Claire Boscq: 0:00

We need to ask our customers we need to speak to them. We need to listen to them to see what, you know, what do they really want? And how do they really want things because that personalization piece that we talked about within the CX is really super important for our customers to feel connected.

Rick Denton: 0:25

You're listening to CX Passport, the show about creating great customer experiences with a dash of travel talk. Each episode we’ll talk with our guests about great CX, travel...and just like the best journeys, explore new directions we never anticipated. I'm your host Rick Denton. I believe the best meals are served outside and require a passport. Let's get going. Today's guest is an absolute bundle of energy. Probably more at home on stage than in her own living room. I am confident that our guests will make you smile. Look, she's smiling already. And you're smiling too. I guarantee it. I am excited to talk with Claire Boscq keynote speaker spreader of happiness and creator of the BizShui concept to energize people and places into prosperity. I'm certainly curious about the BizShui idea. If you've had a chance to experience a Claire keynote, you know the energy I mentioned. And it's now sorry, folks, you won't be able to see those iconic yellow shoes today. But you can see some of the yellow already. I'm sure they are right there below the screen. Trust me, I guarantee they're there. Make sure that you find a way to see those shoes and Claire on stage in the future. Now there's a huge background declare today she lives in Dubai, having recently moved there from Jersey. Now no, my US listeners not Bon Jovi's jersey, not Sopranos, Jersey, Jersey, the small island just off the coast of France. She founded a wonderfully successful mystery shopping company prior to the pandemic, with significant lessons to be learned and shared from there. She was a cast member at Epcot at Disney to that brought some great guest experience lessons. You bet it did. You simply can't talk with Claire without getting energized. It's going to be a wild ride today, which is what we want out of our journeys. Right. Claire, welcome to CX Passport.

Claire Boscq: 2:25

Oh, what a wonderful welcoming, how can you not smile and be energized by that? Right?

Rick Denton: 2:33

Well see, you and I were already laughing. We're already smiling. So I told you it was gonna happen. So, you know, Claire, we were talking about BizShui in the introduction, but that's based off of Feng Shui. Right. And I don't think about that in a business context very often. To me, it's a design, it's an architecture statement. How are you bringing that concept into the business and customer experience world?

Claire Boscq: 2:57

Yeah, I think you know, this, there's always been something about it. So I've been fascinated and discovered feng shui about 12 or 13 years ago, and it was very much a bump into it. And then I got fascinated by it. And I started studying. And I always kind of wanted to bring it into the business. But you know, what, I was doing mystery shopping and very corporate CX thing. I thought, you know, if I talk about sanctuary, people will think I've got all kinds of things. But actually, if anything, I think the pandemic have taught us something. And as made us realize how much working on the side of a bed, or a kitchen table isn't productive at all. Is it? Amen? Right. Okay, so suddenly, we're thinking, Hmm, I'm not feeling right. I can't concentrate. I procrastinate all day, what's going on. And that's what most people don't realize is our physical environment will affect us on a subconscious level. And so when a pandemic arrived, I kind of lost all my business in three days, shopping was gone. And it took me quite a few months to kind of pick myself up from the floor, and actually start thinking, Okay, what am I doing now? And it was something that I always wanted to do, but never kind of really brought it but when you think about it, there's a there's a gap in businesses, we talk about the culture of a business or that energy of a business. We talk about our external customers, we talk about internal customers, were worried about that external physical environment would affect us as people and that's the gap that I realized that we had we were not most organization when not giving the tools to the employees to feel good in that environment.

Rick Denton: 4:50

Okay, I look like that. That that makes some sense to me. So that idea of BizShui so I like that He said, Oh, it started off, you know, people are worried that maybe there was a womb right to use your term there. How have you kind of helped people migrate through that to where it's not just this idea that people think is Wackadoodle? But actually, no, no, this actually makes sense for me, how are you navigating them through that journey?

