Free Movie Screening in Las Vegas This Wednesday!
If I were in Las Vegas, I would definitely check out this free movie screening happening Wednesday, August 12, 2026, at 7:00 p.m.
The screening will be held at AMC Town Square 18, located at 6587 Las Vegas Blvd. South. Check-in begins one hour before showtime, and arriving at least 30 minutes early gives you the best chance of admission.
Attendees must generally be between 13 and 49 years old. Older guests may attend if accompanying someone between the ages of 13 and 17. Children under 13 will not be admitted.
Click the link to see if you qualify—and if you attend, let me know what you saw!
The Scale of Shame Is Ready for You
I recently went to the doctor for my yearly Medicare Wellness visit. First, the good news: my PSA is a wonderfully low 0.13. My prostate and I are apparently still on speaking terms.
When I walked in, I noticed a board displaying every provider’s name and whether they were on time or running behind.
What a fantastic concept!
Every medical office should do this. Before I even sit down, I know what to expect and can plan accordingly. Is the doctor running behind? Great—I’ll take out my phone and watch another episode of Stranger Things. Is the doctor on time? Then I’d better prepare to be called immediately and step onto the dreaded Scale of Shame.
This simple board puts the patient—or customer—first. It respects my time and gives me useful information, which should always be the goal.
Here’s the best part: once I was seen, I never felt rushed. No one minimized my questions, hurried me toward the exit, or made me feel like they were racing to hit a metric or service-level target. The providers gave me the time and attention I needed while still keeping patients informed about the schedule.
Apparently, healthcare really can provide transparency without sacrificing personal care.
I can have my cake and eat it too—although, depending on what the Scale of Shame says, perhaps only a small slice.
Join the discussion on NielFlamm.com/blog
#PatientExperience #HealthcareInnovation #CustomerService #MedicareWellness #PatientFirst
Day 57: The Stock Is Talking—But I Still Want to Hear From the People
It's Day 57.
Today, I want to put a different twist on this.
As I'm writing this, NXDR is up 4.12%, trading at approximately $2.66 per share.
As a shareholder, that's good news. I own the stock. I'd like the number to increase.
I've been bearish on Nextdoor, but bearish doesn't mean I'm rooting for failure—quite the opposite. I want to see the company create sustainable value for users, advertisers, employees, and shareholders.
The market appears pleased right now.
But stock price and corporate culture are two different measurements.
Which brings me to someone I haven't discussed nearly as much:
Sarah Leary, Co-Founder of Nextdoor.
I've noticed Sarah appears to have been absent from X for some time—unless she's posting from another account I'm unaware of.
And that makes me genuinely curious about her perspective.
Sarah helped build this company.
She watched Nextdoor grow from an idea into a publicly traded company serving millions of users.
So I'd be interested to know:
What does Sarah Leary think about what's happening now?
What does she think about the current moderation model?
The increasing monetization of interactions between businesses and neighbors?
The company's approach to accepting—or limiting—feedback?
And yes, what does she think about a shareholder reaching Day 57 without receiving the requested study or even an acknowledgment?
I'm not asking Sarah to agree with me.
Actually, I'd be interested if she disagreed with me.
Tell me why.
That's a conversation.
Perhaps she believes the current strategy is exactly right.
Perhaps she thinks changes are necessary.
Perhaps she hasn't followed any of this.
I don't know.
But that's precisely why I'd like to hear her perspective.
I've spent 57 days talking about Nirav Tolia, Jacob Chavis, Investor Relations, Communications, moderation, culture, and accountability.
Maybe it's time to hear from one of the people who helped create Nextdoor in the first place.
The stock is speaking today.
NXDR: $2.66, up 4.12%.
Now I'd like to hear some of the people behind it speak, too.
Sarah, what's your take?
Join the discussion at NielFlamm.com/blog. Leave some feedback—I'd love to hear your perspective.
When the Process Fails, Don’t Forget There Are People on the Plane
I came across this Facebook Reel, and I genuinely feel for this parent trying to do the best she can for her family:
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1GUxjuMGvT/
Watching it reminded me of something that companies sometimes forget when operations go sideways: a process failure is rarely just a process failure to the customer.
I’ve been in the situation where my flight has been canceled. It’s no fun.
You’re standing in an airport trying to figure out what happens next. Where am I sleeping? When am I getting home? What happens to my luggage? What about the hotel, rental car, work, kids, medications, connections, or whatever else was waiting for me at the other end?
Now imagine trying to manage all of that while also taking care of your family.
That’s where I think JetBlue missed something important.
Airlines have incredibly complicated operations. Weather happens. Mechanical problems happen. Crews time out. Aircraft end up in the wrong cities. Sometimes a flight cannot operate.
I understand that.
But the operational problem and the customer experience are two different things.
JetBlue may transport cargo in the belly of an aircraft, but the people sitting above it aren't cargo.
They have feelings.
They have emotions.
They have families.
They have somewhere they were expecting to be.
And when the process fails, that is when customer experience matters the most.
A great customer experience isn't demonstrated when everything works perfectly. That's the easy part.
It's demonstrated when something goes completely wrong, and the company says:
“We know this disrupted your life. Let us help you figure out what happens next.”
Policies are necessary. Procedures are necessary. Systems are necessary.
But there has to be enough flexibility—or enough humanity built into those systems—to recognize when somebody needs more than a scripted answer.
Because the passenger standing at the counter isn't thinking about aircraft utilization, crew scheduling, or operational efficiency.
They're thinking:
“How am I going to get my family home?”
Sometimes fixing the customer experience doesn't mean fixing the airplane.
It means remembering the people who were supposed to be sitting inside it.
For more of my thoughts on customer experience, the good, the bad, and sometimes the completely ridiculous, follow along on my blog:
https://NielFlamm.com/blog
Day 56: At This Point, the Silence Is a Decision
It's Day 56.
I've been following up on why Jacob Chavis hasn't sent the study I requested.
I've asked why Nirav Tolia, Investor Relations, and Communications haven't acknowledged the situation.
I've emailed.
I've followed up.
I've posted publicly.
I've documented the experience at NielFlamm.com/blog.
So today, I'm looking at this differently.
Maybe the lack of communication is the communication.
After 56 days, it's becoming increasingly difficult for me to view this as an overlooked email or something that fell through the cracks.
Maybe someone made a decision not to engage.
Maybe nobody wants ownership.
Maybe Nextdoor believes responding will encourage more questions.
Maybe the study can't—or won't—be provided.
I don't know.
But that's exactly the problem.
Silence creates its own narrative.
And here's where this gets bigger than my study.
Nextdoor's entire value proposition revolves around neighbors communicating with neighbors.
CEO Nirav Tolia frequently talks about community and connection.
Yet my experience as a shareholder has been the opposite:
56 days without a conversation.
Think about that from a customer-experience perspective.
If I were designing training around this scenario, I wouldn't focus primarily on whether the customer—or shareholder—was right.
I'd ask:
How did something this simple reach Day 56?
Where was the escalation?
Who owned the request?
When did someone recognize that the lack of a response had become a bigger problem than the original question?
And perhaps most importantly:
What does the organization learn from it?
That's what accountability should ultimately accomplish.
Not blame.
Not defensiveness.
Learning followed by change.
I've written before that we inspect what we expect.
So I'm inspecting.
I'm watching the moderation model.
I'm watching the increasing monetization of small-business interactions.
I'm watching the financial results.
I'm watching corporate communication.
And I'm watching how Nextdoor handles a shareholder who keeps asking a question it apparently doesn't want to answer.
Maybe someone inside Nextdoor believes I'll eventually get tired of asking.
After 56 days, that seems like an increasingly questionable strategy.
Because the longer this continues, the less interesting the original study becomes.
The case study is becoming Nextdoor itself.
Join the discussion at NielFlamm.com/blog.
What does 56 days without an answer tell you? Leave some feedback—I'd love to hear your perspective.