Not every customer wants to be delighted. Sometimes, they just want things to work.
That’s one of many powerful lessons from our latest episode of How to Love a Customer, where we dive into the messy, unexpected, and often delightful world of customer experience.
🎙️ In Episode 3, our CEO & Co-Founder Mikhail Dubov sat down with Julia Zuber, Customer Insights Lead at Limehome - a tech-driven hospitality brand redefining hotel stays with style, comfort, and contactless convenience.
🔑 Key Takeaways from the Episode
1. Feedback is Everywhere — But Most Companies Ignore It
Julia’s career started with a mix of curiosity and frustration. At past companies, she noticed mountains of customer feedback left unused, often ignored because it didn’t match internal assumptions.
At Limehome, she was empowered to build a feedback engine from scratch and uncovered one truth again and again: the most valuable insights are hidden in everyday complaints, if you’re willing to dig.
“There was a mountain of guest feedback, but no structured way to make use of it. For me, that was the best work playground I could imagine.”
— Julia Zuber
Julia shares how her early CX frustrations led to a mission-driven approach at Limehome, where feedback became a core business asset.
2. A Pillow Problem That Changed Everything
One of Julia’s favorite stories? A spike in negative reviews about guest sleep — even though Limehome used high-quality beds.
The culprit? The pillows. Guests found them too big or too hard. It was a small detail that was scattered across surveys, reviews, and support tickets. But when Julia’s team dug in, they uncovered a pattern.
Their solution:
- Pilot better pillows in select rooms
- Monitor feedback sentiment in real-time
- Scale the winning pillow across properties
“It was just a pillow, but it affected how people slept, which shaped how they felt about their entire stay.”
Hear how one overlooked item caused a ripple effect across guest satisfaction and how fixing it lifted review scores and reduced support volume.
3. CX Wins Happen When You Act on Small Signals, Fast
Limehome empowers its frontline teams with real-time alerts - including context like room number and property - so they can take proactive action without waiting for approvals. That means faster fixes and happier guests.
The backbone of this system is combining Chattermill-powered insight surfacing with a company-wide culture of ownership and responsiveness.
“Our teams get actionable intelligence, not just feedback. That’s how they can spot issues and fix them before they grow.”
Julia explains how frontline teams at Limehome get tailored, context-rich insights to act fast, without bottlenecks.
💬 Bonus Hot Takes from Julia
🎯 Best CX Advice:
“Catch the small signals before they become big problems.”
🧠 Favorite Brand in CX?
Too Good To Go - for making a chaotic system (unsold food + local vendors) feel seamless and intuitive.
🔥 Trend to Retire?
Delight.
“Most guests just want things to work. Consistency beats surprise.”
Why This Episode Matters
The hospitality industry is built on trust and trust is built on consistency.
Limehome proves that real-time feedback analysis, paired with a bias for action, can turn overlooked details into competitive advantages.
Even if you're not in hospitality, this episode is a playbook for:
- Structuring your feedback loop
- Empowering cross-functional teams
- Proving ROI on CX investments
🎧 Listen to How to Love a Customer
If you work in CX, Product, Operations, or Customer Insights, this podcast is for you.
Each episode brings:
- Real customer stories
- Practical lessons
- Insights you can use immediately
🎙️ Episode 3 with Julia Zuber is live now.
Episode notes
00:00 — Why Julia Fell in Love With Customer Insights
Drawn to the “why” behind behaviour — and frustrated by companies ignoring feedback — Julia finds her calling in CX.
01:30 — What Limehome Is & Why CX Matters Even More in Hospitality
A tech-driven, contactless hospitality brand with 5,000+ units across Europe. Guest feedback, ratings, and consistency directly shape growth.
03:30 — Competition, Reviews & The Power of Experience
In a world of Booking.com and Airbnb comparisons, ratings are the industry’s “thumbs up or down.” CX becomes a key differentiator.
05:00 — What Business Travellers Really Want
Not luxury — home. Kitchens, workspace, comfort, and a sense of living, not just staying.
07:00 — The Pillow Story: A Small Problem With a Big CX Impact
Sleep complaints spike. Beds are fine — but pillows are too big or too hard. A simple insight with huge consequences.
10:30 — Fixing It Fast: Testing → Rolling Out → Results
A pilot with upgraded pillows leads to immediate improvement in sleep-related sentiment. Rolled out across all properties. Better reviews, fewer tickets.
12:30 — Why Small Signals Matter
Minor issues become major CX destroyers. Limehome’s mix of structure (feedback categorisation) and curiosity uncovers patterns early.
14:30 — Culture: Guest-Centricity + Fast Execution
Despite being a one-person insights team, Julia plugs into ops, procurement, and property teams who act quickly without bureaucracy.
16:00 — Empowering Local Teams With Real-Time Insights
Using Chattermill alerts enriched with metadata (location, room, channel) allows frontline teams to fix issues before ratings drop.
18:00 — Proving the ROI of Customer Insights
Early on, Julia had to justify investment — but demonstrating time saved, scalable insights, and higher guest satisfaction made the case undeniable.
21:00 — Hot Take: Retire “Delight”
Guests don’t always need surprises — they need things to work. Consistency > fireworks.
22:00 — Brand That Nails CX
Too Good To Go — turning a complex operational model into a simple, intuitive customer app.
23:00 — What Hospitality Still Gets Wrong
Seeing support as a cost centre instead of a growth lever. Agents hold truth, context, and insight long before reviews show it.
25:00 — On AI in Support
Promising, but only if customers still feel heard. Limehome is experimenting with chatbots — but human + AI collaboration is key.