Claire Boscq: 5:16

Well, again, I think the pandemic, in a way was very good for that awareness piece of it, I think, you know, suddenly, you're saying to somebody, have you ever walked into a shop and you just feel Ooh, you know, that kind of food, you just really don't like it, or that restaurant, you just this noisy, there's people you can't hear it, you know, that kind of things where you just want to get out, you just want to get out, right? We all experienced that. Right. And this is what feng shui is about. Feng Shui is about really physically moving things and moving the energy, so it aligns with people live into it. So the polemic was quite a catalyst for and I think a lot of people started thinking more holistically on how can we feel better, you know, what are the other tools? Yes, it's great to give our employees a good laptop and some earplugs and you know, those kinds of things. But actually, how can we help them feel create a better space, so they feel happier. And we've seen all those photos of people, you know, with their top, you know, we're black, with a suit and you know, that kind of things, but the back end of it and how you feel how you position yourself has that subconscious effect on you and how you, your state of being how you feel, how you think and how you behave. They're all interconnected.

Your CX Passport Captain: 6:37

This is your captain speaking. I want to thank you for listening to CX Passport today. We’ve now reached our cruising altitude so I’ll turn that seatbelt sign off. <ding> While you’re getting comfortable, hit that Follow or Subscribe button in your favorite podcast app so you never miss an episode. I’d love it if you’d tell a friend about CX Passport and leave a review so that others can discover the show as well. Now, sit back and enjoy the rest of the episode.

Rick Denton: 7:03

That's it, as you say it, I feel it even more. And now I'm kind of self conscious that I kind of look around my office and think I could probably improve that or improve that. But you're right, when you come into a space that is balanced when you come into a space that is right, how much more creative can you be and how much more inspired can you be? And so that's true of us as individual business people. But what you're describing is what that looks like for the overall customer and what the customer experiences as they engage with your business. And bringing them in. Yeah, I didn't think of this before we started talking because I knew I wanted to talk to you about being a cast member of Epcot, right. Yeah, anytime you're in customer experience, you always want to talk about Disney, Disney is the epicenter, right? That is the legendary place for it. But then when I think about what Disney does such a good job of is creating that space, that environment, all of that. So take us back to that world with you. That world where you were the cast member of Epcot. So storytelling time What memories do you have from that time? And how do those memories influence what you're talking about in the world of customer experience in business today?

Claire Boscq: 8:06

Well, you know, I think it was a long time ago now. I'm talking about you know, real kind of a good 30 years ago now because I was 21 when I went there and I have to say 21 years later it still feels like if it was last year and this is just works what they create that inner culture that culture that inner energy that we all connected somehow some way by that Disney kind of energy it's incredible right? How this is produced and millions and millions of employees so cast members and you know people around the world have experienced that in different in different ways. And so for me it was like no, I was coming out of catering school it was just like it was yeah, it was just magic and you know being able to for me to have that on my CV was my age you know at 21 When I you know when I started but with then the actual business that run with the actual everything else that was doing behind that that was a real platform and I realized how much of a platform of that core customer experience how important of all that was the employee experience that they created you know when we arrived first day we had like a Bible like this to read and you couldn't actually get into the park without really have done it when we Mickey Mouse University kind of okay a week you couldn't even get a staffer sat inside the park without having done that week. Where you know the taking you through everything from the values to what the you wanted to do and and so many organization forget that, that bits that onboarding part of it, that being part of something as a whole together, this is what we tried to achieve and you know, an organization sign you and sign the paper, off you go, you have to go there, and then that's it. And then you wonder why they don't stay or they do perform and you're like, I wonder why this is very bizarre. Yeah, so those steps, you know, the grounds, you know, that employee experience, and we always talk about customer experience from, for Disney for people go in there. But as an employee, that that was a real employee experience, you know, from picking up my uniform in the morning, when you arrived at the incredible place that we had dealt with the whole system, you just think it's, it's incredible how it works, it really is a city in the city. Right? And, you know, it's managing is incredible, too, you know, sitting down and having less and less to Beauty and the Beast, having mentioned the beast.

