Customer service is crucial because it directly impacts a company’s bottom line and reputation. A good interaction will change a customer from a buyer into a lifelong supporter, singing the company’s praises from the rooftops. Excellent support can be a true differentiator in a crowded marketplace, giving businesses a reputation that goes beyond the items sold.
These inspirational customer service quotes will help you consider how interactions with customers can impact them and the business at the same time. You can use them for personal inspiration or to motivate your team toward success.
Motivational Customer Service Quotes to Inspire the Best Service
It’s easy to get down after a tough customer service interaction. These positive customer service quotes will help leaders motivate their teams to consider how the issue could have been addressed differently. They can also give you the self-motivation to work to your highest potential.
- “Make your customers comfortable and they will give you their lives.” —Paul Orfalea, Copy This!
- “Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others.” —Booker T. Washington, Up From Slavery
- “Prove to your clients that you are more interested in them than you are in the sale. This may—or may not—lead to more business, but it will definitely help the relationship, which is a big part of building customer loyalty.” —Shep Hyken, The Cult of the Customer
- “Until you understand your customers, deeply and genuinely, you cannot hope to serve them.” —Rasheed Ogunlaru, Soul Trader
- “In business, ‘professionalism’ is not a tactic but a moral value.” —Amit Kalantri
- “Businesses love to say that the customer is always right, but their actions need to reciprocate that statement.” —Gary Vaynerchuk
- “One customer well taken care of could be more valuable than $10,000 worth of advertising.” —Jim Rohn
- “Make customer service a core strategic priority and reap the rewards of loyal brand advocates to boost your online reputation and drive growth and profitability.” —Michael Podolsky
- “Do not compromise on the quality and your customers will not negotiate on the price.” —Amit Kalantri
Related: 30 Inspiring Quotes About Never Giving Up
Inspirational Customer Service Quotes to Go From Good to Great
You don’t always know what a person is going through. Sometimes, people take their frustrations out on customer service agents unfairly, when the issue is out of their control. These top customer service quotes help us to remember that we can only control our own words and actions and that sometimes, everyone just needs a bit of grace. Building customer relationships takes effort, but it can lead to strong loyalty in the long run.
- “The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.” —Barack Obama
- “If you give more than the customer expects, the customer will help you build your business.” —Dax Bamania, Productivity Promoter
- “Be genuine. Be remarkable. Be worth connecting with.” —Seth Godin
- “Loyal customers, they don’t just come back. They don’t simply recommend you. They insist that their friends do business with you.” —Chip Bell
- “We cannot change what we are unaware of, and once we are aware, we cannot help but change.” —Sheryl Sandberg, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead
- “A long-term relationship hinges on trust and credibility. That doesn’t happen by short-changing the customer.” —Frank Sonnenberg
- “Customers love certainty, make sure you give it to them.” —Amit Kalantri
- “Respond to what matters to each customer in the moment.” —Ron Kaufman
- “Providing efficient customer service is a win-win proposition that will improve customer satisfaction dramatically, retention and your bottom line.” —Jamie Johnson
- “When it comes to customer service and experience, our customers no longer compare us just to our competitors. Their mental benchmark, whether they know it or not, comes from the best experience they have had from any company or brand.” —Shep Hyken
Related: Connect with Customers: How to Take Your Business from Good to Great
Positive Customer Service Sayings From SUCCESS®
If you need some words of inspiration to get you through those challenging customer interactions, these original sayings by SUCCESS® contributors offer good insight. Print them out and keep them by your workstation to glance at when you need a pick-me-up. The best customer service quotes often come from your own experiences, so you might also be inspired to come up with your own sayings to return to as you work.
- “Every complaint is an opportunity to upgrade your service.”
- “The best customer service is invisible—it solves problems before they arise.”
- “Great service isn’t about doing the job; it’s about doing it with grace.”
- “Good service answers questions. Great service anticipates them.”
- “Customer service isn’t a transaction—it’s a relationship.”
- “A complaint is a second chance to make a first impression.”
- “A happy customer is your best advertisement.”
- “Great service is like a mirror; it reflects your company’s values.”
- “Good service resolves conflicts, but great service prevents them.”
- “The easiest way to deal with a problem is to prevent it from happening.”
- “How you handle the small stuff shows how you’ll handle the big stuff.”
- “You can’t control how someone is reacting; you can only control your own actions.”
Famous Customer Service Quotes From Business Pros
A leader understands that it’s not what they sell, but how their customers are treated. These famous customer service quotes come from business leaders known for their customer service insight.
- “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” —Bill Gates, Business @ the Speed of Thought
- “If we can keep our competitors focused on us while we stay focused on the customer, ultimately we will turn out alright.” —Jeff Bezos
- “Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends.” —Walt Disney
- “The customer experience is the next competitive battleground.” —Jerry Gregoire, former CIO of Dell
- “It is not the employer who pays wages. He only handles the money. It is the product that pays wages.” —Henry Ford
- “Customers don’t expect you to be perfect. They expect you to fix things when they go wrong.” —Donald Porter, former VP of British Airways
- “The goal as a company is to have customer service that is not just the best but legendary.” —Sam Walton, founder of Walmart
- “If you work just for money, you’ll never make it, but if you love what you’re doing and you always put the customer first, success will be yours.” —Ray Kroc, founder of McDonald’s
Related: What Makes Good Customer Service?
Customer Service Quotes That Prove the Work’s Not For Everyone
Customer service is a challenging industry. Rarely do you have someone contact you to sing the praises of a product. Instead, you are catching people who are frustrated, and they are coming to you to solve their issues. These customer service business quotes touch on how challenging this work is, and how rewarding it can also be.
- “You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.” —Carl Jung
- “Customers want to bond with a brand on a deeper level. They want you to be their BFF, Sherpa and cheerleader all in one.” —Charlene Walters, Launch Your Inner Entrepreneur
- “You work hard to attract new customers. Why not invest the same effort in retaining them?” —Frank Sonnenberg
- “Part of customer service is knowing you cannot make some people happy, no matter what you do.” —Steven Magee
- “Customers who play games should find someone else to play with.” —Frank Sonnenberg
- “The best advertisement in the whole world is a satisfied customer with a big mouth. The worst advertisement in the whole world is an unsatisfied customer with a big mouth.” —Larry Winget, It’s Called Work for a Reason!
Customer Service: The Key to Business Success
Customer service is so much more than just fielding complaints—it’s about connecting with people on a human level and relieving some of their burden. It’s about turning a frustrated customer into a brand loyalist who sings the company’s praises any chance they get. It’s an essential element of the customer experience.
Whether you’re looking for ways to inspire your team during Customer Service Week or International Customer Support Day or you need some words of encouragement to tape up above your workstation, these motivational customer service quotes get the point across. They help us to remember to value every interaction and remind us how small gestures can have significant outcomes.
Photo by Zivica Kerkez/Shutterstock
