July 8, 2025 • 26 mins
When half a billion customers interact with your service each year, you gain rare insight into what truly drives—or destroys—customer loyalty. In this CX Pulse Check, Jeannie welcomes Marcus Story, Corporate Director of Customer Experience and Social Customer Care at Delaware North, for a candid conversation about the state of travel and hospitality during the busy summer season.
They take a hard look at American Airlines’ new customer experience advisory board—and the surprising lack of actual customers at the table. Marcus shares why involving real travelers is essential to driving meaningful change, especially as competitors like Delta and United prioritize more customer-focused strategies.
The discussion also explores the evolving role of AI in hospitality. While automation and personalization technologies open new doors, Marcus and Jeannie stress that technology should complement—not replace—genuine human connections. Through personal stories, they highlight how small, thoughtful gestures can leave a lasting impact.
Rounding out the episode, they examine United Airlines’ new airport arrival policy and what it reveals about communication gaps and the overall customer journey. Whether you work in CX or simply love to travel, you’ll walk away with fresh insights on balancing efficiency, innovation, and the timeless value of human touchpoints.
About Marcus Story:
Marcus brings nearly 20 years of experience managing and delivering exceptional customer and guest experiences across hospitality and service industries.
Marcus, who has been a Delaware North team member for 13 years, is the leader of the company’s global customer experience strategy and platform, called GuestPath®. Before Delaware North, Marcus honed his customer experience expertise at well-known organizations like Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and InterContinental Hotels Group.
Aside from his direct experience, Marcus has earned certifications as a Certified Customer Experience Professional (via the Customer Experience Professionals Association) and Lean Six Sigma Green Belt. He attended California State University, Sacramento, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies, and holds a Master of Science in Hospitality Management from California State University, Long Beach.
Follow Marcus on...
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcusstory/
Articles Mentioned:
- American Airlines names members of new Customer Experience Advisory Board (American Airlines Newsroom) -- https://news.aa.com/news/news-details/2025/American-Airlines-names-members-of-new-Customer-Experience-Advisory-Board-MKG-OTH-06/default.aspx
- How AI-powered CX strategies can better meet guest expectations (Hotel Dive) -- https://www.hoteldive.com/news/artificial-intelligence-cx-strategies-hotel-guest/749477/
- United Passengers Are Required to Check In Earlier Starting June 3 (Condé Nast Traveler) -- https://www.cntraveler.com/story/united-airlines-check-in-time-change
Resources Mentioned:
Experience Investigators -- https://experienceinvestigators.com
Want to ask a question? Visit askjeannie.vip to leave Jeannie a voicemail! (And don't forget to follow Jeannie on LinkedIn! www.linkedin.com/in/jeanniewalters/
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jeannie Walters (00:10):
It's the Experience Action Podcast and
it's my favorite episode of themonth.
It is time for CX Pulse Check.
For this CX Pulse Check, we arein the middle of the summer, a
lot of things are heating up andI cannot wait to talk about it
with our special co -host.
It is my absolute pleasure tointroduce you all to Marcus
Story from Delaware North.
(00:31):
Marcus, thank you so much forbeing here and I would love for
our audience to know a littlebit about you.
Marcus Story (00:38):
Well, first and foremost, thank you, Jeannie,
for having me here.
As you said, my name is MarcusStory.
I am the Corporate Director ofCustomer Experience and Social
Customer Care for Delaware North.
My team really focuses onhelping the company to create
and then implement their CXstrategy across our different
business lines as well as we arethe voice of the organization
(01:00):
across our different socialplatforms across the globe.
So get to dilly and dally into alot of different businesses.
Jeannie Walters (01:15):
And I bet that a lot of people may not know
what Delaware North does.
So I would love for you toshare a little bit about that,
because I think it's one ofthose names that doesn't really
describe who you all are.
Marcus Story (01:22):
Yeah, you know that's a question that comes up
all the time, even with myfriends.
I typically tell people you maynot know who Delaware North is,
but chances are you've donebusiness with us.
We serve roughly a half billioncustomers a year across North
America, some locations down inAPAC and then the UK, but some
(01:44):
of our most notable clientswould be Kennedy Space Center
Visitors Complex down in Florida, maybe your local baseball team
, maybe one of those restaurantsor retail stores that you
picked up something on throughyour journey through the airport
, but whether it's here, thereor even Disney, we're typically
there taking care of you.
Jeannie Walters (02:04):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It's a very interesting model.
We've had the pleasure ofworking together for a little
while now and I think what's sofascinating about it is you're
like you mentioned.
It could be in a baseballstadium, you could be at an
airport, and it's all aboutreally serving the people who
are coming through those retailstores, coming through certain
fast, casual restaurants,different places like that, and
(02:27):
it's really about delivering onthe experience.
So it's a tall order, but youdo it well.
And I think you have theperfect name, too, for what you
do with your last name Story,because a lot of it is really.
We want to understand the storyof our customers.
We want to make sure we'reusing storytelling effectively
as customer experience leadersand all of those things.
So I know I've asked you to dothis for a while.
(02:50):
It took us a while to getscheduled, so I'm thrilled that
you're here with me, Marcus, andI can't wait to hear what you
have to say about some of thethings I picked out, because we
talk a lot about travel andhospitality and all of those
things and right now we're inJuly of 2025 now and travel is
hot topic again because thereare things happening with
(03:13):
weather.
They're also expecting peaknumbers even for some of the
upcoming weeks ahead of us and Iknow that my experience
traveling there's just been alot lately and you travel a lot
too, so I know you can relate tothis.
Marcus Story (03:30):
It's not a pleasant experience some days.
Jeannie Walters (03:32):
It's not.
It's not, and I think that partof what I'm seeing and we'll
talk about this too but part ofwhat I'm seeing is that there's
kind of this rush aroundautomation, like we all want to
use automation in all thedifferent ways we can, and I
mean I'm saying this and as abusiness owner, I've said those
words.
I've said like, oh, we need toautomate more and get all
excited about it, but when youare stuck as a traveler, that is
(03:56):
like the last thing you want.