Rick Denton: 11:05

I absolutely, I really do love that. And I we do talk a lot about Disney's focus on the customer, the guest and this book that's over my shoulder here is Be our guest. And it's the Disney principles, and it's definitely one of my customer experience Bibles. Not enough is said about the cast member experience the employee experience. And I know plenty is but not enough. And I liked that you brought that in the onboarding. And that's how ultimately a great guest experiences Create Now I'm curious share with the listeners Where were you at Epcot.

Claire Boscq: 11:34

So I was in a French pavilion, so I am French originally. So you know, it was it was a the French Pantheon is very, very French. Yes. With needles, things like that I talk about all the time and even more. So now that I talked about the sanctuary. And how do we use our five senses, you know, to really connect on an emotional level with our customers and even our employees. And, you know, it's we used to have a bakery in the French pavilion in Epcot Center. And they used to put essential oil, bread, essential oil in the air conditioning, from like, eight o'clock in the morning, you smell the bread from you know from the entrance, and people are like, they go to the French Pavilion just for their bread, because of the smell and how incredible how powerful is the sense of smell. And now use that all the time. Because what you want it's connect with your customers on an emotional connects with, with the smells with the eyes with the ear. So you've got music, when you go past the different pavilion, different countries, you recognize something and suddenly takes you back to, I don't know, your wedding day or something that happened. And those five senses are direct drivers. And it's it's something that's you know, you you're kind of, it's an all again, on a subconscious level. And actually, when you're conscious of it, and so for business, doing it consciously, you know, having a smell when you enter hotel, beautiful, you know, having some tingling music around and you know, it's all very subtle, but it's all part of that experience. And

Rick Denton: 13:21

it's a key lock for the memory. So you and I could now go and discuss Marcel Proust remembrance of things past and we could start talking about how the thread of smell wove through that entire book, we're not going to do that. I spent an entire semester studying that so we can't do it in one podcast episode. But I still I completely like right now I can smell the smell that existed at what was the Intercontinental Hotel in Hong Kong. I can right now smell the leather smell of the boot store on South Congress in Austin, all of these smells all of these elements that play into creating a great experience. And so the fact that you were at the French pavilion makes me jealous that would get my brought my beer at Germany, and then I'd have my nice meal and wine over France when I was able to go there. Let's I want to talk about something else because you started a campaign recently. You know, a lot of folks look at the calendar and just let it slide by now you. You launched the 50 and fabulous campaign. Tell me about that campaign and why you launched it.

Claire Boscq: 14:23

Well, one of the things so I moved to Dubai. So I'm having kind of my midlife revival crisis. I'm doing a revival. Right. And I came for a keynote. So I was doing a retail conference and a keynote in Dubai, the end of 2021 2021. And I arrived in Dubai and I just went whoa, this is just incredible. I came back to Jersey, my little island of Jersey and it was raining and was cold and was on a beach and I was shivering and that was it. This is just not happening. So I felt it was time for me to kind of get started. So, you know, I was 49 at the time. And I could feel it was a moment in time where I just kind of needed to kind of, you know, my feet were itching. And I do have two children. So my kids at the time were 20 and 24. So they're little adults, they were working, they were doing their own things. And, and I'm thinking, Okay, so the children are not at all so and, you know, this is happening, and this is happening, and what am I doing, you know, what am I doing here? And so I decided to pack my or sell everything in Jersey, I've spoken to the children first, you know, I promise, so then I didn't bite them in the cake. And they say, No, we're happy, you've got to go and do what you've got to do. And I felt like almost, I was the one leaving for university, you know. And, you know, it was kind of a time where I'm thinking, Okay, what's, what else? What is next? And so I left in October for Dubai started my new life in Dubai. And, you know, the TIC tock clock of the 50 was coming. And I was really desperate to go back and see the children. I really, you know, they came and visit me in January, but January to May was a long time, and I really met really missed them. So I started counting the days at which I was going back to see them. And then I thought, well, I missed one to count down of it. And you know, why not? So a lot of the things when I arrived in Dubai a lot, some of the event organizer call me the event, Energizer. I mean, isn't it just beautiful? Right? Yeah. It's quite a cool way to do it. And, you know, how do you keep that energy going clear? And that's kind of the questions I'm get getting, you know, an answer asked regularly. So I decided to do celebrate my 50th real, you know, big passion fabulousness. So I decided to do 50 days, 50 seconds video for 50 days with 50 energizer tip wasn't a just fabulous, fabulous. I love and it works. So well. It works so well. Right? It was just incredible. The how a 50 seconds video can touch people,

