People absolutely hate the hassle of switching banks. It feels like a life event. Olivia: You'd think so. The answer is actually 32%. And what’s even crazier is that half of those who leave do so within the first 100 days. It's a silent hemorrhage that most businesses are completely ignoring. Jackson: Thirty-two percent? That's staggering. It’s like they're spending a fortune to fill a bucket that’s riddled with holes. What is going on there? Olivia: That's the central question in Joey Coleman's book, Never Lose a Customer Again. And Coleman is a fascinating guy to tackle this. He's not your typical marketing guru; he's a former criminal defense trial attorney who even worked in the White House. He approaches customer psychology like a high-stakes trial, looking for the emotional levers that determine the verdict: loyalty or defection. Jackson: A lawyer's take on customer service? Okay, I'm intrigued. So what's the crime scene here? Why are all these customers fleeing when they’ve just made the commitment?

Olivia: The crime, as Coleman frames it, is neglect. Businesses are obsessed with the chase—the marketing, the sales pitch, the grand pursuit. But the moment the customer says "yes," they get handed off to a different department, the romance dies, and they're left alone. And that’s when a dangerous emotion kicks in: buyer's remorse. Jackson: Ah, that feeling of "what have I done?" I know it well. It’s that pit in your stomach right after a big purchase. Olivia: Exactly. And most companies do absolutely nothing to combat it. They just assume the transaction is done. Coleman argues this is the most critical moment in the entire customer lifecycle. To show what a perfect response looks like, he tells this incredible personal story. He had just moved to a new city and broke a molar on a SweeTART. Jackson: Ouch. A dental emergency in a new city is a special kind of nightmare. Olivia: A total nightmare. He’s in pain, anxious, and has no dentist. A friend recommends a Dr. Katie McCann. He calls, and the receptionist doesn't just schedule him; she says, "It sounds like you’re in a great deal of pain, we need to get you in right away." She gets him an appointment for that same day. Jackson: That's already a huge win. Just being heard and prioritized. Olivia: It gets better. Instead of a clipboard with a dozen poorly photocopied forms, they email him a link to fill everything out on his phone before he even arrives. When he gets there, Dr. McCann explains he needs a crown, but then she says something that blows him away. She tells him they can do the entire thing—digital impression, 3D milling of the new tooth, and the final fitting—in one single, 90-minute visit. Jackson: Hold on. No temporary crown? No coming back in two weeks? They make the tooth right there in the office? Olivia: Right there. It completely eliminates weeks of anxiety and multiple appointments. But the masterstroke happens after he gets home. Two hours later, the office calls him. Not because something is wrong, but just to ask, "How's your pain level? We just wanted to check in." Jackson: Wow. That is next level. They weren't just treating a tooth; they were managing his entire emotional experience, from the initial panic to the post-procedure recovery. Olivia: Precisely. And that's Coleman's point. Dr. McCann anticipated his needs, streamlined the process, and provided proactive, empathetic communication. He went from being a terrified new patient to a lifelong fan who referred five new people to her practice. All because she mastered that first interaction. Jackson: Okay, I want that dentist. That's an amazing story. But it feels like a small, boutique business. It’s easy for one person and her small team to be that incredible. Can this really work at scale? What about a huge, faceless corporation famous for… well, for the opposite of that experience?