Marcus Story (03:58):
You want to talk to a person.
Jeannie Walters (04:00):
You want to talk to a person, and I think
that part of what is sochallenging about all of this is
we create these experiencesaround kind of the ideal
experience, and then stuffhappens, like weather happens or
whatever, and it's not thatsimple you have to, just
recently, I ended up, instead offlying from Phoenix to
(04:21):
California, I had to go toSeattle to California and then
on the way home, the same thinghappened with my connection, and
so I ended up taking a two hourUber to San Francisco and
flying home that way.
So that's not something you canjust put into a chat, right.
And I also think that there'sthis big move around customer
(04:42):
experience, specifically forairlines.
Like we've heard a lot around,Delta, United has announced that
they're starting to go towardsfree Wi-Fi and some of those
things.
And then the first story Iwanted to talk about with you
today was about AmericanAirlines, who just announced
some new members of what they'recalling the new customer
experience advisory board, butreally it's an extension of
(05:05):
their operations excellenceboard.
So the headline is AmericanAirlines names members of new
customer experience advisoryboard.
This was in the news, but Iactually pulled this from the
American site, their newsroom,to make sure I got that right.
And a couple of things stoodout to me about this.
One is, again, it's anextension of something that's
really about internal operations, and they invited some experts,
(05:29):
but they're people who areformer CEOs of a resort
organization.
There is somebody around theWalt Disney Company, folks like
that but I didn't see anymention of listening to
customers.
I didn't see any mention ofbringing customers in, and that
really struck me.
So I'm just curious what do youthink about this from your
(05:50):
position?
Marcus Story (05:51):
Yeah, we clearly think alike.
Because when I was readingthrough the article, I think
I've told you in the past I didsome work for a period of time
with a power company and even atthe work that we do at Delaware
North, like it's very, veryimportant to talk to your
customers.
So when I first read it my mindimmediately went oh great,
(06:12):
American has set up a customeradvisory board.
And then I went back and read Isaid wait, wait, this is a
customer experience advisoryboard for the operators.
So you know, kudos to them.
I think anyone who, as you said,you travel a lot, I travel a
lot, I'm a United guy, just putthat out there.
But you know I'm also a bit ofan aviation geek.
(06:34):
So I read a lot of the news andAmerican has consistently kind
of fallen to the bottom of thetop three airlines Delta, United
and American and they need tofocus on the experience if they
want to win back those corporatetravelers, which is a lot of
their bread and butter.
So kudos for moving in theright direction.
(06:55):
But I think if they're reallyinterested in understanding what
needs to be done to improve theproduct, improve the service,
then you need to bring somecustomers into that board so
that you can hear what are theyliking, what are they disliking,
what are the pain points?
As you said, we've workedtogether on a couple of journey
mapping projects and in manyways that might be some of the
(07:18):
exercises they need to do.
So American reach out toJeannie.
Jeannie Walters (07:23):
I love it, I love it.
Yeah, and I actually have beenan American frequent flyer for
the last several years, and partof it was because when I
started really flying more thana decade ago regularly, United
was kind of losing a step backthen and so I went to American,
because I'm based in Chicago andthey both have big hubs there,
(07:45):
and now I feel like I'm kind oflooking over at Terminal One and
you know I'm participating intheir little status match
challenge.
So I'm actually flying United afew times just to kind of see
and compare the experience andto see what they offer, and I
will say like there is adifference in the planes.
(08:05):
It feels like the planes aremore modern and newer and things
like that, at least from myexperience so far, and there are
a few other differences that Ithink are interesting.
So I will be watching thiscarefully because I'm really,
for the first time in a longtime, I'm kind of actively
shopping as an airline passenger, because once you get into,
(08:27):
like you said, oh, I'm a Unitedguy, because once you're in it
that's kind of just.
Marcus Story (08:30):
It's hard to get out.
Jeannie Walters (08:32):
It's the knee jerk right, like you're just
like, okay, well, that's whatI'm booking.
And then it becomes this wholecycle of well, I need to do this
for my miles and my loyaltypoints and all that stuff.
So I think that there are somereally interesting things
happening in the space right now.
But I agree, American has tostep up a little bit here.
They have to really figure outwhat can they do to attract
(08:56):
those business, those corporateflyers, as well as just build
that reputation again.
Really, I think it's aboutcredibility and reputation as
well.
So I'll be watching this but Iagree well.
Marcus Story (09:12):
I think one of the most interesting things about
United's turnaround that manypeople don't recognize is their
CEO, Scott Kirby, was the numbertwo at American.
He left American to go toUnited and the first thing he
did if you go back and look atsome of his old articles was he
said we're putting the customerfirst.
So I think that's aninteresting tidbit between the
two.
Jeannie Walters (09:31):
It is.
Well, and I think everybody'sbeen watching too, the big
changes that Ed Bastian at Deltahas made, because he was really
one of the first ones to sayyou know what, some of this just
doesn't make sense for thecustomer, so let's stop doing it
.
Like the free Wi-Fi thing Imean that was revolutionary at
the time because they make somuch off those fees that
(09:54):
everybody thought he was crazy.
But when he did it he also didthat to build their loyalty
program and it worked.
And so United it looks likeUnited is about to take that
step as well and do it in a verysimilar way.
So I think that they're allwatching each other, but for
some reason I feel like Americanis like running a little behind
, like keeping up with them.
Marcus Story (10:16):
They'll get there.
They don't have a choice to.
But no, you're right, Ed atDelta, I read, I shared it with
some leaders too, an article onhim, on how he turned Delta
around and his meticulous focuson some of the most probably
from if you're in finance andprobably mundane tasks like
(10:37):
baggage delivery, because, likebefore, we give people access to
a baggage tracker, we have tomake sure that every bag is
scanned and delivered within 20minutes and work meticulously at
some of the smallest details.
But the devil's in the details,yeah, at least for your
customer, the devil's in thedetails.
If the bag doesn't show up,you've ruined my entire journey.