Rick Denton: 17:36

I love that. And listeners, trust me in the shownotes scroll down, we'll get you links to be able to access we'll talk about this at the end like we always do. But we'll make sure that you can see that 50 and fabulous campaign as well, if you missed it the first time around, get in there and get energized by it, even if you're you know, not 50 Because well, God willing, you'll get there someday, as I have crossed the 50 threshold as well, this year. So Claire, I love that you've done that. And I liked that it was inspired by the move to Dubai. I'm curious about those two worlds. Let's talk about customer experience for a second. You've got Dubai, you talked about Jersey and I get the beach versus the cold beach and the lakes. But what about differences in customer experience? You did the mystery shopping? You learned all about that you've got the Disney Experience? What have you seen in the world of customer experience that has either surprised you that it exists in Dubai, that it's the same or that it's different? What's that experience around customer experience been like as you've moved to the UAE?

Claire Boscq: 18:32

Yeah, I mean, it's really interesting, because I do, I do think that the core of what we need to do, right, it should be the same in all the countries so you know, looking after a customer genuinely caring, bringing some care and what we do genuinely caring for our customers should be you know, the the focus of everything. But then you need to ask your customers what they want what they like, you know, and that's, that's very different from every part of the countries. And so being able to have trouble I don't quite a bit of work in in India. Before that I went to China, I went to Malaysia and I did some keynote in different countries. And every time I do a keynote in a different country, a ball bring a little story from somewhere that I've just been into a shop or into the hotel or, you know, just a do a little mystery shop, if you see what I mean. And I'll bring it into the beginning of my presentation. So it kind of brings a little bit of the, you know, of the, it makes it live for them and true for them. It's not just you know, a culture thing. And it's really interesting because expectations are so different. And I think it really comes back to that when we talk about CX and when we talk about that experience as a whole. We need to ask our customers we need to speak to them. We need to listen to them to see what, you know, what do they really want? And how do they really want things because that personalization piece that we talked about within the CX is really super important for our customers to feel connected. So yes, let's, you know, let's do something which are right for everybody, let's call, you know the basics of your customer experience. But then make sure that you bespoken things. And in, in Dubai, it's such a big, massive city with so many. I mean, 80% of the population is expat. Oh, yeah.

Rick Denton: 20:38

Wow. I knew it was high, I just didn't realize it was that high.

Claire Boscq: 20:43

Right, and plus all the tourists again. So you know, the attention to details. Sometimes there's there's a lot of employees everywhere. And some of the things that I get frustrated is, you know, they may have maybe 10 employees maybe running around. And actually, if we have five, which are really well trained, I see, they would do just as well. And if not better, because everybody's kind of a little bit we're running around. So I think a lot of the time we come back to the same thing. I see a lot of organizations spending 1000s of dollars on marketing. Oh, we promoting our businesses coming, you know, to our hotels, and then it it and then they spend no money on training. I mean, stop it.

