The Supportive Podcast

Brought to you by Help Scout's Mat Patterson, The Supportive is a show for the customer-centric leaders of today and tomorrow. Tune in for tons of customer experience insights, practical tips, expert advice, and a bit of fun. (Also dad jokes).

The Supportive Podcast is a business podcast hosted by Help Scout, with 33 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Help Scout hosts The Supportive Podcast, a business show with 33 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #6

  You already have a support hiring rubric with Tom Walker

  Aug 5, 202632 minS3

  Tom joined Help Scout's support team in 2026, but he's been using Help Scout for a decade. He chats to Mat about his role in improving Zapier's support team diversity, what actually changed to hit their goals, why an interview process that never changes isn't neutral, and how improving diversity also improved camaraderie. Key moments: (5:24) Tom's alottment in the UK, and companion planting as team building (7:26) Zapier's project to make their team reflect their wider country (13:33) Creating a more accessible and fair interview process (19:11) Culture fit is a signal, not a deciding factor (20:44) Camaraderie built by diversity (29:43) Everyone already has a hiring rubric, even if it's unwritten

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  Episode #5

  Love It or List It for support tools with Chrissy Chavez

  Jul 15, 202630 minS3

  Thinking about switching help desks? Help Scout support pro Chrissy Chavez tells Mat why the urge to burn it all down and start fresh is so strong — and why an audit should always come first. Chrissy is a senior technical support specialist based in Oahu, Hawaii. She joins Mat to react to his newsletter "Why You Shouldn't Switch to Help Scout" — and the conversation turns into a playbook for anyone eyeing a support tool switch: what to audit before you move, how half of "missing features" turn out to already exist, and how to walk customers through a big tool decision without scaring them off. TIMESTAMPS: 5:48 Chrissy watches "Love It or List It" — "you're messy no matter where you live" 7:56 Half the "missing features" people want are already there 9:51 You might not have to switch tools at all 15:32 Audit your current tool first — saved replies, stale docs, historical data that could cause AI hallucinations 20:14 The emotional work of change: "Two weeks from now, we won't even remember it was different" LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE: - Find Chrissy on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissychavez - Read Mat's original newsletter https://email.helpscout.com/switching-tools - [Mat's 9-step guide to switching help desks](https://www.helpscout.com/helpu/switch-help-desk/). - Watch some Love It or List It https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOaEcx-DyPQ #CustomerSupport #HelpDesk #CustomerService

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  Episode #4

  Speak to a human with Pavel Malyshev

  Jun 30, 202627 minS3

  Pavel drove AI customer support adoption as head of support...and then he got laid off. Mat chats with Pavel about his 13 years in B2B SaaS customer experience about the way execs are thinking about support today. Plus: why customers still want a human to confirm an answer, even when the AI got it exactly right. For a full transcript, notes, and links, see https://www.helpscout.com/blog/inside-ai-customer-support Find Pavel at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pmalyshev/

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  Episode #3

  Relevance before brevity in support with Leslie O'Flahavan

  Jun 15, 202631 minS3

  Leslie O'Flahavan has spent 30 years teaching people to write well at work — including plenty of customer service teams. Leslie and Mat discuss what it takes to write concisely in support, and how to develop your team's concise writing skills. Listen out for Leslie's simple 10% word-count game, and the surprising shift she's made just this year in her approach to spelling and grammar. For full show notes see https://helpscout.com/blog/customer-service-writing

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  Episode #2

  700 classes and 0 perfect takes with Alison Groves

  Jun 1, 202630 minS3

  <p>After 700+ live Help Scout classes, Alison Groves has figured out what makes customer education work — mistakes. Well, not exactly, but that's part of it. </p><p>In this episode of The Supportive, Mat talks to Help Scout's Customer Education Lead, Alison, about what she's learned, how to get started, and why imperfection builds trust. </p><p> WHAT WE COVER:</p><p> - Why 90%+ of Alison's attendees stay for the full session</p><p> - The three types of people who show up (and what each of them needs)</p><p> - Why making mistakes live is a feature, not a...

  ListenShow Notes

Recent guests on The Supportive Podcast. Study who booked and why before you pitch.

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