Jeannie Walters (11:00):
Well and I think that's a great point that
sometimes we want to offer thebells and whistles first, but if
we do that without actuallyjust making sure that the stuff
works the way people expect itto work, like that doesn't do
anybody any good.
So making sure that you arereally understanding what is
happening for the customer, whatis their perception?
How do they actually getthrough it.
(11:21):
It's just so easy not to dothat.
It's so easy to sit in ourprocesses and our procedures and
our assumptions and then say,well, no, look, we've got the
shiny new app, but you need toget the stuff right first.
So that's a really good point.
And so this next one is reallymore about hospitality, but I
(11:42):
think it applies across theboard to a lot of different
industries right now.
I feel like we cannot have aconversation about customer
experience without saying AIwithin 30 minutes, because some
alarm goes off or something.
But this is from Hotel Dive andit's an opinion piece, but the
headline is how AI powered CXstrategies can better meet guest
(12:05):
expectations, and it's reallyabout how hospitality brands are
leaning into using AI.
And again, you travel a lot,but you also have a lot of
expertise in hospitality justbased on what you do.
So what were some of the thingsthat stood out to you, or some
of the questions you have aboutthis?
Marcus Story (12:23):
Yeah, so I think you know I started my career in
the hotel business, so runningsome different properties here
and there.
I really there's two things Ireally appreciated about the
article.
A (12:34):
I think he's spot on about personalization.
Like that is, that is where theexperience has moved to.
That is what our customersexpect is they want something
that's unique and personal tothem.
So we should be able toleverage AI.
I mean, at least I'm on myphone all the time, so if it's
my birthday and I fly you everyweek or I go buy a coffee, you
(12:56):
know at least send me a happybirthday notification.
But it's also taking it to thatnext step and recognizing and I
think this is, as he was kindof I think, leaning towards is
where AI is going to go.
But if you're a businesstraveler and you stay in the
same hotel every week and backin the day it was the front desk
agent knew that you liked room201 at the end of the hall away
(13:20):
from the elevator, but the AIcould be mining that data and
say, hey, let's automaticallyput him in 201 every time he
books, if it's available, or ifyou only sit in the window seat,
but when you go book yourticket, a window seat isn't
available.
How do we move Jeannie to thatwindow seat so that you know, as
long as she's not travelingwith someone else, she's in that
space that she likes?
(13:42):
The second most important thingand I preach this at work, I
think I just preach this in mylife in general is that in the
hospitality industry we'redelivering service and service
still requires that humanconnection.
And I know people are like ohwell, people love doing things
on their own, they love doingsimple tasks on their own, but
(14:05):
at the end of the day, theystill want to be cared for and
we can't lose the human touch,that human connection in the
hospitality business.
So I think, like you said,leverage AI where it makes sense
.
Leverage AI where it canempower our team members to
deliver great service.
Leverage AI to remove some ofthose mundane tasks so that you
(14:29):
can focus on the guests in frontof you, but you have to keep
the human connection in thebusiness.
Jeannie Walters (14:34):
Yeah, I totally agree.
I totally agree and it's also,I think you know there are all
these studies coming out rightnow about how, because people
are getting more isolated intheir kind of daily lives, we
actually need to see strangerssometimes, we need to interact.
There was a grocery store, andI believe it was in the
(14:55):
Netherlands, and they weretrying to speed up everything
all the time, right, likeself-service, and making sure
people were very efficient andtheir cashiers were very
efficient, and they had somemostly elderly customers who
would show up and want to chatwith the cashier and they would
annoy the rest of the people inline, but that was like a really
(15:16):
meaningful moment in their day.
So this grocery store actuallycreated a line just for that,
for like, hey, if you want aconversation, stand in this line
and people do it and they areloyal about it.
And so I also wonder about that, because sometimes you have
those long travel days andsometimes it's really nice just
to have somebody say, hey,welcome, right, like those
(15:38):
little moments.
I don't think we shouldoverlook those as part of the
experience, because, yes, it'seasy to check in on your app and
use your digital key and nottalk to anybody, but I think
that there's something reallyvaluable about making sure even
if somebody's doing that, ifthey're walking in and we know
they're walking in because AI istelling us that is there a way
(15:58):
that we can say like, hey, we'reglad you're here, or here's
that snack that you like, orwhatever.
Years and years and years ago, Iused to have this horrible trip
where I went to a small town inKansas and then I would have to
drive at like 11 o'clock atnight and get to Tulsa and I
always stayed at the Doubletreeand there were, You know, there
(16:20):
was no room service or anything,and there was no Uber Eats back
then.
So but the guy there, after Iwent a couple months, he would
start saving me one of theircookies.
Very small thing, but it meantso much because I would show up
at like one o'clock in themorning, exhausted, and he would
say, oh, I saved this for you,and it's just those little
moments I'm talking about that,you know, 15 years later or
(16:42):
whatever.
So I think that that's anotherthing that we have to look at as
the balance between, yes, wecan automate, we can use AI, and
AI, I think, can sometimesprovide that empathy and
compassion when it's done theright way.
But that human connection isnot just about when things go
wrong.
It's about those moments thatwe have that are just meaningful
(17:03):
and help us feel human in thatmoment as well.
So it's all interesting.
Who knows what's going tohappen when we check into a
hotel in like five years?
Marcus Story (17:13):
I hope there's still some.
I think you should have theoption, if you want, to just
grab your app and go.
But one of the things that weteach a lot of our team members
is that and there's a lot ofresearch on it, but humans like
to hear their name.
And I don't know if AI is evergoing to be able to replace the
soul and warmth of a human,using that DoubleT ree example,
(17:38):
where you go every week or everycouple of weeks and it's you
know.
Hey, Jeannie, welcome back.
I have this cookie for you.
Those are the moments thatbuild loyalty.
There's a gazillion DoubleTreesyou could go stay at.
Jeannie Walters (17:48):
Yeah, it's so, so true.
And I think the other thingthat we know is that people want
to feel remembered andacknowledged and all those
things, and there are so manyways that I think AI and
automation could help peopleremember other people.
