What Is Customer Service? Definition and Expert Tips for 2026

Customer service definition: Customer service is the support and assistance provided to customers before, during, and after their purchase or interaction with a product, service, or company.

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What is the definition of customer service?

Customer service is more than just magic phrases and professional words. It involves:

Addressing customer inquiries

Resolving issues

Ensuring their overall satisfaction with the experience

Effective customer service aims to create positive interactions, build trust, and foster long-term relationships between customers and the business.

That’s a textbook definition of customer service, but what is the true meaning of customer service? What ultimately matters is what the customer perceives. Customer service expert Shep Hyken outlines 4 definitions the public gives for “customer service.”

“Customer service is a group of people who help me when I have a problem or complaint.”

“Customer service is the way people treat me.”

“Customer service is a friendly experience.”

“Customer service is easy and convenient.”

But why is customer service important and what is good customer service?

Why is customer service important?

Customer service plays a crucial role in maintaining a good reputation for a business and influencing customer loyalty and retention. Excellent customer service involves being responsive, empathetic, and attentive to customers’ needs, striving to exceed their expectations and leaving them with a positive impression of the company.

Many leaders see customer service as a necessary cost of doing business, but its importance is incalculable and can even drive ROI.

Great customer service helps you retain and keep customers coming back. It costs 5-7 times more to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one, demonstrating the raw value of customer service for ROI.

A recent survey by Verint revealed some stunning statistics:

88% of customers are likely to make a second purchase after an excellent customer service experience

82% are likely to recommend a business to friends and family after an excellent customer experience

62% of customers are unlikely to make a repeat purchase if a customer service issue isn’t resolved in a single attempt

Regular customers spend more, with 42% spending at least $100 at a time

Happy customers buy more often, spend more, and help you market your business.

“We cannot determine if we give good customer service. Only our customers can. In other words, it is our customers’ perceptions that determine if we’ve provided good or bad customer service. The customer acts as the judge and jury. As a business, we can only hope that our efforts are in line with our customers’ expectations. And, only our customers will determine if we have met or exceeded them.”
Shep Hyken

Read more: 4 Customer Service Characteristics that Drive ROI

Types of Customer Service

Customer service can be delivered through various channels, such as:

Emails

In-person interactions

Live chat

Phone calls

Self-service portals

Social media

Customers increasingly expect omnichannel customer service, in which your organization maintains the same experience across those disparate channels.

7 ways to provide great customer service

Great customer service exceeds basic expectations to create memorable and positive customer experiences. This includes:

Personalization: Tailoring the service to meet individual customer needs and preferences, making each customer feel valued and understood.

Proactiveness: Anticipating and addressing customer needs before they become issues, showing foresight and attention to detail.

Responsiveness: Providing timely and prompt responses to customer inquiries and issues, showing that the business values their time and concerns.

Empathy: Demonstrating genuine concern and understanding for the customer’s situation, making the customer feel heard and respected.

Efficiency: Solving customer problems quickly and effectively, ensuring a smooth and hassle-free experience.

Consistency: Delivering reliable and uniform service across all interactions, building customer trust and a sense of reliability.

Going the Extra Mile: Doing more than what is expected or required, creating a sense of delight and surprise for customers, which often leads to increased loyalty and word-of-mouth referrals.

Great customer service creates an experience that leaves the customer feeling valued, heard, and pleasantly surprised, which builds lasting relationships and a positive reputation for the business.

16 customer service best practices

What defines good customer service? As Shep says, “Customers have their definitions, and yours doesn’t really matter.”

According to Shep, the bottom line is that the customer always wants to be happy.

He outlines six things customers often look for in their customer service experience:

Friendly and knowledgeable employees

Excellent customer support when there’s a problem

A simple, convenient experience

Not having to wait

Fast response times

Employees who have empathy when it’s needed

One way to reduce customer response times is to use a text automation tool like TextExpander, which can store and quickly retrieve solutions and empathetic responses for your customer support team. The support teams of 1Password, Dropbox, Shopify, Sketchup, Uber, and other great companies trust it.

However, even better if you can go a step above those interpersonal interactions. Customers increasingly desire a self-serve experience. One of Amazon’s keys to success is Bill Price’s philosophy of “the best service is no service.” You rarely have to interact with the company to request a return or determine when your order is shipping.

Adrian Swinscoe is a customer experience expert who has consulted for companies like Apple, Olympus, HarperCollins, and Nespresso. He’s also the author of Punk CX and host of the Punk CX podcast.

He says that most people don’t want to contact customer service. They would rather help themselves, but can’t—around 60% of all customer service contacts are because the customer couldn’t find the right information on the company website.

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