Customer service definition

How to define customer service? 

Agreeing an universal customer service definition is not an easy task. Numerous procedures, books and manuals illustrate the excellent contributions made to come up with the best customer service definition. The formula is then applied to the business environment in an attempt to define a rigid framework for customer service. However, whilst some rules are important to safeguard the customers and the companies interest, more emphasis should be placed on creating the right environment for employees, thereby vastly improving their job satisfaction. With a touch of training to shape their customer service skills, staff with the right attitude will do wonders.

Customer service definition?

Update November 2013:
In order to assist people looking for a comprehensive definition of customer service we have collated a few below:

• definition #1 (source: wikipedia): "Customer service is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase."
• definition #2 (source: business dictionary.com): "All interactions between a customer and a product provider at the time of sale, and thereafter." 
• definition #3 (source: yourdictionary.com): "The definition of customer service is the assistance that customers receive from a company or its sales staff."
• definition #4 (source: WordIQ.com): "Customer service is the set of behaviors that a business undertakes during its interaction with its customers."
• definition #5 (source: Turban 2002): "Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer expectation."
• definition #6 (source: Oxford British Dictionary): "The assistance and advice provided by a company to those people who buy or use its products or services."

Looking at the above, the interesting common thread coming out is that customer service is all about interactions, during and after the sales process in order to satisfy customers.

So bringing it together, our customer service definition is:

 "Interactions with customers during and after the sale of a product or service in order to ensure a high level of customer satisfaction"


Update February 2016:

Checking on this post, it appears that one source have changed their definition:
- dictionary.com is now using: "assistance and other resources that a company provided to the people who buy or use its products or services" 

We also have a new definition: -
- from investopedia.com: "The process of ensuring customer satisfaction with a product or service"

These last two changes have not lead us to change our definition which remains:

 "Interactions with customers during and after the sale of a product or service in order to ensure a high level of customer satisfaction"

Update May 2023:

For completeness and given the emergence of AI which will play a key role in customer service before too long, here is an AI generated customer service definition:

"Customer service is the assistance and advice provided by a company to its customers. It can be provided before, during, or after a customer makes a purchase. The goal of customer service is to provide customers with a positive experience and to resolve any problems they may have."

Interestingly the AI generated definition is actually very close in sentiment to our aggregated definition. AI refers to company which we omit as the service can be provided by organisations which are not companies. It refers to assistance and advice but sometimes none as such is provided, it could simply be an interaction like welcoming a customer in a shop. It refers to pre, during and post purchase which is valid, we are therefore extending our definition to include pre-purchase service. New definition is now:

 "Interactions with customers before, during and after the sale of a product or service in order to ensure a high level of customer satisfaction"

Customer service: relationship management

Customer service relationship 

For better or for worse... Customer relationship management is all about working together, not imposing what suits one party or the other. Irrespective of the initial engagement, companies which can demonstrate flexibility, and wish for the relationship to succeed, will stimulate their customers to adopt the same behaviour. And, long after the wedding day all will live in harmony in the long term....

Picture courtesy of CocoonPhotography with our thanks -

Customer service examples

Customer service examples: Here are a few quotes by @Thoughtbuddy giving us his take on good customer service:

"For me, an example of @verygoodservice is when the shop assistant walks around from behind the counter/till to hand over your purchase(s)."

"Also think it's @verygoodservice when assistant refers to you by name using details on your payment / loyalty card."

"It's better to take the customer to where the product they're after is on the shelf/rail rather than just give directions."

"A basic: staff engaging in friendly banter with the customer rather than talking to their colleagues/pals."

Thank you Simon

Customer service: giving up is not an option

Customer service options

In a harsh climate, companies' leadership teams may decide that investment in customer service is a low priority. Whilst the motivation is easy to understand and often driven by cost management measures, it is not sustainable. After all, when the winter is over, clients will remember where their bad customer experience and this will clearly influence their decision for future purchases. So even when it is tough out there, good customer service remains a critical tool to outshine the competition.

Customer service: the social media wave

Social media customer service

Social media, and Twitter in particular, is being used more and more as a customer service channel. It is attractive for customers as it brings immediacy of contact and from the companies' perspective, if handled carefully, it is a fantastic marketing opportunity: the social networks can provide spectacular word of mouth responses, help considerably with brand awareness and can be a very strong source of recommendations. Will the emerging wave turn into something bigger or simply fade away?

Challenges for social in the long run are multiple: a network like Twitter has a narrow bandwidth for a given company and can only handle a relatively small number of customer interactions at a time. Also it provides very little triage capabilities at the moment and all queries are channelled in one place, it is like having only one email account in the old days. But more concerning is that, as time goes by and the novelty factor fades, the bad practices which we see in real life (bad response time, no response etc) are starting to creep in the social media customer service sphere and this may encourage the general public to go away and try something else.

Picture by verygoodservice.com

Customer service skills: simplicity is key

What customer service skills do you really need? Good service, delivered well, will always win the day. The rule book should establish the basic customer service definition: for a restaurant, this can be as simple as a bottle of (cold) water and a couple of glasses on every table. Much of the perception about the quality of service, however, will be determined by the service skills, factors such as the human interaction between the customer and staff... Assuming that the quality of the product is beyond reproach and not over priced, if the staff attitude is good, the overall service assessment will be positive, irrespective of its level of sophistication.

Picture by verygoodservice.com

Update customer service skills 2013

We have prepared a list of customer service skills which we consider to be essential when implementing an effective customer service strategy. They can be found by reading this blog post: list of customer service skills