Rick Denton: 21:40

Claire. I love it. I love the idea of look, ya spent a boatload on marketing, but you forgot about training all of that I can already hear the Disney themes carrying forward into what you're, you're experiencing there. Now. The distance between jersey and Dubai is not a tiny one. And certainly for me living in Texas, USA, it is definitely not a tiny one so that travel can be wearing you mentioned India, you mentioned China, you mentioned Malaysia, it's nice to take a break. It's nice to stop down in the lounge. So I want to invite you to join me here in the first class lounge, we'll move quickly here and have a little bit of fun. What is the dream travel location from your past?

Claire Boscq: 22:14

Okay. So from from the past, oh my gosh, I did go to China back in 2018. And I guess it was a real he was very walking on the wall, you know, kind of that this, it's, it's something you can't describe. And this is there's a couple of memories that I have as walking on a wall and just being present and kind of standing in here. Just feeling that energy of it. You know, it's all about energy. And I went to Egypt as well in October and those kind of things like Egypt was a big thing for me. When I was a child and I went to Phileas Island, you know, the the Queen's Island and feeling the energy coming out of the stones on the pyramid. I mean, those kind of things, you just can't make them up. And it's kind of those moments where you pause there, you're very present. And you're anchoring a moment like that. So China was very powerful. Egypt was very powerful.

Rick Denton: 23:24

Yeah, have you had a lot of dream travel locations from your past? That's awesome. And I love I've had the chance to go to both and that you're absolutely right, spectacular. Now let's go the other direction. What is a dream travel location you've not been to yet.

Claire Boscq: 23:38

Okay, so I'd like to get to I'd like to go back to the state I have to say, because I haven't been for 25...25 years. And so I haven't been back to since you know, since last time I went. So I really would love to go back to to America. And another one that I have on the list. It's a really kind of quite love going to Sydney as well. It's kind of you know, yeah, that's, that's, and I'm halfway there. Now being in Dubai, you almost got there. So I'm kind of looking at, you know, going back to the state and going back and I think that's one of the reason why I picked Dubai as well because very strategically, as a keynote speaker, I can travel anywhere within you know, six, seven hours of Dubai. direct flights would be nice Sydney it's kind of

Rick Denton: 24:35

Yeah, there you go. Okay, I like that. You're just on a really long plane change layover. That's all you'll get to Sydney eventually. Now. What is a favorite thing of yours to eat?

Claire Boscq: 24:46

Oh, white chocolate. Okay, their

Rick Denton: 24:48

answer. White chocolate.

Claire Boscq: 24:53

White chocolate is probably.

Rick Denton: 24:55

I love it when it's a quickie. I love it when it's a quick now Let me ask you the reverse what is the thing your parents forced you to eat, but you hate it as a kid.

Claire Boscq: 25:05

So that was my grandparents and I was endive

Rick Denton: 25:09

envdive. Okay. All right.

Claire Boscq: 25:11

Yeah, that is they were cooking them. My grandmother, were cooking them into ham, with vicia mal in the middle. And it was kind of endive. It's nice endive as a salad, right, but it's <blech>

Rick Denton: 25:30

I hope that those of you that are listening, go over to YouTube and make sure that you see at least this part of the video. If you aren't watching on a video, you've got to see that clear. Let's go back to travel. We're going to last question here in the first class lounge, what is one travel item not including your phone, not including your passport that you will not leave home without?

Claire Boscq: 25:54

So not including my phone or my passport that I will not actually you know what it is? It's actually essential oil. I always have some essential oil with me because you know, when you're in the plane and you're sitting next to somebody who's been in their shirt for a long time always have essential oils that I put on my wrist and they're kind of Yeah, I always have a nearby

Rick Denton: 26:29

Aw Claire, I'm still laughing about the essential oil and spritzing it around the cabin off air. I'll tell you the story about my dad taking if you remember, Cathay Pacific used to have spritz water bottles in the lavatories. He went around and helped people freshen up throughout the plane, one flight from LA to Hong Kong. But that's an off air story. And we'll get to there, Claire, with all the laughter with all the conversation, I realized we are at the end of our time. And so I only have time to ask you one more question, which makes me sad because I have about 17 others. So I'm going to just pick this one. You talked about the onboarding experience back at Disney, and customer experience and onboarding, and employee experience all everything's woven together. We know that elevating customer experience comes from elevating employee experience. So I'm asking you more for like about the leaders? How can you help leaders be more emotionally intelligent, to help support their employees experience their employees well being so that they in turn, can create great customer experience?

