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Chat with customers in real-time or anytime on your website
Start the conversation with automation, increase agent efficiency, triage, & more
Protect your brand & drive loyalty across social media and review site
Orchestrate social campaigns that drive business results
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Find, curate, and share the best social media content
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Supercharge agents with AI tools & intuitive workflows
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Drive higher conversion rates and more revenue
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Cutting-edge tech to innovate and inform your customers
Deep insights to keep a pulse on customer demands
Real-time capabilities to stay connected with consumers
An integrated platform to nurture the customer journey
Our in-house experts in social media and community management for Khoros customers
More than onboarding and implementation, this is where our partnership begins
Increase satisfaction and improve product adoption with complimentary training.
CX Confessions, the definitive podcast for digital CX leaders
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Join us for webinars and in-person events
Insights, tips, news, and more from our team to yours
Case studies with successful customers to see how they did it
Connect with 70K+ customer engagement professionals
A customer experience podcast with Khoros Customers
Check out our social content and follow us on every major platform
20+ years experience, built from Spredfast and Lithium
Meet the team that leads the team
Press releases and other announcements
Data integrations for better customer experience
We’re hiring — come build the future of customer experience
Need anything? We’re here for you
Our commitment to do more and do better
Digital-first, omnichannel platform built for enterprises
Agent efficiency, automation, and operational insights
Self-service support, education, and collaboration
Content management, publishing, and governance
Create a space for customers to get answers, connect with peers, and share new ideas
Connect with customers on SMS, Messenger, WhatsApp, & more
Chat with customers in real-time or anytime on your website
Start the conversation with automation, increase agent efficiency, triage, & more
Protect your brand & drive loyalty across social media and review site
Orchestrate social campaigns that drive business results
Understand social trends from customers, the market, and competitors
Find, curate, and share the best social media content
Deflect inquiries to messaging channels and self-service communities
Automate conversations with our intuitive drag-and-drop platform
Supercharge agents with AI tools & intuitive workflows
Build brand awareness with a user-generated knowledge hub
Drive higher conversion rates and more revenue
Secure solutions to keep customer information safe
Cutting-edge tech to innovate and inform your customers
Deep insights to keep a pulse on customer demands
Real-time capabilities to stay connected with consumers
An integrated platform to nurture the customer journey
Our in-house experts in social media and community management for Khoros customers
More than onboarding and implementation, this is where our partnership begins
Increase satisfaction and improve product adoption with complimentary training.
CX Confessions, the definitive podcast for digital CX leaders
Guides, tipsheets, ebooks, on-demand webinars, & more
Integrations to connect with your customers, wherever they are
Technical overviews and links to developer documentation
Join us for webinars and in-person events
Insights, tips, news, and more from our team to yours
Case studies with successful customers to see how they did it
Connect with 70K+ customer engagement professionals
A customer experience podcast with Khoros Customers
Check out our social content and follow us on every major platform
20+ years experience, built from Spredfast and Lithium
Meet the team that leads the team
Press releases and other announcements
Data integrations for better customer experience
We’re hiring — come build the future of customer experience
Need anything? We’re here for you
Our commitment to do more and do better
CX Confessions | Episode 14
Guest | LINDA GOLDSTEIN
When tragedy strikes, people tend to spiral into anxiety and be overwhelmed—that's human nature. But, what if there was a way to ease that burden? It comes down to humanizing the process of filing claims, and insurance companies have a sizable impact on what that experience will look like for all involved. This is what we discuss with Linda Goldstein, Chief Marketing Officer at CSAA Insurance Group.
In this episode, Linda Goldstein, Chief Marketing Officer at CSAA Insurance Group, explains the importance of personal touch, respecting data, and why you need to leverage a customer effort score.
We discuss:
Bringing the human touch into insurance claims
Being respectful of people's data/how you use it
Leveraging NPS results and customer effort scores
Linda Goldstein leads all aspects of marketing, including digital marketing, external affairs and brand management, marketing analytics, market research, customer-experience management, data strategy, and direct marketing. She was previously vice president of marketing channels and partners for CSAA Insurance Group, where she developed new marketing and analytics capabilities and led integrated marketing plans to support insurance growth for AAA club partners. Prior to joining CSAA Insurance Group, Ms. Goldstein had a 17-year career with Citigroup, where she held various senior executive marketing positions. She has a bachelor’s degree from Boston University and an MBA from Fordham University. She is past president of the board of directors for Berkeley Humane.
