Most CX podcasts are built for Fortune 500 buyers with seven-figure budgets and dedicated transformation teams... This one isn't. CX Without the BS is for the technology advisors, IT leaders, and business owners working in the trenches of SMB and mid-market companies - the "forgotten 5000" who get pitched enterprise solutions they can't afford and ignored by vendors who don't think they're worth the support call. Host Brian Nichols brings real practitioner perspective from the unified communications and contact center space. No guru theater. No vendor hype. No recycled LinkedIn thought leadership dressed up as expertise. Just the actual conversations advisors and buyers need to be having... about why CX deployments fail, where vendors quietly cut corners, which product categories are oversold, and what questions you should be asking before you sign a three-year contract. Each episode pulls from real customer scenarios, market situations, and the framework laid out in Brian's book, The CX Compass. Some episodes are solo deep dives. Others bring in practitioners, advisors, and operators who can break down the mechanics of what actually works - and what's quietly broken behind the demo. If you're tired of buzzword bingo and ready for the version of CX nobody's willing to say out loud... you're in the right place. Subscribe, share it with an advisor or buyer who needs it, and let's cut through the noise together.
Episode 11: The Robot Wanted a Human: Why AI Customer Service Is Backfiring
An AI was sent to handle a customer service chat for someone. What did it type to the company's bot? "Please connect me to a human representative."
Even the robot wanted a human.
This week is a solo rant. Mike runs a 9-person HVAC shop in Terre Haute, Indiana. Last night he sat on hold for 41 minutes with a robot that kept asking if he meant billing. This morning a sales rep called trying to sell him an AI receptionist.
So here's the question. Does Mike build the exact same thing he was cussing about last night?
In this episode:
Do people actually hate AI, or do they hate getting trapped?
80.6% of customers say AI service is mostly about saving the company money
75% got a fast AI answer and were still frustrated
Klarna bragged its AI did the work of 700 reps, then said the cost cutting went too far
Commonwealth Bank of Australia reversed AI job cuts and called it an error
Trade Republic dropped chatbots and hired 1,000+ people
Gartner: only 20% of service leaders actually cut staff for AI, and half of those will rehire by 2027
California's AB 1609, the Right to Human Customer Service Act, starts January 1, 2027
The Keep Call Centers in America Act, and Spain's 3-minute answer rule
Why a "93% containment" stat can hide a lot of angry customers
Air Canada's chatbot, a grieving customer, and a small claims judge
3 rules: tell them it's a robot, give them a way out, fix the problem
Chapters
0:00 Mike vs. the phone robot
2:11 Three questions for today
3:10 Mike's missed no-heat call
4:39 What the industry has been selling
5:19 80.6% say AI service is about saving money
6:10 People don't hate AI, they hate getting trapped
7:26 Klarna's AI reversal
8:19 Commonwealth Bank, Trade Republic and Gartner
9:38 California AB 1609: the right to a human
11:04 Keep Call Centers in America Act and Spain's 3-minute rule
11:54 Gartner: AI might not even be cheaper
12:43 So are AI receptionists dead?
14:11 The 93% containment trap
15:25 Air Canada's chatbot loses in court
16:31 3 rules for using AI without becoming the meme
17:16 Questions to ask before you sell anything
18:07 How Mike gets it right
18:56 Even the robot knew
20:08 Sponsor: Level365
Got a phone tree horror story? Send it in. Bonus points if you've yelled "representative" more than five times.
Sponsor: Level365. Real human support, no long-term lock-ins, no surprise fees. https://level365.com (https://level365.com)
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/RiSVpl1zFos (https://youtu.be/RiSVpl1zFos)
27 Aug 2026
Is AI Actually Going to Replace You? | Telarus Partner Summit 2026 REVIEW
Is AI actually going to replace you? I walked the Telarus Partner Summit floor in Grapevine, Texas with one question - what BS is being sold as gospel to technology advisors right now? And the answer was on full display.
Because there are two kinds of advisors emerging in this channel... the AI-empowered advisor and the AI advisor. One of them wins. The other becomes indistinguishable from the tool they're hiding behind - and their customers can tell.
I also tried an AI voice clone on my own podcast once. Snowed in, no equipment, figured I'd let the machine do it. It went exactly how you'd think... and it taught me where the line is for every advisor using these tools.
Plus - why TSD events like the Telarus Partner Summit are quietly replacing the big Vegas trade shows, what 1,000-plus advisors under one roof actually gets you, and the "AI everything" narrative some vendors STILL won't let go of. Klarna walked it back. Microsoft walked it back. Your vendor should too.
If you're a tech advisor, a tech buyer, or anyone who's been told AI is the easy button... this one's for you. Subscribe so you don't miss the next callout.
CONNECT:
Work with me on UCaaS: bnichols@level365.com (mailto:bnichols@level365.com)
Subscribe: https://youtube.com/@CXwithouttheBS (https://youtube.com/@CXwithouttheBS)
Listen on the go: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cx-without-the-bs/id1747979147 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cx-without-the-bs/id1747979147)
Being named a Leader in Gartner's Magic Quadrant does not give you a free pass. It doesn't mean your support stops sucking. It doesn't mean your pricing stays honest after the quote. And it definitely doesn't mean somebody picks up the phone when the system breaks.
This week, two stories prove it - the 2026 Gartner UCaaS Magic Quadrant, and NICE and RingCentral finally going bidirectional. Both look great in a press release. Both leave the same open questions for the people who actually live with these systems.
We go through the RingCentral review gap (4.2 on G2 versus 1.8 on Trustpilot), 596 BBB complaints in three years, Cisco's 5% cap on Webex Calling outage remedies, Microsoft's Copilot licensing add-on, Zoom's bundling problem at renewal, and Gartner's own twenty point walk-back on its 2028 calling forecast.
Then the partnership. NICE resells RingEX. RingCentral keeps selling CXone. Everybody gets the one pane of glass they asked for... until it breaks at 9PM on a Friday and the advisor is left holding the ticket.
Real support answers the phone and owns the problem. Fake support hides behind a leader badge and locks you into a long-term contract.
Choose accordingly.
CHAPTERS:
0:00 The Leader Badge Doesn't Answer the Phone
0:50 Gartner's 2026 UCaaS Magic Quadrant: The Four Leaders
1:25 RingCentral: 4.2 Stars on G2, 1.8 on Trustpilot
2:00 596 BBB Complaints and 16 Calls to Cancel
3:05 Cisco's 5% Outage Cap, Copilot Pricing, Zoom's Bundling
3:50 Gartner Walks Back Its Own Forecast 20 Points
4:20 Real Support vs. Fake Support
4:45 NICE and RingCentral Go Bidirectional
5:45 Who Owns the Ticket at 9PM on a Friday?
6:25 What Buyers Should Demand as Proof
7:00 Telarus Partner Summit 2026, Booth 801
8:05 Level365, VoiceIQ, and Selling the Way Buyers Buy
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