Claire Boscq: 27:33

Yeah, so I think it's even that step before the onboarding. And we see that, again, we're probably you've seen that probably in many organizations. And as a field values and purpose and visions are really important. And those values that, you know, you see all over the walls and really kind of everywhere and cubs and pens, but they're not actually recruiting their employees with those values. And that's kind of the the kind of things that, you know, you want to kind of say, you know, if you have values, put them in the middle, because once you align your own employees, with your own values, Pete, they they're, they're just going to work together, they'll align with each other, if they're inspired by your vision and what you're trying to achieve, they will work for you, they'll do anything for you. And more. So we talk a lot about the millennials and Gen Z and you know, they want to feel that they're doing something that they're part of. And so having that very clear vision and mission, and what are we trying to achieve and our values inside, what is it that we have, if you start recruiting, if you're doing everything and put that in there, you it will be so much easier for the long run for your employees and your customers because everybody will be aligned. And I think that's a that's an important part of that even before the onboarding let's

Rick Denton: 28:56

stop right there. Because I think that's so important. We talked about in customer experience that your a lot of it is what's your brand promise you're promising something Did you deliver that to the customer because even Ryan air is delivering a customer experience, right? They've promised kind of basic Bob flying but some people really love it. So as long as you deliver the brand, promise, same thing about employee values or company values, set them and then deliver against that and that will be what the employee experience creating that delightful employee experience Claire, as I said from the beginning, I knew you were going to make me smile. I knew you were going to make me laugh. I did not know you were going to tell me about putting essential oils on other passengers on the plane but that's okay. That was fun. If others want to have a similar delight experience, if they want to learn more about you, they want to learn more about Bish weave. They want to find out how to bring you in as a highly energetic keynote speaker or even find out about that fabulous and 50 campaign. Where should people look? To get more info about you? Oh,

Claire Boscq: 29:53

I have a just for you. I've just just I'm just launching a brand new snazzy website. So that's really cool. So I know very exciting, so just Claire Boscq. So you can click on the link below that you put in there, but ClaireBoscq.com There's a nice, nice new website, there were loads of, you know, energy into into the website, and of course, social media. So I spent a lot of time on LinkedIn. So do you. And I've got quite a lot of videos on on YouTube as well. So a lot of stuff for you know, practical things, like the Energizer tips, but I've got some, some good fun videos as well. quite active on YouTube as well. So yeah, it'd be really cool, but I'm on Instagram as well for those who prefer Instagram. So yes,

Rick Denton: 30:42

awesome. Well, Claire,I will get all of that in the shownotes. Listeners, you're going to scroll down there and you're going to get connected and you're going to get energized Claire, no surprise to me that we did have a delightful conversation and really enjoyed the heck out of it. I thank you for coming on the show teaching me about all of the concepts that you taught the customer experience to travel, and I promise never to cook on deve for you so that you never have to experience that again, Claire, thank you for being on CX Passport.

Claire Boscq: 31:12

Thank you so much. Bye, everybody.

Rick Denton: 31:19

Thanks for joining us this week on CX Passport. If you liked today’s episode I have 3 quick next steps for you Click subscribe on the CX Passport youtube channel or your favorite podcast app Next leave a comment below the video or a review in your favorite podcast app so others can find and and enjoy CX Passport too Then, head over to cxpassport.com website for show notes and resources that can help you create tangible business results by delivering great customer experience. Until next time, I’m Rick Denton and I believe the best meals are served outside and require a passport.