The customer needs to be at the beginning, the middle, and the end of every discussion.
— Linda Goldstein
If you address the customer pain point, you'll get the business outcome that you desire.
— Linda Goldstein
I learned early that you have to be super respectful of people's information. You have to use it in a way in which it doesn't create anxiety or fear.
— Linda Goldstein
INTRO:
You're listening to CX Confessions, brought to you by Khoros. In each episode, we’ll share the customer experience stories and insights you need — straight from the sharpest minds in CX — to better connect with your customers and create customers for life. Let's start the show.
KATHERINE CALVERT:
Hello, hello, and welcome back to CX Confessions. How you doing, Spike Jones?
SPIKE JONES:
I'm doing fantastic. It’s getting near the holidays, getting excited. How are you?
KATHERINE CALVERT:
I am great. It is so good to be back. I'm Katherine Calvert, CMO for Khoros. And as always, I am joined by my trusty partner in crime, Mr. Spike Jones, General Manager of our Strategic Services practice.
SPIKE JONES:
That’s me.
KATHERINE CALVERT:
That's you. We have a very special guest today. Another one of our illustrious experts here to share a perspective on what CX should look like, can look like, maybe shouldn’t look like. Our special guest today is Ms. Linda Goldstein.
So let me tell you a little bit about Linda. She runs marketing for CSAA Insurance Group that is one of only three insurance providers that underwrite AAA, right, so they cover AAA insurance in over 23 states and the District of Columbia. It is a massive company. She leads all aspects of marketing, including digital, external affairs, brand management, analytics, research strategy, direct marketing. Before joining CSAA, she was at Citi Group for almost, well, over 15 years.
Okay, lots of senior marketing positions there. She hails from the East Coast, but she's with me out here on the West Coast and it is going to be a really fun conversation. Linda, welcome to the show.
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
Thank you. Good to be here.
KATHERINE CALVERT:
We are thrilled to have you here. I'm not sure I did it full justice. So tell us a little bit more about CSAA — its purpose. Why are you there? What do you love about it?
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
So CSAA Insurance Group is one of the companies that provides automobile and home and umbrella coverage for AAA members in 23 states and the District of Columbia. It's over 100 years old. We've been providing insurance services to AAA members, which is a pretty long time. And we are, what I would say is, a purpose-driven organization. We believe, and we articulate, that our enduring purpose is to help members prepare, prevent, and recover from life’s uncertainty. So it's a noble profession to be there when you make a promise and deliver on that promise. And in our case, the promise is when something not so good happens to your home or your auto. So that is kind of in a short nugget what we do.
SPIKE JONES:
I really love the perspective that you're going to bring today. And I remember some of the anecdotes that you shared in the pre-call, and you know the industry that you're in, it's super interesting because it's one of the things most everyone's familiar with, but it's also one of the things, it's like you don't really think about it until you need it. Kind of like the electricity in Austin in the wintertime.
So Linda, we talk a lot at CX Confessions about CX — that idea of customer experience, which is a huge concept. I know. It means so many different things to so many different people. Can you talk a little bit about your perspective and how y'all bring that to life?
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
I certainly can. Customer experience — it is a big bucket of stuff to unpack. I think the way we think about it is really it's about the journeys that our customers are on. And they're on multiple journeys that span their lifetime with us. And so thinking about, how do we deliver against the brand expectations and customer expectations in those experiences each and every time at the moments of truth — is how we think about designing and executing those experiences.
We measure them in many different ways. But one of the most important things that we do around CX is we really try to bring the customer to the beginning, the middle, and the end of all of our decision making. And by that I mean we're always balancing within our business world the different sets of needs and desires, but always making sure that we are deliberately bringing the customer view into that discussion and that decision making process so that it is always considered and that we always have the appropriate plan to address.
KATHERINE CALVERT:
I, that is so interesting, because I think that we talk a lot on the show about how, about the way those daily expectations have been so fundamentally changed because of some of those retailers you just named, for example. But I think about the business you're in and and you talked about, you know, from the very beginning of the buyer's journey, but the moment that they really need you can be incredibly vulnerable or emotional. It's not like we're logging onto a website to go find a new pair of shoes. I really need help. Something terrible might have happened. So it becomes much more volatile, that moment. How do you think about, or what are the — and certainly for many of the customers you’ve faced, it's been a tough few years. How do you think about those moments that are so fraught sometimes and bringing that member-first orientation?
