July 9, 2026
Chewy didn't just become known for fast shipping. It became known for the kind of customer service people couldn't stop talking about — the brand that sent flowers when a pet passed away, that turned a return request into a moment someone screenshot and shared. That reputation didn't happen by accident. Someone had to build the voice behind it.
Next up in our Founders Club Spotlight series: Patrick Carney, the current Global Head of Customer Experience at Ooni Pizza Ovens — and previously Customer Experience Manager at Chewy.
Early in his career, Patrick owned all written communication at Chewy. That's where his core belief got proven for the first time: empathy isn't a nice-to-have layered on top of customer service — it's the thing that makes customer service work. The harder, more useful question is what happens after that's proven. How do you keep it true as the company gets bigger, the channels multiply, and the person writing the reply isn't you anymore?
Here's how he's built it, at every stage since:
He writes the voice down before he scales the team. At Chewy, Patrick's job wasn't just responding to customers — it was defining what an on-brand response actually sounded like, in writing, so it could be taught and repeated. That sounds basic, but it's the step most growing teams skip. Without a documented voice, "be empathetic" is just a vibe everyone interprets differently. With one, it's something new hires can actually learn.
He treats agent support as customer support. At 4ocean, Patrick was managing rapid team growth alongside a digital community of over 3 million supporters — a combination that breaks a lot of CX teams. His fix wasn't tighter scripts or more oversight. He built QA programs and leadership hierarchies designed around individual growth, on the theory that a team that feels supported is a team that can actually deliver the empathy customers can feel. Error rates went down and morale went up — together, because they were never separate problems.
He holds the same standard everywhere the brand shows up. At Ooni, leading global CX, the job spans regions and channels — social, ecommerce, support, community. Patrick's bar doesn't flex by channel:
"Every interaction with a customer is an opportunity to craft an experience. Whether it's a positive one that builds loyalty for life, or the missed opportunity where we didn't meet expectations, you can't take for granted the privilege customers provide in entrusting their hard-earned money with you." - Patrick Carney
That's a standard you can actually hold people to, because it doesn't change depending on where the conversation happens.
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Patrick’s leadership approach maps closely to how we think about listening at Hark. Patrick's whole approach comes from paying close attention to what's happening on the ground — what an agent is running into, where a written reply lands flat, where the team needs support before a customer ever notices a problem. That's the same instinct behind building listening infrastructure: the earlier you can see where something's breaking down, the earlier you can fix it for everyone who comes after.
Patrick's been part of the Hark story for a long time, too. He's been a customer and a friend since early on, he's watched the platform evolve, and sends us a steady stream of feedback and ideas — the kind that only comes from someone who's run CX at a best-in-class level, more than once.
We're lucky to be part of his stack — and I’ve still got that trip to Edinburgh on the list.
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