Like it's so when, the birthdayexample right, like knowing
(18:12):
that it's your birthday andsomebody saying that that's
meaningful, even if the machinetold them to say that.
Marcus Story (18:18):
So it's only some of us who know behind the
curtain.
Jeannie Walters (18:23):
Right, exactly, and it's still, it's still fun,
you know, to hear that, so Iget it.
Okay, so we've got anotherairline one.
I guess there's a theme here.
This one's a little different,but the I've noticed I'm sure
you've noticed that it used tobe a lot easier to get to the
(18:43):
airport and just check in andget on with your day.
You could do that with lesstime.
I feel like the more experiencedof a traveler I've become, the
more paranoid I've become aboutthe time, because you've seen
things go wrong in all thesedifferent ways, right?
So it used to be that you couldliterally walk in and kind of
(19:04):
approach the gate and as long asyou were like 10 minutes before
you could get on the plane.
But now they're asking you toboard earlier and earlier and
earlier, and so it was kind ofbecoming 30 minutes was the
standard.
United actually just announcedin June this year that they were
going to 45 minutes, and whatstruck me about this was they're
(19:28):
extending the kind of time.
They're extending the time inthe airport, they're extending
the time on the plane, and someof this was in reaction to what
they're calling a viral kind ofTikTok trend.
I had never heard of it becauseapparently I'm 100 years old,
but the whole idea of you have20 minutes basically in the
(19:49):
airport when you get there andyou get straight to your flight.
Now I love that idea and I usedto be one of those travelers
who did not, especially at myhome airport.
I had this game I would playwhere I'm like I'm not going to
sit down, I'm going to givemyself just enough time, where
I'm going to get throughsecurity, and then I'm going to
get to the gate and then it willbe almost time to board, right,
(20:09):
like that was my game.
But then you start seeingthings you see, like, oh my gosh
, why is TSA Pre out the doorthis random Tuesday?
Or why did they pull me asidefour times as the random
security check?
Right, like there's alwayssomething.
So yeah, now that they'reasking people to kind of get
(20:31):
there earlier and earlier, I'mjust wondering, like, what
impact will this have on theexperience?
How will people actually feelabout the journey of flying if
we start getting them earlierand earlier to the airport?
Is that going to have anegative impact, or what do you
think?
Marcus Story (20:48):
I really think it just depends on the traveler.
I really think it just dependson the traveler and I will say
my kind of thoughts around itare influenced by some research
that we conducted maybe abouttwo years ago and really kind of
identified traveler persona soyou can kind of see which person
(21:17):
needs to be there earlier,which person is probably like
that TikTok trend, cutting it tothe very last moment.
so I'll be like I'm usually atthe gate probably an hour before
boarding.
I just I don't like beingrushed, I don't like being
stressed, especially if I'mgoing to miss my flight, because
then you know, as you'retalking again, that can turn
into a whole oh, now you have toconnect or now you have to do
(21:38):
this.
When I first read this article,I kind of again chuckle with
anything that the airlines putout, because there's so many
rules and regulations andlegalese that, as you and I were
talking about in anotherproject recently, it just
becomes wallpaper.
So no one reads it.
So I'm like you know you cantweet and text that all day long
(21:58):
but people are still probablygoing to show up when they think
they should show up.
Yep, I don't know.
If anything, I thinkencouraging people to get there
earlier will put them at greaterease, because you don't have to
worry about the surprise TSApre-check line or a system going
down.
Maybe you have time to grab adrink and sit down before you
(22:20):
get on your plane, but themputting out a press release.
I'd be shocked if I didn't knowabout it until you sent it to
me.
I fly them almost every otherweek.
Jeannie Walters (22:30):
There you go.
They're probably like wait aminute, we know you're on our
list.
Marcus Story (22:35):
Exactly.
Jeannie Walters (22:37):
Yeah, well, and we say this all the time like
people don't read anymore.
They just don't.
And so we have to finddifferent ways to communicate.
If we really want them to careabout what we're saying to
customers, we have to finddifferent ways to communicate,
and communicate in a way that'slike striking the balance, so
that it's often enough wherethey're going to see it, but
(22:59):
it's not overkill where thenthey're going to never want to
hear from us again.
But I agree, I think this wasmore about.
I always feel like maybe I'mcynical, but I'm like is this
because they want more on time?
Or or, like you know, is thisabout them more than the
customer?
And the other thing I wonderabout, though, is people don't
like sitting on planes on theground.
(23:21):
That's like I'm neverclaustrophobic, except the
minute we land that plane, likeI want out of that plane, and I
think I'm not alone, like Ithink people just that feeling
plane.
So I do wonder if we'reextending the boarding time and
getting people on board earlier,is that actually making people
(23:41):
kind of antsier throughout theflight, or all those things?
So I don't know if I have anyanswers here, except I think you
bring up a really good pointabout the messaging.
Like who are we reallymessaging when we send out a
press release about this and howare we really communicating
this and really giving customerskind of the why behind it for
(24:02):
them.
Marcus Story (24:02):
What does this mean?
Jeannie Walters (24:03):
Yeah, yeah,
Marcus Story (24:04):
What does this mean to your average customer?
Because when you first read itit almost seems like so I have
to be checked into the flight 45.
Well, most people check in.
I assume I could be very wrong,but I'm saying most people
check in 24 hours in advance,right?
So it's like the why behind it,the what it means to you, or
else it's just meaninglesscommunication.
Jeannie Walters (24:25):
Yeah exactly.
Marcus Story (24:26):
Save some of your marketing budget.
Jeannie Walters (24:30):
Put in some you know some, I don't know better
snacks or something in theplanes.
But yeah, that's.
I think it's a really goodpoint.
And I think the other thingthat I see all the time is that
we don't necessarily think ofpeople who are like some people
love to read, some people readeverything.
Some people will never readanything you send them.
(24:51):
Some people love videos.
Some people need to hear thingsand see things, like so, when
we're in the actual airports,the way they announce the gate,
the boarding numbers, it's likeif you don't have a visual and
something that people can hear,you're wasting time.