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
It's a great question. And what I can say here is, you know, the moment of truth for insurance is when somebody has a claim. Period. Full stop. But it can also start right before they actually have a claim. So let me give you an example.
We started this practice back, I want to say in like 2016, when the wildfires took off, and it was really bad out in California. We have a lot of policyholders in California. And we started to realize that we need to make sure that our policyholders are okay. That our policyholders understand their coverages and that they understand that we're here to help. And well, you know, typically, you know, your insurance company, they wait for you to file a claim, we actually were mobilized in our office within like 24-48 hours a phone bank and brought employees in, trained them, and put them on the phones. And these aren't call center people. These are people like me, and like my colleagues, and literally we had lists of policyholders who were within a certain radius of the fires that were evacuated. And we were literally calling people just to say hi, are you okay?
KATHERINE CALVERT:
Proactively?
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
Proactively.
KATHERINE CALVERT:
Wow.
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
Just, “Hi Katherine, this is Linda calling from CSAA insurance. Are you okay? Do you need anything? How can we help you?” That was it. No other ask. If they needed help finding a hotel, we were ready to help them do that. If they were being evacuated. If they needed to file a claim because they knew that they already had a claim we were able to put them in touch. If they were still at home preparing to evacuate, reminding them of the types of things they'd want to bring with them.
But that was like one instance where it was like okay, we're going to go above and beyond. We're going to break the stereotypical mold, and we're going to reach out to you before you might even need us.
We have a large trailer that we send to affected areas. So whether it's tornadoes, fires, floods, you name it. Hurricane. And we man it with folks to be there to help make it easy for customers to file a claim. So we go to where they are. And, you know, we're typically one of the first to arrive and one of the last to leave. We've got, you know, limited supplies of, you know, if you need certain things.
But the other thing that we have done in the past is we've had employees make teddy bears. And we have those in these trailers because when these kids show up and they have nothing because their house is gone, one of the things that we can give them is, you know, a stuffed animal to hold on to. So you know, we're showing up where our customers need us. And that's a little thing, it's a little thing, but we're there to help facilitate the claim but also make it easier for them and their families. It's about making sure they have what they need in that moment, but then holding their hand through the process. You know, a large loss claim like your home, pretty devastating. And it's a complicated —
KATHERINE CALVERT:
Complex, so complex.
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
So complex to navigate. We've put together you know, manuals to help our policyholders navigate that so that they know what's coming next, beyond just their adjuster, because that first day, you know, I think of it as the Charlie Brown syndrome, right? You're in shock. It's like you're in school, and no matter what somebody is telling you, all you're going to hear is womp womp womp womp. Like you're just, you can't process it all.
KATHERINE CALVERT:
Right.
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
And so we put together, you know, these binders if you will, that help them understand what's going to happen, what to expect, timelines, you know ballparks, because every claim is different, but really trying to be their partner in this process, and to help them through it.
And you know, we do the same thing if you have an auto claim, you know, or an umbrella policy claim. But the idea here is, how do we, you know, personify the brand in every interaction? How do we make sure that you understand that we're more than just an insurance company, we're your partner. You know, we're going to stand with you because we made a promise, and we're going to deliver on that promise.
KATHERINE CALVERT:
That makes me think of a question we always ask on the show, but picturing your teams putting together that bank, for example, relied on geographic data for your membership, and then demographic and risk data. There's so much data and certainly the insurance industry, probably, ranks as one of the highest. As a leader of the team, and thinking about how you create those moments, even before the moment, what's the data that matters most to you and your team?
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
Wow, that's a great question. There's so much data that matters to me. And I think it depends partially on the journey. So we just completed a refresh of our segmentation. So where we actually went out to really look at the industry of insurance, of PNC, and then to look at it and how it correlates, you know, with our, with our policy book, and with AAA members, and we've refreshed it and we've kind of taken a different approach than we had in the past. We took more of one that was, I want to say, it was heavily based on attitudinal and technographic variables that required a predictive model to score, and we've kind of shifted that a little bit here. But you know, the net of it is understanding that helps us understand our motivations.
