Speed, Trust, and the Gift of Time: What Real-World CX Looks Like at Offerpad

In customer experience, perfection can be a trap. We polish the journey map, orchestrate more governance, and chase one more dataset until the moment that matters passes. Tracy Sedlak, Senior Vice President of Operations at Offerpad, has spent the past year doing the opposite: trading the safety of finished for the velocity of working.

“That perfection can be the enemy of progress. In real estate, timing is everything; waiting for the perfect process or communication can mean losing the moment that matters. Over the last year, I’ve leaned into rapid iteration: delivering quickly, listening to feedback, and refining in real-time. It’s created more agility for my team and better outcomes for our customers,” Sedlak explained.

That line is more than a mindset; it’s an operating model for modern customer experience (CX). Markets are jittery, budgets are tighter, and expectations are constantly shifting. Tracy’s team has embedded that into two pivotal interactions that define Offerpad’s end-to-end journey.

“The first live connection, whether by phone or in person, and the living room conversation where we present solutions,” she added. “We make those moments deliver by combining strong training with real empowerment. Our advisors know they can tailor the conversation to the seller’s goals rather than sticking to a rigid script, which builds trust and drives decisions.”

Real-World CX Moments That Matter

Notice what’s not here: a fixation on handling time or a script adherence score. The concept of center of gravity is adaptable. Advisors are trained to make sound judgments, then trusted to use them.

In categories such as housing, healthcare, and finance, the winning pattern is the same: identify the two or three “moments that matter,” equip people with nuance, and decouple those moments from rigid process debt. The outcome is practical: faster decisions, higher conversion, and experiences customers describe as helpful, not just efficient.

When Volume Spikes, Rethink the System

Every CX operation gets stress-tested. The question is how you respond when demand surges or a bottleneck shows up in the middle of your most valuable lane.

“We experienced a spike in high-value appointments that stretched our existing inspection process. Instead of throwing more people at it, we redesigned the workflow, using tech to automate repetitive processes and consolidating tools to reduce clicks. We maintained the personal connection while improving speed-to-offer,” said Sedlak.

This is the quiet discipline of scalable CX: redesign before you re-resource. Consolidate tools, eliminate click tax, and reserve your humans for interpretation and reassurance. It’s not anti-headcount; it’s pro-capability.

Tech Should Remove Friction, Not Feeling

There’s a trap in CX transformation: confusing automation with experience. Sedlak insists on a division of labor that keeps the why and how squarely with people.

“Our technology is built to eliminate friction, not feeling,” Sedlak shared. “Automated status updates, integrated scheduling, and centralized data give our advisors more time for human-to-human conversations. The goal is to have the tech handle what and when, our people deliver the why and how.”

That line is a litmus test leaders can apply to any roadmap item: Are we buying ourselves more, and better, human time with customers? If the answer is no, you’re upgrading tools, not the experience.

Make the Customer Everyone’s Job (On Purpose)

Most companies claim that CX is shared, but fewer operationalize it. Sedlak’s version is straightforward: align outcomes, surface the truth together, and decide together every month.

“We align on shared outcomes. Success metrics, such as CSAT, NPS, and conversion rates, are visible and celebrated, or course-corrected company-wide. We hold monthly cross-functional voice of the customer reviews, bringing leaders from every department to the table to celebrate wins, dissect challenges, and drive to solutions which will impact the customer, creating a better experience,” she pointed out.

Cross-functional VOC isn’t a meeting; it’s a mechanism. It converts anecdotes into accountabilities and keeps product, operations, marketing, and sales pointed at the same scoreboard.

Design for Choice and Guidance

Housing is an emotional decision dressed up as a financial one. Sellers don’t want everything automated; they want clarity, options, and a capable guide.

“Sellers want more transparency and choice, but they also want someone to help them navigate those choices,” Sedlak noted. “That’s influencing our push to expand solutions, while doubling down on how we present them in clear, relatable terms.”

AI’s Promise

The drumbeat across industries is the same: AI will personalize at scale. The risk is that scale erases the very signals that make personalization work, including voice, intent, and context.

“AI-driven personalization. AI has enormous potential to tailor communication and recommendations at scale, but the real differentiator will be the brands that integrate it without losing authenticity or empathy,” Sedlak stated.