So it's like, maybe there ismore to this than just giving
people a time, maybe it's reallythinking about when is the
(25:16):
right moment to give them theinformation they need and how
can we make that easier and moreconvenient for them so that
they will follow the rules,because they they won't feel
like rules then they'll justfeel like this is, this is
what's in it for me.
So, yeah, well, this was, thiswas fun.
I'm so glad that you were ableto join me after all these
months of trying to schedule andeverything.
(25:37):
But is there anything that, youknow, if people want to reach
out to you, if they want tolearn more about you or Delaware
North or anything you do,what's the best way for them to
do that?
Marcus Story (25:48):
You can reach out to me via LinkedIn.
I will say my LinkedIn isn'tupdated, but it's probably the
easiest way to get in touch withme, so this is a good reminder
that I need to go update myLinkedIn.
Jeannie Walters (25:59):
There you go.
It's a good reminder foreverybody.
Keep your LinkedIn updated.
You never know.
You never know when you'll beinvited to a podcast.
So well, thank you so much forjoining me, thank you for the
great discussion and I'm sure wewill be talking soon.
And thank you to everybody herewho listens, who watches
Experience Action.
We are so thrilled that you do,and don't forget, you can
(26:20):
always leave me a voicemail ataskjeannievip and maybe I'll
answer your question on theExperience Action podcast.
Thanks for being here,everybody.
It's the Experience Action Podcast and
it's my favorite episode of themonth.
It is time for CX Pulse Check.
For this CX Pulse Check, we arein the middle of the summer, a
lot of things are heating up andI cannot wait to talk about it
with our special co -host.
It is my absolute pleasure tointroduce you all to Marcus
Story from Delaware North.
(00:31):
Marcus, thank you so much forbeing here and I would love for
our audience to know a littlebit about you.
Marcus Story (00:38):
Well, first and foremost, thank you, Jeannie,
for having me here.
As you said, my name is MarcusStory.
I am the Corporate Director ofCustomer Experience and Social
Customer Care for Delaware North.
My team really focuses onhelping the company to create
and then implement their CXstrategy across our different
business lines as well as we arethe voice of the organization
(01:00):
across our different socialplatforms across the globe.
So get to dilly and dally into alot of different businesses.
Jeannie Walters (01:15):
And I bet that a lot of people may not know
what Delaware North does.
So I would love for you toshare a little bit about that,
because I think it's one ofthose names that doesn't really
describe who you all are.
Marcus Story (01:22):
Yeah, you know that's a question that comes up
all the time, even with myfriends.
I typically tell people you maynot know who Delaware North is,
but chances are you've donebusiness with us.
We serve roughly a half billioncustomers a year across North
America, some locations down inAPAC and then the UK, but some
(01:44):
of our most notable clientswould be Kennedy Space Center
Visitors Complex down in Florida, maybe your local baseball team
, maybe one of those restaurantsor retail stores that you
picked up something on throughyour journey through the airport
, but whether it's here, thereor even Disney, we're typically
there taking care of you.
Jeannie Walters (02:04):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It's a very interesting model.
We've had the pleasure ofworking together for a little
while now and I think what's sofascinating about it is you're
like you mentioned.
It could be in a baseballstadium, you could be at an
airport, and it's all aboutreally serving the people who
are coming through those retailstores, coming through certain
fast, casual restaurants,different places like that, and
(02:27):
it's really about delivering onthe experience.
So it's a tall order, but youdo it well.
And I think you have theperfect name, too, for what you
do with your last name Story,because a lot of it is really.
We want to understand the storyof our customers.
We want to make sure we'reusing storytelling effectively
as customer experience leadersand all of those things.
So I know I've asked you to dothis for a while.
(02:50):
It took us a while to getscheduled, so I'm thrilled that
you're here with me, Marcus, andI can't wait to hear what you
have to say about some of thethings I picked out, because we
talk a lot about travel andhospitality and all of those
things and right now we're inJuly of 2025 now and travel is
hot topic again because thereare things happening with
(03:13):
weather.
They're also expecting peaknumbers even for some of the
upcoming weeks ahead of us and Iknow that my experience
traveling there's just been alot lately and you travel a lot
too, so I know you can relate tothis.
Marcus Story (03:30):
It's not a pleasant experience some days.
Jeannie Walters (03:32):
It's not.
It's not, and I think that partof what I'm seeing and we'll
talk about this too but part ofwhat I'm seeing is that there's
kind of this rush aroundautomation, like we all want to
use automation in all thedifferent ways we can, and I
mean I'm saying this and as abusiness owner, I've said those
words.
I've said like, oh, we need toautomate more and get all
excited about it, but when youare stuck as a traveler, that is
(03:56):
like the last thing you want.
Marcus Story (03:58):
You want to talk to a person.
Jeannie Walters (04:00):
You want to talk to a person, and I think
that part of what is sochallenging about all of this is
we create these experiencesaround kind of the ideal
experience, and then stuffhappens, like weather happens or
whatever, and it's not thatsimple you have to, just
recently, I ended up, instead offlying from Phoenix to
(04:21):
California, I had to go toSeattle to California and then
on the way home, the same thinghappened with my connection, and
so I ended up taking a two hourUber to San Francisco and
flying home that way.
So that's not something you canjust put into a chat, right.
And I also think that there'sthis big move around customer
(04:42):
experience, specifically forairlines.
Like we've heard a lot around,Delta, United has announced that
they're starting to go towardsfree Wi-Fi and some of those
things.
And then the first story Iwanted to talk about with you
today was about AmericanAirlines, who just announced
some new members of what they'recalling the new customer
experience advisory board, butreally it's an extension of
(05:05):
their operations excellenceboard.
So the headline is AmericanAirlines names members of new
customer experience advisoryboard.
This was in the news, but Iactually pulled this from the
American site, their newsroom,to make sure I got that right.
And a couple of things stoodout to me about this.
One is, again, it's anextension of something that's
really about internal operations, and they invited some experts,
(05:29):
but they're people who areformer CEOs of a resort
organization.