The other big piece of data for me is really understanding how we're delivering on those experiences to our policyholders. And we use a number of tools to do that. We use Net Promoter Score like most, we use a lot of primary research, some secondary, but we've also started using the Customer Effort Score. And we believe that's actually a really great measure for today, with our customers, of how good a job are we doing?
And so the Customer Effort Score, if you're not familiar, is a score that measures how easy it is to do business with a company. And the idea here is how, you know, easy can we make it in our journeys for our customers to do business with us. One of the really interesting things about Customer Effort Score that's different than most other scores is it actually correlates to profitability.
KATHERINE CALVERT:
Wow.
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
And so it's a tool that helps us understand how easy is it for me to do business with you, but also in doing that and making it easier for you to do business, I should be able to either increase my revenue or decrease my expenses.
KATHERINE CALVERT:
Associated with that resolution, right, because it's easier.
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
That’s right.
KATHERINE CALVERT:
That’s a new one for me, the customer effort score. How is it derived? How are you measuring that?
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
There are a series of questions, similar to an NPS survey.
KATHERINE CALVERT:
Okay.
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
But it gets more at the crux of these questions that are more specific and within the purview around convenience and ease of doing business. And it's also interesting and I like it because I think it's easier for people to understand. So you know, an NPS score, in one industry a 47 could be really good and another —
SPIKE JONES:
Amen.
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
You know, when you hear NPS you’re like, I don’t know, unless you’re familiar with, that's your specific industry, it's not, it's not as meaningful, right?
KATHERINE CALVERT:
Right. Relevant.
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
Customer Effort Score is on, think of it on a 100 point scale. So a 90 or better is an A, an 80 to a 90, an 80 to 89 is a B — so you can kind of think about it like you're getting a grade. And I think it's also easier to kind of communicate that across an organization and say you know, we have an 85, or we have a 90, yay, you know. People can wrap their head around that because they're familiar with that kind of scale. So it's, it's, this is our first year of really, you know, rolling it out.
KATHERINE CALVERT:
More intuitive and universally understood. That's really cool. It also had such a nice dovetail with your mission and basically saying, in your moment of need, we want to be there for you and make it easy. So let's measure effort. I think that's really pretty cool.
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
But it's also, just to be clear, it's not the only score we're using. We're still using NPS. We're still using, you know, Gartner, and JD Power and Kantar, and all the other tools that are out there. It's another tool in the toolbox because there isn't one tool that's going to give you the answer. Each one has its, you know, its pros and cons and if you can triangulate them you can get the fullest picture. So we're really excited about the Customer Effort Score. I'm pleased thus far with the insights.
SPIKE JONES:
Now Linda, you've talked about putting the customer, you know, first at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of a claim. You talk about the true idea partnership and how you weave this into the culture and the fabric of the company. You know, a lot of companies talk about this. Very few deliver on it. And what's exciting about it, or not exciting, but the intriguing thing for me from my word-of-mouth days is like now you're giving people these talkable moments. That they're going to go to others and go, they were there for me in my time of need and here is this specific thing that happened: teddy bear, the bus showed up because they were there. They were the first ones there, last ones to leave. And so you're giving them these stories and what I love about that is it’s a lot easier, I mean sorry, it's a lot harder to do, actually have those things come to life.
And that kind of leads me to my next question: in this industry, this industry has been around for a very long time, and you differentiating yourself, is there something in this industry that's a commonly held belief that you just think, man that just doesn't hold water? We just don't do it that way.
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
I will share what I believe is from my perspective, and I think it applies across a lot of other industries. As business people we like to talk about our business problem. That we've got, you know, we've got a business problem and we've got to fix it. I'll say to you, we don't have a business problem. Our customers have pain points that we have yet to address. And if you address the customer pain point, you'll get the business outcome that you desire.
And so yes, they are business challenges, but they're rooted in a customer dissatisfier. So I prefer to think about what is the customer's challenge or the customer's pain point that we haven’t addressed in order to yield the desired business outcome. So when you say, you know, we have a retention problem, okay, well, the customer really has a problem because they're not sitting home saying they've got a problem and whatever that problem is, and so it's our job to figure out what is that problem and how to address it. And it can be a positioning issue, it can be an education issue. It can be as easy as, you know, an online experience or flow issue, but understanding what is the root of their true problem and how to address that will yield the business outcomes that that folks desire. So that's kind of my, I don't really buy wholeheartedly into it's always a business problem.
