Customer Experience

Dallas – – September 29, 2026 -- Topgolf is replacing its legacy event menu with four new chef-driven buffet concepts and increasing buffet frequency to one station per 30 guests, up from one per 50, in its first major events-program update in recent years.

Four new buffet concepts replace fixed-price legacy menu

The new lineup includes Modern Mediterranean (build-your-own salad and bowl bar with chicken shawarma and grilled steak), Cantina Kitchen (a southwest taco and nacho bar with chicken tinga and fajita beef), Taste of Topgolf (sliders and Roman-crust pizza with vegetarian options) and Chef's Table, a premium entrée menu featuring beef tenderloin and herb salmon for executive events. Planners can add à la carte proteins, sliders, sides and whole pizzas, including gluten-friendly, vegan and vegetarian options.

TOKYO – October 29, 2026 -- transcosmos won Gold in the Business Contribution category and Silver in the People Development category at the Best Contact Center Indonesia (TBCCI) 2026 awards on September 24, 2026. The Indonesia Contact Center Association (ICCA) organizes the program.

Automotive client case earns Gold for business contribution

transcosmos submitted its transformation work for one of Indonesia's largest automotive manufacturers. The company says technology and process optimization raised the client's operational efficiency and revenue. The source gives no figures for either gain. The entry presented the contact center as a strategic business partner that links customer experience, operational efficiency and business needs within one service ecosystem.

St. Louis – October 28, 2026 -- Forty-four percent of U.S. consumers who use AI tools for customer service say the AI has contradicted a company representative or its policies, according to a new survey of 1,000 consumers from support automation vendor Capacity.

The Agentic Consumer Report finds that 55% of respondents have used an AI tool, such as an agent or large language model, to help with a service request. Consumers are equally likely to trust the AI or the company representative when the two give conflicting information.

Gen Z and Millennials drive adoption of personal AI agents

Overall, 35% of respondents have used an AI agent to handle a customer service request at least once. Among Gen Z and Millennials, the figure is 49%.

Household makeup also matters. Among respondents with children aged 25 or younger at home, 46% have used a personal AI agent, against 29% of those without children at home.

Global – October 27, 2026 -- Organizations that review only 2–5% of customer interactions leave 95–97% unexamined. Some adopters of full-coverage quality management (QM) report a 30% uptick in conversion-related outcomes after closing the process gaps it exposed.

Sampling leaves systemic failures undetected

A 3–5% sample covers a handful of calls, reviewed by a handful of supervisors and scored with a handful of opinions. It misses agents who skip a critical verification step and AI agents that cannot recognize "yes, please" as a yes. It also misses routing flows that send the wrong caller type into the wrong experience, until hundreds of calls have transferred unnecessarily to a live queue.

Nashville – October 27, 2026 -- TransCore, a tolling technology and traffic-management supplier, has appointed Deborah Sharpless as its first Chief Experience Officer (CXO), a newly created executive role aimed at tightening ties with tolling and transportation agencies.

Former Maryland Transportation Authority CFO brings 25 years of public sector experience

Sharpless has more than 25 years of experience in finance, operations and customer service. Most recently she was Chief Financial Officer of the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA), a role she took after serving as Deputy Executive Director.

She also chaired the E-ZPass Interagency Group Executive Board and served as a Director on the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) Board.

PHOENIX – October 21, 2026 -- EcoShield Pest Solutions held its first Customer Service Appreciation Week, a program shaped by a cross-functional committee and extended to in-office, remote and overseas agents.

Training manager Kristen Elmore recruits committee to design the week

Kristen Elmore, Training Manager of Customer Experience, started the planning and brought together a committee representing different areas of customer experience. Team members contributed ideas to shape the program. "It needs to have a voice from everyone," Elmore said.

Program spans music, quizzes and gifts across locations

The week included shared music, interactive chats, quizzes, themed activities, recognition messages and appreciation gifts. Activities were designed to include both in-office and remote agents, including overseas colleagues.

San Antonio – October 17, 2026 -- Frost & Sullivan has awarded TP its 2026 Latin America Competitive Strategy Leadership Recognition in customer experience management (CXM), crediting an integrated delivery model that spans 16 countries.

Frost & Sullivan rates TP strong on both strategy effectiveness and execution

The analyst firm benchmarks companies on two dimensions: strategy effectiveness and strategy execution. TP excelled in both, according to Frost & Sullivan. Sebastian Menutti, Industry Director, ICT at Frost & Sullivan, said TP systematically uses enterprise-wide technology platforms, operating frameworks and governance standards while adapting implementation to local market conditions.

Samantha Fisher, Best Practices Research Analyst at Frost & Sullivan, attributed TP's edge to its entrepreneurial culture and operating philosophy, noting that "competitors struggle to achieve similar results."

Toronto – October 15, 2026 -- miniMonster Automation, a Canadian maker of compact CNC machining centers, has launched an augmented reality (AR) product experience that lets buyers place 1:1 scale 3D models of its machines in their own workshops before purchase. The tool, built with Shivoo Studios LLC, is available on supported iPhone and Android devices.

The launch targets remote capital-equipment evaluation, where spec sheets and 2D video do not show how a machine will fit, move, or function in a customer's workspace.

Buyers can place three products at full scale in their shops

Users can view 1:1 scale models of the lemontart 33metal, the lemontart 24pico, and the +1 Rotary Axis. Prospective buyers, machinists, and fabricators can position CNC frame kits within an existing shop to check overall footprint and operating clearances.

Hamburg – October 15, 2026 -- Some 29% of European bank customers would rather discuss sensitive financial matters with AI than with a human employee, according to the EOS Banking AI Barometer published by EOS Group. Among 18-34-year-olds, the share rises to 38%.

46% of consumers report better bank communication through AI

Only 11% of respondents perceive a decline in service quality. Some 54% value AI for helping them find information, and 51% praise faster communication and round-the-clock availability.

Trust in AI's problem-solving ability stays at 35-36%

Only 35% to 36% of respondents trust AI to understand their needs, act with precision and solve problems effectively. Some 60% miss the human touch in AI communication.

EOS Group CEO Marwin Ramcke said the best banks use AI as a tool for better service, not as a replacement for relationships.

DALLAS – October 15, 2026 -- SDG Group, a global data and AI consulting firm, received Everest Group's 2026 "Voice of the Customer Honor – Service Excellence" at the research firm's Elevate conference in Dallas.

The honor recognizes service providers that more than 700 customers rated highly on client management, ease of doing business and proactive engagement. SDG Group presents it as third-party validation of its service delivery.

Everest Group scored providers on three client-facing criteria

According to SDG Group, the criteria translate into three client experiences: