Tag: Client Experience

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How Genuine Service Builds Trust with Jenessa Ritchie & Krystal Gilliam (Ep. 19)

How Genuine Service Builds Trust with Jenessa Ritchie & Krystal Gilliam (Ep. 19)

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What does it really look like to serve clients with empathy, attention, and heart?

In this episode of Living Beyond the Numbers, hosts Jude Boudreaux and Caleb Arringdale sit down with two of the warmest voices at The Planning Center, Jenessa Ritchie and Krystal Gilliam, client service associates from the Quad Cities and Anchorage offices. Together, they pull back the curtain on what it takes to deliver meaningful service that goes far beyond transactions, discussing the human side of financial planning and how listening, care, and follow-through create trust that lasts for generations.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

  • How Jenessa and Krystal support clients through life changes, loss, and everyday needs
  • The difference between transactional and relational service and why it matters
  • Why technology struggles are normal (and how The Planning Center helps clients through them)
  • How simple gestures like remembering a birthday or a favorite song build deep client connection
  • And more!

Connect with Jude Boudreaux CFP®:

Connect with Caleb Arringdale:

Connect with Jenessa Ritchie:

Connect with Krystal Gilliam:

About our Guests:

Jenessa Ritchie is a Client Service Associate at The Planning Center’s Quad Cities office in Moline. At the heart of financial planning is trust, and Jenessa takes great pride in fostering meaningful connections with clients. Her goal is to provide a welcoming experience, guiding individuals and families through the technology and logistics of their financial journey while helping them feel confident and supported every step of the way.

Krystal Gilliam serves as a Client Service Associate at The Planning Center’s Anchorage office in Alaska. Krystal believes that excellent service starts with genuine care and clear communication. Her role allows her to support clients with everything from scheduling to navigating account technology—always with a focus on helping them feel heard, valued, and taken care of.

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Balancing Priorities and Protecting What Matters with Matt Mercer (Ep. 8)

Balancing Priorities and Protecting What Matters with Matt Mercer (Ep. 8)

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What does a theater degree have to do with running a financial planning firm?

In this episode, Jude Boudreaux and Caleb Arringdale sit down with Matt Mercer, Chief Operating Officer and shareholder at The Planning Center, to talk about leadership, priorities, and the hidden work that keeps client relationships running smoothly. Matt shares how his theater background shaped his approach to people, process, and change, and why curiosity beats judgment when challenges arise. He opens up about the lessons of fatherhood, the mantra “you can do anything, not everything,” and what it means to put the right people in the right work. Listeners will hear how operations act like WD-40, removing friction so clients feel cared for, and why cooling down after change matters as much as the change itself.

What to expect:

  •  How curiosity creates trust in leadership and planning
  • Why “right person, right work” is client care in disguise
  • Practical rhythms for balancing work and family
  • Change management lessons that actually stick
  • And more!

Resources:

Connect with Jude Boudreaux CFP®: 

Connect with Caleb Arringdale:

Connect with Matt Mercer:

About Our Guest:

As the Chief Operating Officer at The Planning Center, Matt Mercer focuses on optimizing our people, processes, technology, and compliance. Matt’s role involves everything from setting the company’s strategic plan to supporting our operations staff in their daily workflows, onboarding, and training on new technologies, updating internal processes, and overseeing special projects.

After graduating from St. Ambrose University with my B.A. in Theatre, Matt spent ten years working in Operations with multiple companies in the Quad Cities area. He is fortunate enough that these experiences have brought him to The Planning Center, where he enjoys working with our team. In my role, I aim to help build an efficient infrastructure that assists our advisors to focus on their clients.

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From History to Legacy: How The Planning Center Builds for the Future with Eric Kies (Ep. 6)

From History to Legacy: How The Planning Center Builds for the Future with Eric Kies (Ep. 6)

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When a firm chooses people over ego, everything changes.

In this conversation, CEO Eric Kies joins Jude Boudreaux and Caleb Arringdale to share how The Planning Center shifted from individual silos to an ensemble practice where clients are served by a team, not a single advisor. They talk candidly about investing in “soft” skills like communication, coaching, and retreats, why that’s actually the hard work, and how a 50-year vision creates stability for families across generations. You’ll hear stories about building systems, giving up control, and the human moments that money can’t solve, but great planning can hold.

What to expect:

  • Ensemble vs. siloed practices in plain language
  • The 50-year sustainability mindset
  • Why culture work beats quick wins
  • AI as a tool, not a substitute for real connection
  • And more!

Resources:

Connect with Jude Boudreaux CFP®: 

Connect with Caleb Arringdale:

Connect with Eric Kies:

About our Guest: 

As the president of The Planning Center, Eric Kies is responsible for the daily management of the firm. Eric’s long-term goal for the firm is to continue building a team of talented financial planners and staff who are ready to serve successive generations of families. He wants our firm and its lead planners to be a resource in the community that people can turn to and trust for solutions to their problems. In Eric’s work with clients, his focus is on working with business owners and executives with complex planning needs and goals, such as those with significant or irregular incomes.

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