KATHERINE CALVERT:
So that would, though, I think drive necessarily a really interesting conversation internally. How do you measure success? Right? You have your usual marketing KPIs, you might have your usual retention KPIs, to your point, earlier point. How do you work with a leadership team, work with your own team, to set the right kind of internal metrics that also connect to that idea of it all starts with, are we making our customer happy?
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
Great question. We are a highly collaborative organization and it's one that I think is a little bit, I had not experienced coming from the public sector, public company world. It is from the first time I interviewed, it's one where it really is all about teamwork and collaboration. I can't be successful without my peers. And they can't be successful without me. So first and foremost, it’s making sure that okay, we all are operating, you know, we understand our operating agreements of how we work together. We still have all of the standard, you know, business KPIs that ultimately dictate success.
But if I peel back and I say, okay, how do we get there? It's projects and initiatives that improve our NPS, that improve our customer effort score, that wow our customers in ways in which you wouldn't typically expect. And so, getting, you know, everybody has to buy into this notion of “we have to consider the customer.”
KATHERINE CALVERT:
Right.
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
And I'm very fortunate that we have that culture where, yes, you know, pricing is pricing. And underwriting is underwriting and it's highly regulated. So it's going to be what it's going to be, but how we talk about it, how we explain it, and how we deliver to customers is within our control. And so as an organization, it's really trying to make sure, again, that those are deliberate thoughtful conversations, and that we align around, how do we take that to market? And by market I mean, both to prospects as well as our policyholders. So when they get, you know, how do we explain to someone why their rate is going up? We need to make sure that across channels it's a consistent answer, and it's one that they can understand. It can't be, well we have a black box and you know a number comes out. That's how it’s done, but I don't want somebody saying that. I want somebody to be able to explain to them hey, you had an accident, or you got a ticket, or you added a vehicle, or you took a vehicle off, or you added a driver.
Giving them things that they can process and say, Oh, I get it. And so it's really working together to say, what are the avenues? What are the options? And what's going to work for which segment because different groups of people are going to respond differently to different answers. So making sure that our messaging is aligned to the different audiences so that it's meaningful and relevant, and one in which they walk away from that conversation feeling as good as they're going to feel about the conversation.
KATHERINE CALVERT:
And you made that point earlier when you were talking about your business. I want to bring it back because I think it's really hard for people to get comfortable with the idea that your customers won't like every answer. I think you said you have to be deliberate about, that means that maybe it's an answer they don't like, but it's thoughtful, and it's clear, and you operate with transparency. That takes some courage. But I do think it's reflective of how you're sort of playing the long game of a relationship. Right?
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
Yeah, I mean, I'll give you an example. You know, pricing. It is a perfect example. Nobody ever wants to say that their insurance is going up. People already are knocking it out. I don't like it when mine goes up. But making sure that if I call you, I go online, or go and I speak to an agent face-to-face that I'm going to get the same answer is really important. It’s making sure that it’s explained to you in a way that you're going to understand it. And it's, I don't ever like to say we're going to, you know, raise somebody’s rates, but the market, you know, we're a risk-based product.
KATHERINE CALVERT:
Might dictate it. Might require it.
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
But I can do it in a way in which it's as clear for you so that when you walk away from that conversation or that or that experience, that there's a level of satisfaction that you got an answer that you can understand.
And I think, you know, other opportunities. I mean, there's other, you know, surprise and delight moments where we've made deliberate decisions this past year where you know, there were fires in Tahoe. We have properties that we insure there. And we actually took action to specifically treat homes with a retardant to save their home.
KATHERINE CALVERT:
Proactively, again.
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
Proactively. Again. You know, we've done things where during the pandemic, we worked through really quickly standing up and making sure we could do a touchless claim where folks didn't have to interact with people in person if they if they didn't want to, you know. Really trying to figure out how do you deliver on the experiences people want and what they expect, in a way in which they understand it, and it makes them feel good about doing business with you.
SPIKE JONES:
So when it comes to those hard conversations, they actually trust you and don't say, Oh, you're just trying to rip me off. It is no, we've already established this relationship. I trust you. Okay. I understand that this is a tough conversation to have but I know you're telling me the truth.
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
Yeah. I mean, you want people to feel that their insurance company has their back. And, you know, we really believe, we lean into that as part of the AAA brand. I mean, the brand is ranked by Morningstar as one of the most trusted brands in America. And so we take, you know, being a steward of that brand really seriously and making sure that the experiences align with that, but not you know, to it, taking them as far beyond as we possibly can, because it's an important job to take care of a brand like that.
