In this episode of Get Out of Wrap, Martin is joined by David Paulding, Global Sales & Growth expert at Nextiva.

David shares his career journey from the early days of contact centres in the 90s through to driving international growth today. Together, Martin and David explore:

• Why many organisations are still struggling with the same customer service challenges they faced decades ago.

• The role of AI in customer experience—its potential, the hype, and the reality.

• How companies can avoid “Frankenstack” systems and instead build integrated, digital-first platforms.

• The importance of partnership, ongoing service, and business outcomes over shiny features.

• Why Nextiva is taking a different approach with Unified Customer Experience (UCXM).

The conversation also touches on music, battle-of-the-bands stories, and what the next five years of contact centres may look like.

👉 Tune in to hear practical insights into digital transformation, customer experience, and leadership from one of the industry’s most experienced voices.

In this episode, Martin kicks off September with an interactive live discussion packed with insight, humour, and community spirit.

We start by sharing what’s on everyone’s bucket list — from swimming with great white sharks to playing football on Copacabana Beach — before diving into today’s big industry question:

👉 Customers want quick resolutions and short wait times. So why is it still so hard for contact centres to deliver this?

Together with the live audience, we explore:

• The role of planning, training, and empowering frontline teams

• Why agent autonomy can make or break first-time resolution

• The impact of over-engineered customer journeys and disconnected channels

• The growing influence of AI, automation, and web chat trends

• How focusing less on AHT and more on customer outcomes can transform satisfaction

We also look at fresh research from ContactBabel’s UK Contact Centre Decision Makers’ Guide 2025, discussing web chat vs. inbound calls, automation levels, and the reality of self-service adoption.

As always, the conversation is lively, honest, and driven by the amazing GOOW community.

🔗 If you work in contact centres, this episode will get you thinking differently about how we balance speed, quality, and customer expectations.

Your weekly contact centre show.

Today we chatted about what is missing from the contact centre and CX world.

Then we chatted about channel mix.

To take part in the show head to Linkedin on a Tuesday at 10am