There is somebody around theWalt Disney Company, folks like
that but I didn't see anymention of listening to
customers.
I didn't see any mention ofbringing customers in, and that
really struck me.
So I'm just curious what do youthink about this from your
(05:50):
position?
Marcus Story (05:51):
Yeah, we clearly think alike.
Because when I was readingthrough the article, I think
I've told you in the past I didsome work for a period of time
with a power company and even atthe work that we do at Delaware
North, like it's very, veryimportant to talk to your
customers.
So when I first read it my mindimmediately went oh great,
(06:12):
American has set up a customeradvisory board.
And then I went back and read Isaid wait, wait, this is a
customer experience advisoryboard for the operators.
So you know, kudos to them.
I think anyone who, as you said,you travel a lot, I travel a
lot, I'm a United guy, just putthat out there.
But you know I'm also a bit ofan aviation geek.
(06:34):
So I read a lot of the news andAmerican has consistently kind
of fallen to the bottom of thetop three airlines Delta, United
and American and they need tofocus on the experience if they
want to win back those corporatetravelers, which is a lot of
their bread and butter.
So kudos for moving in theright direction.
(06:55):
But I think if they're reallyinterested in understanding what
needs to be done to improve theproduct, improve the service,
then you need to bring somecustomers into that board so
that you can hear what are theyliking, what are they disliking,
what are the pain points?
As you said, we've workedtogether on a couple of journey
mapping projects and in manyways that might be some of the
(07:18):
exercises they need to do.
So American reach out toJeannie.
Jeannie Walters (07:23):
I love it, I love it.
Yeah, and I actually have beenan American frequent flyer for
the last several years, and partof it was because when I
started really flying more thana decade ago regularly, United
was kind of losing a step backthen and so I went to American,
because I'm based in Chicago andthey both have big hubs there,
(07:45):
and now I feel like I'm kind oflooking over at Terminal One and
you know I'm participating intheir little status match
challenge.
So I'm actually flying United afew times just to kind of see
and compare the experience andto see what they offer, and I
will say like there is adifference in the planes.
(08:05):
It feels like the planes aremore modern and newer and things
like that, at least from myexperience so far, and there are
a few other differences that Ithink are interesting.
So I will be watching thiscarefully because I'm really,
for the first time in a longtime, I'm kind of actively
shopping as an airline passenger, because once you get into,
(08:27):
like you said, oh, I'm a Unitedguy, because once you're in it
that's kind of just.
Marcus Story (08:30):
It's hard to get out.
Jeannie Walters (08:32):
It's the knee jerk right, like you're just
like, okay, well, that's whatI'm booking.
And then it becomes this wholecycle of well, I need to do this
for my miles and my loyaltypoints and all that stuff.
So I think that there are somereally interesting things
happening in the space right now.
But I agree, American has tostep up a little bit here.
They have to really figure outwhat can they do to attract
(08:56):
those business, those corporateflyers, as well as just build
that reputation again.
Really, I think it's aboutcredibility and reputation as
well.
So I'll be watching this but Iagree well.
Marcus Story (09:12):
I think one of the most interesting things about
United's turnaround that manypeople don't recognize is their
CEO, Scott Kirby, was the numbertwo at American.
He left American to go toUnited and the first thing he
did if you go back and look atsome of his old articles was he
said we're putting the customerfirst.
So I think that's aninteresting tidbit between the
two.
Jeannie Walters (09:31):
It is.
Well, and I think everybody'sbeen watching too, the big
changes that Ed Bastian at Deltahas made, because he was really
one of the first ones to sayyou know what, some of this just
doesn't make sense for thecustomer, so let's stop doing it
.
Like the free Wi-Fi thing Imean that was revolutionary at
the time because they make somuch off those fees that
(09:54):
everybody thought he was crazy.
But when he did it he also didthat to build their loyalty
program and it worked.
And so United it looks likeUnited is about to take that
step as well and do it in a verysimilar way.
So I think that they're allwatching each other, but for
some reason I feel like Americanis like running a little behind
, like keeping up with them.
Marcus Story (10:16):
They'll get there.
They don't have a choice to.
But no, you're right, Ed atDelta, I read, I shared it with
some leaders too, an article onhim, on how he turned Delta
around and his meticulous focuson some of the most probably
from if you're in finance andprobably mundane tasks like
(10:37):
baggage delivery, because, likebefore, we give people access to
a baggage tracker, we have tomake sure that every bag is
scanned and delivered within 20minutes and work meticulously at
some of the smallest details.
But the devil's in the details,yeah, at least for your
customer, the devil's in thedetails.
If the bag doesn't show up,you've ruined my entire journey.
Jeannie Walters (11:00):
Well and I think that's a great point that
sometimes we want to offer thebells and whistles first, but if
we do that without actuallyjust making sure that the stuff
works the way people expect itto work, like that doesn't do
anybody any good.
So making sure that you arereally understanding what is
happening for the customer, whatis their perception?
How do they actually getthrough it.
(11:21):
It's just so easy not to dothat.
It's so easy to sit in ourprocesses and our procedures and
our assumptions and then say,well, no, look, we've got the
shiny new app, but you need toget the stuff right first.
So that's a really good point.
And so this next one is reallymore about hospitality, but I
(11:42):
think it applies across theboard to a lot of different
industries right now.
I feel like we cannot have aconversation about customer
experience without saying AIwithin 30 minutes, because some
alarm goes off or something.
But this is from Hotel Dive andit's an opinion piece, but the
headline is how AI powered CXstrategies can better meet guest
(12:05):
expectations, and it's reallyabout how hospitality brands are
leaning into using AI.
And again, you travel a lot,but you also have a lot of
expertise in hospitality justbased on what you do.
So what were some of the thingsthat stood out to you, or some
of the questions you have aboutthis?
Marcus Story (12:23):
Yeah, so I think you know I started my career in
the hotel business, so runningsome different properties here
and there.
I really there's two things Ireally appreciated about the
article.
A (12:34):
I think he's spot on about personalization.
Like that is, that is where theexperience has moved to.