SPIKE JONES:
Absolutely. And again, a lot harder to do and put it into practice, than to say, for sure. Yeah. I'm fascinated. So, this is CX Confessions. And so we always ask this one question of all of our esteemed guests. Now while we have all experienced great success in our careers, some of the greatest successes are also born out of missteps. So can you recall a time in your career journey — might not have been at this company — that maybe you learned a hard lesson, the hard way, from maybe a misstep that you had and then what you learned from it and took to the next thing? I personally didn't make any mistakes in my career. So I'm, I'm clean. I'm good.
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
I think learning how to use customer information in a way that does not come off as creepy, stalker-esque —
SPIKE JONES:
I don’t know what you mean.
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
Is really, was a lesson, you know, that I — I learned earlier that you have to be super respectful of people's information. And if you, while you may be in possession of it, you have to use it in a way in which it doesn't create anxiety or fear.
SPIKE JONES:
Good point.
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
And that you have to be really respectful with it. Beyond just today, you know, all the data privacy and all that but this is really, we all use data in you know, to, as marketers, to better understand our audiences to target etc., etc. And so I think making sure that you have that balance of how to use it appropriately and with the proper, you know, care and respect that customers expect and deserve.
KATHERINE CALVERT:
And that's a lesson I know I have to keep relearning because the data, the the data sets continue to expand. There's always a new way or a new tool or a new lens that I could look at things through. And you're right, you have to weigh it against, is this in service of my relationship? Is it going to make this prospect or customer feel better about working with this brand in a way that has added value? But there's so many tempting things.
LLINDA GOLDSTEIN:
It has to add value to them.
KATHERINE CALVERT:
Right!
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
They have to perceive — people, I believe people understand that their information is out there. You know, at some level, everybody knows that your data is out there and people are buying it and using it. I think the question for all of us really as marketers is, are we using it in a way in which it enriches the customer's life in the way in which it's intended and they have to perceive that value, not us. And if they do, they're comfortable. If they don't —
KATHERINE CALVERT:
You've lost them.
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
The consequences go up, you know, exponentially every day in today's world.
KATHERINE CALVERT:
Well, listeners, like and subscribe and I'll give you Spike Jones’s home address and personal phone.
SPIKE JONES:
That's readily available. Everyone knows what that is anyway.
KATHERINE CALVERT:
It is. It's all out there. But I think the premise you're touching on is so important, which is earning the right, you know, what exchange of value can you give that would say, you therefore, sure, you can use this information in a meaningful way.
So, Linda, this has been fantastic. Before we sign off, we always like to wrap up our conversations with a glimpse — speaking of personal — into our guests and what makes them tick. So we have five questions we always ask. Welcome to Quickfire Confessions. This is about Linda and we will get going with the first question. Linda, what was the first concert you ever attended?
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
First concert, I believe, was the No Nukes concert. So now I'm really dated.
KATHERINE CALVERT:
Wow.
SPIKE JONES:
Solid. That's solid.
KATHERINE CALVERT:
That is so legit. That's very cool.
SPIKE JONES:
How about your first job?
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
My first job — now is it like my first real real job or my first, like, summer job.
SPIKE JONES:
Both, of course.
KATHERINE CALVERT:
Mine was folding jeans at the Gap if that helps you.
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
My first real kind of job. I'll give you the first two that I had. The first one was a summer job where I was in a management training program at a store called B. Altman and Company in New York City. They were a department store. They are defunct.
KATHERINE CALVERT:
Very fancy.
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
I am again dating myself. More interesting first job that came after that was I did a summer as a public relations intern for Pierre Cardin.
SPIKE JONES:
Oh, nice.
KATHERINE CALVERT:
Oh, that is glamorous. B. Altman's was a great store, though. Sort of like our I. Magnin out here in the West Coast. Okay, if you couldn't do what you're doing today, speaking of jobs, what profession would you attempt?
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
I wouldn't be very good but I do like cooking. I like trying to, you know, I like cooking. I'm not very good at it. So I guess I would, you know, want to work at it and study under somebody and be mentored but that might be, yeah.
KATHERINE CALVERT:
That would be the path. Cooking or baking?
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
Cooking. I'm not a big cooker.
SPIKE JONES:
Yeah, we're not strong cookers in the Jones household. So we implemented this thing about three years ago called New Chef Sunday, where every Sunday we pick a recipe that we've never tried before, get the ingredients and then cook it up. You can always invoke the pizza rule. So after your first couple of bites, no, this is crap. We're going to order pizza which has happened from time to time, but it's definitely made us better cooks.
KATHERINE CALVERT:
Braver.
SPIKE JONES:
Yeah, a little bit. Your favorite app on your phone. There are no wrong answers.
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
Okay, so I've gotten into doing crossword puzzles on my phone. So the app, so there's a couple. So I do this one-word one that's part of the New York Times puzzle and it's very hard sometimes. And then I have the daily crossword app. And then the Daily Beast also has a crossword puzzle. I'm not doing like the really hard crossword puzzle. I do so many of them that they all have the same clues. Like, why is Ernie Els a crossword puzzle clue?
KATHERINE CALVERT:
Those are very common letters. So that's a good one to use. Yeah. In the New York Times do you do the spelling bee?
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
Yes.
KATHERINE CALVERT:
Oh, I’m obsessed.
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
I have to get to genius otherwise I can't go to bed. So it's like once I start to get to the genius level.
KATHERINE CALVERT:
Oh, Linda. I can count on one hand how many times, I mean, I always take a screenshot and send it to my kids because I’m so proud of myself that I made it to genius.
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
You just got to keep playing and sometimes they don't count all the words that you put in. And then other times I have noticed some of the words, I don't think are real words.
KATHERINE CALVERT:
I've seen that when I look at yesterday's. You know who also loves it? One of my big crushes, the inimitable Steve Martin. He posts, he tweets about it when he gets genius level. Yes. Anyway, it hasn't happened for me very often, but I won't, I have lower standards but I have to make it to nice or great. It's all, it's a cult, and you reach certain rankings every day and it's very like damning with faint praise, like nice you kind of, you do pretty well, but it's like you're stuck at nice jog solid for a while.
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
The best though is when it’s got an “ing” because for every word you get like two.
KATHERINE CALVERT:
Yes! It’s so exciting. “Ed” is pretty good too. Get very excited when I see that. Yeah, I feel like a genius. Okay. So exciting to talk to fellow spelling bee addict. Okay, finally, setting aside that which some might call an indulgence. What is your biggest indulgence?
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
I'm gonna go with reality TV. And I mean, you know, like “Housewives Below Deck.” “90 Day Fiance.” I like, I am fascinated by watching these people who know they're being filmed behave like children.
KATHERINE CALVERT:
Yes.
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
I’m fascinated by it. And so I'm like, you know, that is you know, my thing.
SPIKE JONES:
Some of the smartest people I know, that is their guilty pleasure. And I am like, I don't, it's like a juxtaposition. Like, you're so smart. Why are you watching this? And they're like, no, it's just like, yeah, it's mindless and like a release. Yeah, for sure. You can just lose yourself in it and you don't think about anything else.
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
Nobody gets hurt.
KATHERINE CALVERT:
“Below Deck” has been a stay-at-home discovery for us too. And it's just, and then it's set in this beautiful place, so you're, it’s really, it's delicious. Also makes you feel good about, it's like watching Dateline, which I was, which is one of my indulgences. It makes me feel really good about my marriage because neither of us have kind of contemplated killing each other. So that's how I feel about some of these shows. Gosh, I really do have my stuff together. Anyway, Linda, thank you so much for joining us. It has been fabulous having you on the show.
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
Thank you guys for having me. This has been a lot of fun.
KATHERINE CALVERT:
Linda, if people want to learn more about you, or CSAA, where would, where should we point them?
LINDA GOLDSTEIN:
We should point them to LinkedIn, either Linda Goldstein, or CSAA Insurance Group.
KATHERINE CALVERT:
Fabulous. Awesome. Well, thank you. Thank you for being such a great ambassador of the story. It's very inspiring to hear about sort of the real passion behind an insurance company. So as a Californian, thank you for what you all are doing. And thanks to all of you for tuning in. Thanks for joining us for another episode. Spike, great job as always.
SPIKE JONES:
Hey, I’m just, I'm happy to be here. Thanks for having me.
KATHERINE CALVERT:
All right everybody. Please like and subscribe and we will see you on the next episode of CX Confessions.
KHOROS:
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