How Eric Mistry Turns Automation Into a CS Superpower at Zapier | Mastering CS: Ep 91

In this episode of Mastering CS: Candid Leader Insights, Irina Cismas sits down with Eric Mistry, Automation Strategist and AI and Automation Transformation Lead at Zapier, the automation platform that connects apps and workflows. Eric's role sits at the intersection of customer success and automation strategy. He shares what the Automation Strategist title actually means, what he automated first and why it changed how he shows up for customers, how Zapier's MCP integration and Claude Code have become his personal cheat code, and why empathy is the most important skill he has ever developed. 🕐 Timestamps 0:06 — Introduction: Eric Mistry and Zapier 0:30 — What the Automation Strategist role actually looks like day to day 2:11 — Who Eric works with internally and why 3:47 — Being your own first customer: internal builds that become customer workflows 4:57 — The one thing Eric is trying to move the most right now 5:52 — What Eric automated first and what the results looked like 7:43 — What happens to the time you win back from automation 9:11 — How to get CSMs to actually run their week on automation 10:29 — The infrastructure behind the automation stack 12:52 — Do you need a technical background to do this? 15:01 — How to deal with messy data across systems 16:15 — The habit that has carried Eric through every role 18:27 — Closing thoughts 🎙️ Mastering CS: Candid Leader Insights is a Custify podcast exploring the real strategies and lessons behind great customer success. 🔔 Subscribe so you don't miss new episodes.