That is what our customersexpect is they want something
that's unique and personal tothem.
So we should be able toleverage AI.
I mean, at least I'm on myphone all the time, so if it's
my birthday and I fly you everyweek or I go buy a coffee, you
(12:56):
know at least send me a happybirthday notification.
But it's also taking it to thatnext step and recognizing and I
think this is, as he was kindof I think, leaning towards is
where AI is going to go.
But if you're a businesstraveler and you stay in the
same hotel every week and backin the day it was the front desk
agent knew that you liked room201 at the end of the hall away
(13:20):
from the elevator, but the AIcould be mining that data and
say, hey, let's automaticallyput him in 201 every time he
books, if it's available, or ifyou only sit in the window seat,
but when you go book yourticket, a window seat isn't
available.
How do we move Jeannie to thatwindow seat so that you know, as
long as she's not travelingwith someone else, she's in that
space that she likes?
(13:42):
The second most important thingand I preach this at work, I
think I just preach this in mylife in general is that in the
hospitality industry we'redelivering service and service
still requires that humanconnection.
And I know people are like ohwell, people love doing things
on their own, they love doingsimple tasks on their own, but
(14:05):
at the end of the day, theystill want to be cared for and
we can't lose the human touch,that human connection in the
hospitality business.
So I think, like you said,leverage AI where it makes sense
.
Leverage AI where it canempower our team members to
deliver great service.
Leverage AI to remove some ofthose mundane tasks so that you
(14:29):
can focus on the guests in frontof you, but you have to keep
the human connection in thebusiness.
Jeannie Walters (14:34):
Yeah, I totally agree.
I totally agree and it's also,I think you know there are all
these studies coming out rightnow about how, because people
are getting more isolated intheir kind of daily lives, we
actually need to see strangerssometimes, we need to interact.
There was a grocery store, andI believe it was in the
(14:55):
Netherlands, and they weretrying to speed up everything
all the time, right, likeself-service, and making sure
people were very efficient andtheir cashiers were very
efficient, and they had somemostly elderly customers who
would show up and want to chatwith the cashier and they would
annoy the rest of the people inline, but that was like a really
(15:16):
meaningful moment in their day.
So this grocery store actuallycreated a line just for that,
for like, hey, if you want aconversation, stand in this line
and people do it and they areloyal about it.
And so I also wonder about that, because sometimes you have
those long travel days andsometimes it's really nice just
to have somebody say, hey,welcome, right, like those
(15:38):
little moments.
I don't think we shouldoverlook those as part of the
experience, because, yes, it'seasy to check in on your app and
use your digital key and nottalk to anybody, but I think
that there's something reallyvaluable about making sure even
if somebody's doing that, ifthey're walking in and we know
they're walking in because AI istelling us that is there a way
(15:58):
that we can say like, hey, we'reglad you're here, or here's
that snack that you like, orwhatever.
Years and years and years ago, Iused to have this horrible trip
where I went to a small town inKansas and then I would have to
drive at like 11 o'clock atnight and get to Tulsa and I
always stayed at the Doubletreeand there were, You know, there
(16:20):
was no room service or anything,and there was no Uber Eats back
then.
So but the guy there, after Iwent a couple months, he would
start saving me one of theircookies.
Very small thing, but it meantso much because I would show up
at like one o'clock in themorning, exhausted, and he would
say, oh, I saved this for you,and it's just those little
moments I'm talking about that,you know, 15 years later or
(16:42):
whatever.
So I think that that's anotherthing that we have to look at as
the balance between, yes, wecan automate, we can use AI, and
AI, I think, can sometimesprovide that empathy and
compassion when it's done theright way.
But that human connection isnot just about when things go
wrong.
It's about those moments thatwe have that are just meaningful
(17:03):
and help us feel human in thatmoment as well.
So it's all interesting.
Who knows what's going tohappen when we check into a
hotel in like five years?
Marcus Story (17:13):
I hope there's still some.
I think you should have theoption, if you want, to just
grab your app and go.
But one of the things that weteach a lot of our team members
is that and there's a lot ofresearch on it, but humans like
to hear their name.
And I don't know if AI is evergoing to be able to replace the
soul and warmth of a human,using that DoubleT ree example,
(17:38):
where you go every week or everycouple of weeks and it's you
know.
Hey, Jeannie, welcome back.
I have this cookie for you.
Those are the moments thatbuild loyalty.
There's a gazillion DoubleTreesyou could go stay at.
Jeannie Walters (17:48):
Yeah, it's so, so true.
And I think the other thingthat we know is that people want
to feel remembered andacknowledged and all those
things, and there are so manyways that I think AI and
automation could help peopleremember other people.
Like it's so when, the birthdayexample right, like knowing
(18:12):
that it's your birthday andsomebody saying that that's
meaningful, even if the machinetold them to say that.
Marcus Story (18:18):
So it's only some of us who know behind the
curtain.
Jeannie Walters (18:23):
Right, exactly, and it's still, it's still fun,
you know, to hear that, so Iget it.
Okay, so we've got anotherairline one.
I guess there's a theme here.
This one's a little different,but the I've noticed I'm sure
you've noticed that it used tobe a lot easier to get to the
(18:43):
airport and just check in andget on with your day.
You could do that with lesstime.
I feel like the more experiencedof a traveler I've become, the
more paranoid I've become aboutthe time, because you've seen
things go wrong in all thesedifferent ways, right?
So it used to be that you couldliterally walk in and kind of
(19:04):
approach the gate and as long asyou were like 10 minutes before
you could get on the plane.
But now they're asking you toboard earlier and earlier and
earlier, and so it was kind ofbecoming 30 minutes was the
standard.
United actually just announcedin June this year that they were
going to 45 minutes, and whatstruck me about this was they're
(19:28):
extending the kind of time.
They're extending the time inthe airport, they're extending
the time on the plane, and someof this was in reaction to what
they're calling a viral kind ofTikTok trend.
I had never heard of it becauseapparently I'm 100 years old,
but the whole idea of you have20 minutes basically in the
(19:49):
airport when you get there andyou get straight to your flight.