Olivia: That is the million-dollar question, and it's why Coleman uses the ultimate example to prove his point: Comcast. Jackson: Comcast? Seriously? The company that for years was the poster child for terrible customer service? Olivia: The very same. Coleman shares his own personal nightmare with them from years ago—technicians not showing up, endless four-hour appointment windows, zero communication. It was awful. And the data backed it up; at one point, nearly half their customers rated their experience as "very poor." They were hemorrhaging customers and their reputation was in the gutter. Jackson: So how does a behemoth like that even begin to turn the ship around? You can't just hire a nice receptionist. Olivia: You can't. It required a massive, top-down cultural and structural overhaul. They invested over a billion dollars. They appointed a Chief Customer Experience Officer, Charlie Herrin, who started by attacking the biggest pain points. The four-hour appointment window? They narrowed it to two hours. And if a technician is even one minute late, the customer automatically gets a $20 credit on their bill. No call required. Jackson: An automatic credit? That’s huge. It shows they actually respect your time. It’s an admission of failure and an apology, all in one. Olivia: Exactly. It rebuilds trust. Then they tackled the notoriously confusing bills. They created personalized "Explain My Bill" videos for new customers, walking them through every single charge. That one initiative eliminated six million "billing matter" phone calls in a single year. Jackson: Six million calls! That’s not just better for the customer; it’s a massive operational saving. Olivia: It’s a win-win. And this is all part of what Coleman breaks down into his Eight Phases of the Customer Experience. It starts with Assess, when the prospect is checking you out. Then Admit, the moment they buy. But the crucial next phase is Affirm, where you fight that buyer's remorse we talked about. The automatic credit, the bill explanation—that’s all part of affirming the customer's decision. Jackson: Okay, a billion dollars is great for Comcast, but what about a regular business that doesn't have that kind of cash to throw around? What does making a 'required' moment 'remarkable' actually look like for them?

Olivia: It's often about creativity, not cash. Coleman shares some brilliant, low-cost examples. One of my favorites is from CD Baby, the online music store for independent artists. Back in the early days of e-commerce, their founder, Derek Sivers, looked at his automated shipping confirmation email and thought, "This is so boring and robotic." Jackson: Which they all are. "Your order has shipped. Here is your tracking number." The end. Olivia: Right. So he rewrote it. He made it hilarious and human. He wrote something like, "Your CD has been lovingly picked from our shelves by a certified music-lover, placed on a satin pillow, and is now being chauffeured to the post office in a limousine." It was this absurd, funny, over-the-top email that completely shocked people. Jackson: I love that. It costs literally nothing to write a better email, but it completely changes the feeling of the interaction. You go from a sterile transaction to a shared joke. Olivia: It went viral! People posted it on their blogs. It became a legendary piece of marketing, all from transforming a mundane, required email into something delightful. Another great example is a company called Zogics, which sells wellness equipment to gyms. Jackson: Okay, what do they do? Olivia: When they ship an order, they put a custom-printed box with playful messages on it, and inside every single package, there’s a YumEarth organic lollipop. It has nothing to do with gym equipment. It’s just a small, unexpected, playful gesture. Jackson: A lollipop! It’s so simple. It’s a little hit of surprise and delight that makes you smile. It makes the company feel like it's run by actual people, not an algorithm. Olivia: And that’s the secret. Coleman boils it all down to a simple, four-step process that anyone can use: Investigate, Observe, Personalize, and Surprise. Investigate who your customers are as people. Observe their behavior and their struggles. Personalize the interaction based on what you've learned. And finally, Surprise them with a thoughtful, unexpected gesture. Jackson: So it's not about the thing you do—the lollipop, the funny email, the follow-up call. It's about the feeling you create. It’s about being human and showing you're paying attention.

Olivia: That’s it exactly. You’ve nailed the core of the book. It’s about engineering moments of human connection. Jackson: What do you think is the one big, central takeaway from all this? If someone listening could only remember one thing from Never Lose a Customer Again, what should it be? Olivia: I think it’s that the biggest lie in business is that the sale is the finish line. Coleman proves it’s the starting gun. And winning the long race for a customer's loyalty isn't about one grand, expensive gesture. It’s about finding the humanity in every small, overlooked step of the journey. It's about transforming a transaction into a relationship, one remarkable moment at a time. Jackson: That’s powerful. It feels like it applies to more than just business, too. Friendships, relationships—it’s all about what happens after the initial connection. Olivia: Absolutely. So the challenge for everyone listening is to find one 'required' interaction in your work or life this week—a confirmation email, a follow-up, a thank you—and ask: how can I make this just 1% more human? Jackson: I love that. And we'd love to hear what you come up with. Share your ideas with us on our socials. What's the most remarkable customer experience you've ever had? The one that made you a fan for life? Olivia: This is Aibrary, signing off.