Customer Service Academy

About Customer Service Academy

Great customer service is the key to unlocking unparalleled sales growth. Customer Service Academy Radio features customer experience expert and award winning speaker Tony Johnson. Tony will share how to deliver the very best service to your customers and grow your business. Tony will interview leaders from best-in-class organizations and share his common sense approach to business success. Tony has led large and diverse teams in the restaurant, retail, and corporate spaces for decades and will share strategies and tactics that work in the real world on the front lines of service. Together we can ignite experiences that power business results! Learn more today at https://www.igniteyourservice.com/training. You can also email me at tony@igniteyourservice.com or call/text 606-356-7447.

Publisher

Tony Johnson

Category

business · business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

18 Feb 2022

Latest episode

30 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

106 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   30 Oct 2026

   199: Is Your Hospitality Still a Horror Show

   Is Your Hospitality a Horror Show? In this episode I discuss the five horrors of hospitality that can erode your brand. In this episode: The trouble is coming from inside your business Your employees are service zombies Leaders who ghost their teams Ignoring the warning signs Repeating mistakes like the sequel no one wanted And the tips you need to combat these service scaries Tony Johnson is a Customer Experience + Hospitality Consultant, Keynote Speaker, Trainer, and Author with a wide background including higher education, restaurants, retail, travel, city government, chambers of commerse, and leisure.  He regularly speaks and coaches organizations to IGNITE THEIR SERVICE using his common sense approach to Customer engagement and retentions.  Tony has spoken to government agencies, airlines, universities, and many Fortune 500 companies to unlock their amazing capacity for excellence. Check out my FREE Resources and Training Tools: Web: https://www.igniteyourservice.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheTonyJohnson Twitter:  https://twitter.com/The_TonyJohnson Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/THE_TONYJOHNSON/ Tik Tok:   https://www.tiktok.com/@igniteyourservice

2. 

   30 Sept 2026

   198: Your Front Line Is Your Bottom Line With Robert Reitknecht

   Saying "Great Work" Isn't Recognition What separates a truly memorable experience from one that simply checks the boxes? According to Robert Reitknecht, it has nothing to do with thread count, amenities, or the finishes on the wall — it has everything to do with how you make a guest feel in the moments that matter most. In this episode of Customer Service Academy, Tony Johnson sits down with Robert Reitknecht for a candid conversation about the gap between what leadership intends and what guests actually experience — and why closing that gap starts not with technology or process, but with people. Robert brings a luxury hospitality lens to some of the most grounding truths in the business: that processes should make an employee's job easier, not harder; that managers who stay behind their desks lose touch with the reality of their operations; and that the smallest operational changes can sometimes produce the biggest impact on the guest experience. In this episode: Why luxury is defined by emotional connection, not amenities or finishes How the "concept to experience gap" forms and what leaders can do to close it The power of getting out from behind the desk and catching your team doing something right Why talking to your frontline team is one of the most underutilized leadership tools available How the human connection remains the greatest competitive advantage any business has About Robert Reitknecht Robert Reitknecht is an award-winning hospitality leader, speaker, and founder of Hospitality Renu. With more than 20 years in luxury hospitality operations, Robert helps boutique and independent hotels turn their brand promise into a consistent, revenue-producing guest experience. Having worked his way up through the ranks with brands like Montage Resorts and Marriott International, he has led front office and rooms operations, trained hundreds of hospitality professionals, and supported organizations ranging from independent properties to marquee luxury brands. 📌 Connect with Robert: https://hospitalityrenu.com/ Perfect for: hospitality leaders, business owners, CEOS, COOs, CX/EX professionals, operational managers, retail and service teams, training and development leaders, and anyone responsible for people and performance (and sales growth). Book time with me to learn about our speaking, training, and consulting services: https://calendly.com/thetonyjohnson/strategy Links & Resources: 📌 Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tony-johnson-ccxp/ 📌 Order my book Together We Serve: https://amzn.to/4pwGvPL 📌 Book hospitality training for your team today: https://www.igniteyourservice.com/summits 📌 Order my book Proof Positive: https://amzn.to/3LWtP5l 📌 Get your restaurant healthcheck as mentioned in the show at https://www.4xi360.com/diagnostix Tony Johnson is a Customer Experience + Hospitality Consultant, Keynote Speaker, Trainer, and Author with a wide background including higher education, restaurants, retail, travel, city government, chambers of commerse, and leisure.  He regularly speaks and coaches organizations to IGNITE THEIR SERVICE using his common sense approach to Customer engagement and retentions.  Tony has spoken to government agencies, airlines, universities, and many Fortune 500 companies to unlock their amazing capacity for excellence. Check out my FREE Resources and Training Tools: Web: https://www.igniteyourservice.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheTonyJohnson Twitter:  https://twitter.com/The_TonyJohnson Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/THE_TONYJOHNSON/ Tik Tok:   https://www.tiktok.com/@igniteyourservice

3. 

   21 Aug 2026

   197: Halftime Is Over: Finish 2026 Strong

   Half Time Is Over: Finish 2026 Strong Time is ticking away on 2026 and it might feel like you have just over 4 months left in the year, you really only have 3. The whistle blew on June 30th, and now is the time to take action if you want to impact what remains of 2026. Most leaders spend August telling themselves there's plenty of time, but November and December already belong to holidays, budget season, and year-end close. That leaves August, September, and October as the window where the work actually happens. This is the halftime audit for anyone responsible for a team, a customer experience, or a budget. Special shout out to all the campuses opening this week in higher education - thanks for welcoming the student back and creating a place where they can feel like they belong. Let's talk about the halftime audit - customers, teams, strategy, and you. This is how you will crush the rest of the year. In this episode: • Why role clarity rather than motivation is the quiet drag on your team's performance right now • Prioritize quality recognition and coaching around your most important priorities • Focus on what matters most going into year end - you can't tackle everything, so focus on key priorities with impact • Decide what you'll focus on, what needs to be removed from your list, and what gets pushed to 2027 Perfect for: hospitality leaders, business owners, CEOS, COOs, CX/EX professionals, operational managers, retail and service teams, training and development leaders, and anyone responsible for people and performance (and sales growth). Book time with me to learn about our speaking, training, and consulting services: https://calendly.com/thetonyjohnson/strategy Links & Resources: 📌 Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tony-johnson-ccxp/ 📌 Order my book Together We Serve: https://amzn.to/4pwGvPL 📌 Book hospitality training for your team today: https://www.igniteyourservice.com/summits 📌 Order my book Proof Positive: https://amzn.to/3LWtP5l 📌 Get your restaurant healthcheck as mentioned in the show at https://www.4xi360.com/diagnostix Tony Johnson is a Customer Experience + Hospitality Consultant, Keynote Speaker, Trainer, and Author with a wide background including higher education, restaurants, retail, travel, city government, chambers of commerse, and leisure.  He regularly speaks and coaches organizations to IGNITE THEIR SERVICE using his common sense approach to Customer engagement and retentions.  Tony has spoken to government agencies, airlines, universities, and many Fortune 500 companies to unlock their amazing capacity for excellence. Check out my FREE Resources and Training Tools: Web: https://www.igniteyourservice.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheTonyJohnson Twitter:  https://twitter.com/The_TonyJohnson Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/THE_TONYJOHNSON/ Tik Tok:   https://www.tiktok.com/@igniteyourservice

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