Learning CX from a Punk Lens: A CX Book Review
Intro — The Fine Print
I will start out this review with a disclaimer that I’m not entirely unbiased- I know author Adrian Swinscoe and I am a punk musician in the CX (Customer Experience) field, so I had an initial affinity and attraction for this little tome. However, Punk CX is a great read and the questions it raises are ones that anyone in CX can benefit from asking themselves. And just as the book mirrors a music album structure with track listings, this review mirrors the musical song structure of intro, verses, choruses, and an outro.
Verse — The Decline and Fall of Prog Rock: Is CX Following Suit?
The premise of Punk CX is an intriguing one: it discusses the parallel of recent trends in music to recent trends in CX. Specifically, how prog rock as a musical genre gained popularity and became bloated from its own success. In reaction to this stale prog rock music, the vibrant punk genre was born. Swinscoe may believe that if nothing changes, the trajectory of CX will mirror that of prog rock- CX is already hugely successful and like a prog rock might be on the verge of becoming bloated and stale. If this is the case, CX may need a kick in the pants in much the same way that punk counterbalanced prog rock. Swinscoe’s book might be the beginning of that kick in the pants.
“Whilst popular it [prog rock] was often accused of being overly technical, over-produced, too elaborate, too complicated, inwardly focused, and a little aloof… I think that the customer service and customer experience (CX) space is starting to exhibit some of the same characteristics as prog rock… namely it’s becoming overly technical, benchmarked, frame-worked, measured, codified, certified, specialized, and functionalized.”
Verse — DIY: The Cure for CX?
What happened next in musical history was a reaction against Prog Rock, Punk Rock emerged kicking and screaming against the mainstream establishment and championed a DIY (do it yourself) ethic. This book embodies much of this ethos, from the cover art itself which visually references the intensely radical album cover by the seminal punk band the Sex Pistols to cheeky short chapters/sections called “tracks” (as they resemble album track listings), to art that is radical and countercultural (in one case a “track” was inspired by graffiti on a telecoms cabinet that the author passed every day.
The book includes a photo of the graffiti which gives the track its name: “Dude, suckin at something is the first step towards being sorta good at something.”) This is a dramatically different presentation than most CX books I read which are formal and academic in nature. This book is short and gritty, and each track ends with a series of questions that are intended to be self-reflections.
Chorus — No Future for CX?
I don’t think it is too far a stretch to write that much like the title track of the Sex Pistol’s album “God Save The Queen” includes in the chorus a chant of “no future, no future, no future for you” Swinscoe believes that there is no future (or perhaps more accurately a troubled future) for CX unless it undergoes some radical changes. These changes include becoming exceptionally creative, being more present on the front lines alongside customers, and embracing a heightened focus on empathy.
Verse — Becoming C-Xceptionally Creative
Being creative and not afraid to undergo paradigm shifts, being ok with falling flat on your face, and being wrong are celebrated themes throughout Punk CX. The book’s first track is called “Are you an artist? Or are you just colouring in?” and is followed later by tracks called “CX is about more than f***ing metrics!” and my favorite: “Do you dare to be different REMIX” wherein he describes three companies that are breaking the rules of standard ways of doing business (i.e., a book store in Tokyo that only sells one book title at a time) but that are capturing the hearts and loyalty (and wallets) of customers. Swinscoe believes that by turning our assumptions about CX upside down, we can improve and advance the field.
Verse — On the Front Lines: CX at the Gemba
In an effort to encourage CX practitioners to be more on the front lines, Punk CX includes a track called “When was the last time you went to the gemba?” The Japanese word “gemba” means the literal place where something actually happens: the proverbial scene of the crime. Swinscoe implores us to question ourselves: Where is your gemba? When was the last time you were there? When are you going again? This can mean a variety of things depending on your line of business and can go beyond journey mapping and focus groups- walking retail floors, folding clothes, ringing up customers on the cash registers, listening to customer service calls, visiting call centers in person, and going on “ride-alongs” with delivery companies, etc. Oftentimes “The answers are right in front of you” (another track)- you just have to physically be there with open eyes and mind to see them.
Chorus — God Save the Queen: CX Embraces Empathy
The concept of empathy is a common thread running throughout Punk CX. As a psychologist, empathy is one of the values I hold in the highest regard, and I am happy that the company I work for is promoting this quality. Swinscoe challenges us to reflect upon what our own companies are doing to take care of middle managers (“The Middle Matters”) as well as front-line workers (“Frontline Super Heroes”). His “Cheers for Peers” track emphasizes the importance of celebrating and promoting the recognition of a job well done or simply thanking a colleague for sharing a piece of information. One of my previous employers, Airbnb, did this exceptionally well- anytime someone submitted a “kudos” for a fellow employee it would get added to their personal bio page that was publicly available within the company. As a result, when you searched for someone in the company, along with their email and phone number you might also find that they had pages and pages of thank you notes (which were also automatically populated into their performance reviews).
Outro — CX: All You Need Is Love (of Customers)
Punk CX is a great little book with no fluff or filler content that consistently challenges established and widely-held assumptions or ways of doing business. It’s not the book to go to if you want answers, but it is the perfect book to help nudge you outside your comfort zone, and to bring you back to why you presumably entered the CX field in the first place:
Your love of customers and passion for making their experience as positive as possible.
It is full of questions to ask yourself or your business- just be prepared that the current answers might have to undergo radical changes in order for the business to succeed in the future.
