Jo Leckie, the CEO and founder of Big Picture Training, brings a wealth of personal and professional experience to her work, making her approach to customer experience truly unique. In a recent post, Jo Leckie shared a part of her story that many might not have known, revealing the depth of her personal connection to the very issues she addresses through her training programs. This story is not just about overcoming challenges but about how those challenges have shaped her understanding of customer experience, making her a leader who knows her subject inside and out.
Jo Leckie begins her post with a powerful revelation: she rents from a social housing provider. She is not only a customer from a business perspective but also a customer from a personal one. Jo Leckie’s candid admission speaks volumes about her commitment to understanding the customer experience from all angles. It’s one thing to study or teach customer service, but it’s another to live through the system you’re working to improve. For Jo Leckie, this dual role has given her invaluable insights into the disparities that can exist between personal and professional customer experiences.
But Jo Leckie’s story goes deeper than her housing situation. She has faced numerous challenges throughout her life, including being a single parent in debt, searching for spare change to feed her children, and relying on her mother’s freezer for food. These struggles are part of Jo Leckie’s past, but they also fuel her understanding of what it means to provide excellent customer service. When she talks about customer experience, Jo Leckie speaks from a place of empathy and lived experience. She knows what it feels like to be in need, and that understanding informs every aspect of her work.
Jo Leckie also shares how her children, who were until recently shared owners, have faced housing instability. Her son and grandchildren have lost their home and experienced homelessness twice, through no fault of their own. These personal experiences with housing insecurity add another layer to Jo Leckie’s understanding of the challenges many people face in accessing stable housing. As someone who works in the housing sector, Jo Leckie’s personal connection to these issues gives her a unique perspective on what needs to change and how to create better systems for those in need.
In addition to her experiences as a tenant and a parent, Jo Leckie has also been the primary carer for her vulnerable parents, who were leaseholders in a supported living environment. This role gave her firsthand experience with the challenges that come with caring for elderly, vulnerable individuals. Jo Leckie’s ability to navigate these personal challenges while working professionally in the same sector has given her a deep understanding of the gaps in care and service that many families face. It’s this lived experience that makes Jo Leckie’s work so impactful—she doesn’t just teach about customer experience; she lives it.
Jo Leckie’s professional background is equally impressive. With over 30 years of experience working at an operational level in the housing sector, both in the UK and Australia, Jo Leckie has seen it all. From working in five-star hospitality to being married to a Michelin Guide inspector for 12 years, Jo Leckie has been immersed in industries where customer experience is paramount. This diverse background has given her a broad understanding of what it takes to deliver exceptional service, no matter the industry. Jo Leckie’s expertise in hospitality, coupled with her extensive work in the housing sector, allows her to bring a unique and comprehensive perspective to her training programs at Big Picture Training.
Through Big Picture Training, Jo Leckie creates and facilitates training programs that focus on improving customer experience across various sectors. What sets Jo Leckie apart is her ability to wear many hats, as she herself points out in her post. Whether as a tenant, a parent, a carer, or a professional in the housing and hospitality sectors, Jo Leckie has experienced customer service from every angle. This wealth of experience allows her to create training programs that are not only informative but also deeply empathetic to the real challenges that both customers and service providers face.
Jo Leckie’s approach to customer experience is not just theoretical. It’s grounded in her own life experiences, which makes her insights all the more valuable. She understands that a fantastic customer experience is not just about ticking boxes or following a script—it’s about genuinely understanding the needs and challenges of the people you serve. Jo Leckie’s ability to connect her personal experiences with her professional expertise is what makes her training programs so effective.
In her post, Jo Leckie makes it clear that she’s not looking for praise or recognition. She’s simply pointing out that her life experiences have given her a deep understanding of what good customer service truly means. Jo Leckie’s humility and openness about her challenges make her an inspiring figure for anyone looking to improve their own customer service practices. Her message is one of resilience, empathy, and a commitment to making a difference in the lives of others.
Jo Leckie’s story is a testament to the power of lived experience. By sharing her personal journey, Jo Leckie shows that the best customer service comes from understanding, empathy, and a genuine desire to help others. Whether she’s working with housing providers, hospitality professionals, or other sectors, Jo Leckie’s unique blend of personal and professional experience allows her to create training programs that truly make a difference. Through Big Picture Training, Jo Leckie is helping organizations improve their customer service in meaningful, impactful ways—because she knows firsthand what it takes to provide a fantastic customer experience.