Now I love that idea and I usedto be one of those travelers
who did not, especially at myhome airport.
I had this game I would playwhere I'm like I'm not going to
sit down, I'm going to givemyself just enough time, where
I'm going to get throughsecurity, and then I'm going to
get to the gate and then it willbe almost time to board, right,
(20:09):
like that was my game.
But then you start seeingthings you see, like, oh my gosh
, why is TSA Pre out the doorthis random Tuesday?
Or why did they pull me asidefour times as the random
security check?
Right, like there's alwayssomething.
So yeah, now that they'reasking people to kind of get
(20:31):
there earlier and earlier, I'mjust wondering, like, what
impact will this have on theexperience?
How will people actually feelabout the journey of flying if
we start getting them earlierand earlier to the airport?
Is that going to have anegative impact, or what do you
think?
Marcus Story (20:48):
I really think it just depends on the traveler.
I really think it just dependson the traveler and I will say
my kind of thoughts around itare influenced by some research
that we conducted maybe abouttwo years ago and really kind of
identified traveler persona soyou can kind of see which person
(21:17):
needs to be there earlier,which person is probably like
that TikTok trend, cutting it tothe very last moment.
so I'll be like I'm usually atthe gate probably an hour before
boarding.
I just I don't like beingrushed, I don't like being
stressed, especially if I'mgoing to miss my flight, because
then you know, as you'retalking again, that can turn
into a whole oh, now you have toconnect or now you have to do
(21:38):
this.
When I first read this article,I kind of again chuckle with
anything that the airlines putout, because there's so many
rules and regulations andlegalese that, as you and I were
talking about in anotherproject recently, it just
becomes wallpaper.
So no one reads it.
So I'm like you know you cantweet and text that all day long
(21:58):
but people are still probablygoing to show up when they think
they should show up.
Yep, I don't know.
If anything, I thinkencouraging people to get there
earlier will put them at greaterease, because you don't have to
worry about the surprise TSApre-check line or a system going
down.
Maybe you have time to grab adrink and sit down before you
(22:20):
get on your plane, but themputting out a press release.
I'd be shocked if I didn't knowabout it until you sent it to
me.
I fly them almost every otherweek.
Jeannie Walters (22:30):
There you go.
They're probably like wait aminute, we know you're on our
list.
Marcus Story (22:35):
Exactly.
Jeannie Walters (22:37):
Yeah, well, and we say this all the time like
people don't read anymore.
They just don't.
And so we have to finddifferent ways to communicate.
If we really want them to careabout what we're saying to
customers, we have to finddifferent ways to communicate,
and communicate in a way that'slike striking the balance, so
that it's often enough wherethey're going to see it, but
(22:59):
it's not overkill where thenthey're going to never want to
hear from us again.
But I agree, I think this wasmore about.
I always feel like maybe I'mcynical, but I'm like is this
because they want more on time?
Or or, like you know, is thisabout them more than the
customer?
And the other thing I wonderabout, though, is people don't
like sitting on planes on theground.
(23:21):
That's like I'm neverclaustrophobic, except the
minute we land that plane, likeI want out of that plane, and I
think I'm not alone, like Ithink people just that feeling
plane.
So I do wonder if we'reextending the boarding time and
getting people on board earlier,is that actually making people
(23:41):
kind of antsier throughout theflight, or all those things?
So I don't know if I have anyanswers here, except I think you
bring up a really good pointabout the messaging.
Like who are we reallymessaging when we send out a
press release about this and howare we really communicating
this and really giving customerskind of the why behind it for
(24:02):
them.
Marcus Story (24:02):
What does this mean?
Jeannie Walters (24:03):
Yeah, yeah,
Marcus Story (24:04):
What does this mean to your average customer?
Because when you first read itit almost seems like so I have
to be checked into the flight 45.
Well, most people check in.
I assume I could be very wrong,but I'm saying most people
check in 24 hours in advance,right?
So it's like the why behind it,the what it means to you, or
else it's just meaninglesscommunication.
Jeannie Walters (24:25):
Yeah exactly.
Marcus Story (24:26):
Save some of your marketing budget.
Jeannie Walters (24:30):
Put in some you know some, I don't know better
snacks or something in theplanes.
But yeah, that's.
I think it's a really goodpoint.
And I think the other thingthat I see all the time is that
we don't necessarily think ofpeople who are like some people
love to read, some people readeverything.
Some people will never readanything you send them.
(24:51):
Some people love videos.
Some people need to hear thingsand see things, like so, when
we're in the actual airports,the way they announce the gate,
the boarding numbers, it's likeif you don't have a visual and
something that people can hear,you're wasting time.
So it's like, maybe there ismore to this than just giving
people a time, maybe it's reallythinking about when is the
(25:16):
right moment to give them theinformation they need and how
can we make that easier and moreconvenient for them so that
they will follow the rules,because they they won't feel
like rules then they'll justfeel like this is, this is
what's in it for me.
So, yeah, well, this was, thiswas fun.
I'm so glad that you were ableto join me after all these
months of trying to schedule andeverything.
(25:37):
But is there anything that, youknow, if people want to reach
out to you, if they want tolearn more about you or Delaware
North or anything you do,what's the best way for them to
do that?
Marcus Story (25:48):
You can reach out to me via LinkedIn.
I will say my LinkedIn isn'tupdated, but it's probably the
easiest way to get in touch withme, so this is a good reminder
that I need to go update myLinkedIn.
Jeannie Walters (25:59):
There you go.
It's a good reminder foreverybody.
Keep your LinkedIn updated.
You never know.
You never know when you'll beinvited to a podcast.
So well, thank you so much forjoining me, thank you for the
great discussion and I'm sure wewill be talking soon.
And thank you to everybody herewho listens, who watches
Experience Action.
We are so thrilled that you do,and don't forget, you can
(26:20):
always leave me a voicemail ataskjeannievip and maybe I'll
answer your question on theExperience Action podcast.
Thanks for being here,everybody.
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Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.