At A Glance

Cameron Knipp is leading a transformation in customer experience at Nathan James, by using his love of problem-solving from the retail floor. His narrative demonstrates how an enjoyable and proactive attitude may transform ordinary obstacles into chances to spread happiness and loyalty.

Who is Cameron?

Meet Cameron, Customer Happiness Manager at Nathan James!

About Nathan James

Founder Brooklyn Burdon was more than excited to decorate her own apartment with a fresh style when she moved out of her parent’s house, but she couldn’t find any affordable or easy-to-assemble items that matched her aesthetic. She then created Nathan James, a company that offers furniture that is stylish, easy-to-assemble, and high-quality, allowing customers to decorate their homes with items that were built to last.

Cameron’s CX Journey

Cameron started his career working in sales at a retail store. In 2016, he transitioned to customer experience and moved into corporate retail. He’s recently completed his first year of being a CX leader, and he says that his journey has been full of learning.

He finds the field enjoyable because he spends his days solving customers’ issues and problems, as well as leading the team in strategy and CX operations. This aspect of CX keeps him motivated. When he doesn’t know how to solve a problem, Cameron takes the opportunity to learn more about the company. He can apply his new knowledge to ensure that the customer is satisfied.

“I think customer service is fun,” he says. “A lot of people don’t think [so, but] solving issues, solving problems, no matter how big [or] small, it just keeps the day going easily for me.”

“You can learn so many different things, like… background information and context that can help you in so many other situations as well.”

The CX Team at Nathan James

Cameron is a part of a small, but mighty team of twelve, made up of people who have been with the company since it began as well as newer employees. As the Customer Happiness Manager and customer service team supervisor, he reports directly to the Director of CX and oversees the work of ten agents actively answering tickets daily. The team does everything that relates to customer service and happiness for the company, which includes answering any questions that anyone has about the company. In addition to working with customers, the team also answers questions that truck drivers and vendors have.

Since day one, the Nathan James team has worked remotely. Team members clock in from all over the world in places like the US, Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, and the Philippines. Cameron likes this method because it allows the team to hire from a wider talent pool.

“As long as you’re good at your job and have what we’re looking for,” he says, “There’s nothing that can stop us from hiring you.”

The company began seven years ago in the E-Commerce space with only one product — a bar stool on Amazon. Since then, the company has grown immensely, and there’s a lot more growth to come.

The CX team handles a large volume of customer tickets and splits it between 10 people. Per month, they receive anywhere from 3,500 to 5,000 emails, over 1,000 calls, and over 500 chats. He says that handling this between only 12 people is pretty incredible.

“It sometimes blows my mind as well,” he says.

Overall, things run smoothly for the team, but Cameron mentions that one challenge is bridging the knowledge gap between the older and newer agents. If someone isn’t used to our way of CX work, it can be a culture shock for them, he says. They have to get used to their work, and it can take some time. 

“People [have to get] comfortable with switching their method of working [and] thinking when it comes to customer service and getting them on the same level of our people who have been here three, four, five, [and] six years,” he says.

Cameron’s team does things a bit differently than other CX teams. While most CX teams follow policies by the book, Cameron encourages his team to go above the company’s policies and treat them as a guideline. Ultimately, the team’s primary goal is to make sure that the customer is happy with the team’s service and the Nathan James furniture in their home. 

“If I have the capability of making you happy with whatever situation, I’m going to do it because that’s my job,” he says. “[Customer happiness] is the name of our department, [and] that’s what we’re here for. There [aren’t] strict limitations that… we have to work within.”

“It’s interesting,” he says about the company’s philosophy. “To be in a corporate space that seems so anti-corporate in that way is cool.”

KPIs Cameron Is Tracking

Cameron looks at all of the normal KPIs, like CSAT and response time. On average, the team’s CSAT stays at 95% and hasn’t fallen behind yet! Because the team knows what works for them, they try not to change much. They’re innovative and constantly looking for newer, better ways of doing things. However, they try not to reinvent the wheel if they don’t need to.

“We’ve figured out what we’re doing,” he says. “We don’t fix what’s not broken.”

When a team member receives a poor review, Cameron has an open conversation with the team member about what happened and what went wrong, but a situation like this is rare to come by. 

Cameron holds high standards for his team’s performance, but there are tools in place that ensure his team members can consistently achieve success.

Tech Stack

Freshworks — Although this platform gets the job done, Cameron wants to transition to a more conversational helpdesk.

Klaviyo

Slack

Prioritizing Proactive CX

Cameron’s team has a help center and uses admin to help create a successful customer experience. When a customer places an order that is worth at least $1,000, the team sends them an automatic email that walks the customer through the process in case any problems arise in the future.

After helping a customer, the team also interviews them to see which aspects of CX need to be fixed, like the website, for instance. This is important to Cameron because the customers have the most accurate insight into whether the team’s service is working or not.

“If we’re not talking to them, we’re not going to know,” he says. “We might think [something] looks [and] works great, but if they have an issue, we need to know about it.”

“At the end of the day, our [Team members] experience matters, but the customer experience is what drives what we do.”

Ultimately, the team is proactive in its customer experience, which is a necessary aspect. It shows the customer that the team is present throughout the entire process.

Driving Revenue Through Customer Experience

Soon, the team will get into the marketing side of CX because they merge very often. Using customer data, the team can see which products they should market. Recently, Cameron, with the help of a Senior CH team member, introduced cross-selling to his team. He encourages his team members to tell customers about matching products within their purchase, which can increase revenue. Although it’s a helpful tool, this isn’t the team’s main goal, Cameron says. 

“As a company, we always strive to just be there if [the customer] needs us. [We’re] honest, but never pushy… That’s one of our biggest things: we’re here to help if you need us, but if you don’t want to buy our furniture, that’s fine.”

Cameron mentions that the team can drive revenue just by providing excellent service because “it speaks for itself, through our thousands of reviews that mention our CH team.” At the end of the day, the team needs to solve the customer’s problem by being kind and helpful. These simple steps result in a lasting impression on each customer the team serves.

Integrating AI into Customer Experience

Cameron and his team are fully on board with AI integration. Although some people may worry that AI will replace agents, he doesn’t think AI is there yet. If anything, the tool is still figuring itself out. Cameron’s team uses AI as a tool for many things, like enhancing customer responses, analyzing QA, and summarizing email interactions. He encourages his team to explore AI and see what it can offer within their CX interactions.

“It’s a great tool for us to make our jobs easier,” he says, “but I don’t think it’s going to be replacing our job anytime soon… It’s just constantly helping. It’s a benefit.”

Advice for CX Leaders

“Know who your team is,” Cameron advises to other CX leaders. He likes to call himself a people manager because he wants to know who he is working with. To be a great leader, you have to prioritize creating a connection with your team members. Although certain leaders & managers might view getting to know their team as merely a duty, Cameron emphasizes his genuine concern for people and always looks forward to getting to know them better, as he truly wants the best for his colleagues, both professionally and personally. 

He mentions that having one-on-one conversations with your team gives you a perspective on what their normal performance is like. In cases when a team member is underperforming, it can be because something is wrong.

“I need to know how [they] are doing in [their] life. At the end of the day, if you’re having something happen in your life, it’s going to affect your work,” he says.

In addition to knowing your team, you also need to know your customers, Cameron says. On top of this, you have to teach your team the importance of knowing your customers, because it enhances the service you provide.

“How can you relate to them when you share completely different cultures? You’re talking in the same language, but your experiences are completely different,” he says. “How can we meet in the middle and make that an enjoyable experience for both parties at the end of the day?”