The winning pattern: use AI to predict the what and when, and give humans the tools and time to deliver the why and how with integrity. Measurement then has to cover both efficiency and dignity.

Keep People Grounded in Real Life

A home sale isn’t a daily habit; it’s a life event. That perspective shapes how teams listen, measure, and coach.

“We remind them that for most people, selling a home is a once-in-eight-to-13-year event, and it is often tied to major life changes. We measure satisfaction alongside performance, share customer stories regularly, and make listening before advising a non-negotiable part of our process,” she added.

It’s a useful corrective for any category with long cycles or high stakes. Train for context, score for dignity, and coach for the decision behind the decision.

Hire for Mindsets, Teach the Rest

Tool stacks change and markets shift. The constant is the person in the conversation, and Sedlak hires accordingly.

When asked what qualities she looks for when hiring customer-obsessed talent, she said, “Curiosity, adaptability, and genuine empathy. Skills can be trained, but a mindset that seeks to understand, adjust, and connect with the customer is what turns a good hire into a great one.”

These aren’t soft skills, they’re performance multipliers. Curious people find the friction, adaptable people fix it, and empathetic people turn fixes into trust.

Scale Without Sameness

Playbooks are necessary, but copy-and-paste experiences are not.

“That scale doesn’t have to mean sameness. The best programs maintain flexibility, letting teams tailor outreach, surprise customers with personal touches, and solve problems without always checking for a policy,” explained Sedlak.

Leaders can codify this by giving teams a permission slip, clear decision rights for exceptions, a small budget for moments of care, and QA rubrics that score for judgment, not just compliance.

The Small Thing That Signals Everything

Delight is a loaded word in CX. Too often, it gets equated with swag or theatrics. Sedlak’s recent experience is a reminder: real delight gives customers back something they value.

“I was at my car dealership for routine maintenance, speaking with my service advisor about something as innocuous as a little rattle in my door panel. Instantly, he said, “Let me write it up and get you a loaner car so you don’t have to wait for us to do the routine maintenance or check the door.” He gifted me with time by providing me a loaner vehicle, so I could get back to my day while they took care of things. With a busy life, that small gesture allowed me to not sit in their very well-appointed waiting room, but carry on with my day uninterrupted. It was an unexpected moment, it cost them no hard dollars, and it gave me something back that I had already decided I’d lose that day–time!” she recalled.

The takeaway for CX leaders: Build systems that move at the speed of the customer, reserve your humans for meaning, and measure the experience in terms your customer would actually celebrate. The rest (conversion, retention, advocacy) follows.

A big thank you to Tracy Sedlak for sharing your time, insight, and thought leadership with the CX community.

Tracy Sedlak
Senior Vice President, Operations
Offerpad

Tracy has served as Offerpad’s Sr. Vice President of Operations since April 2025, she is responsible for customer experience, conversion, revenue growth and operational efficiency. She previously served as Sr. Vice President of Customer Success, where she was responsible for leading omni-channel solutions advisor teams, delivering an exceptional customer experience, and guiding our clients through the home-selling process with expertise and empathy. Tracy oversees strategic initiatives, fostering a culture of excellence, and driving innovation to enhance the overall customer journey. She joined Offerpad in July 2021.

Previously, Tracy served as Vice President of CX Projects at Success Sciences, consulting with large, high-profile clients from 2020 to 2021. Prior to this, she served as Vice President of Sales Operations for North America at Club Med, a global leader in all-inclusive family vacations. Tracy holds active real estate licenses in Arizona and Georgia, serves on the advisory board of Execs in the Know, a global community of CX leaders.

About Offerpad

Offerpad, unlike its real estate tech counterparts, was founded in 2015 by a team of seasoned real estate experts who collectively possessed vast experience in buying, selling, renting, and renovating nearly 100,000 homes before the company’s inception. Recognizing the stress and complexity inherent in the traditional real estate process, they embarked on a mission to revolutionize it, with the customer at the forefront. Leveraging their extensive industry knowledge and innovative technology, they introduced a pioneering online real estate platform.

This platform enables sellers to request and receive compelling cash offers for their homes within 24 hours, facilitating swift contracts and closures that circumvent the typical hassles and headaches associated with conventional home sales. Offerpad’s journey has since helped countless individuals nationwide discover a superior approach to real estate, and their story is far from over; they continue to evolve as a comprehensive solution for selling, buying, and financing homes.