Not too long ago I collected ten of my favorite customer service quotes. These were my favorite quotes from business luminaries and thought leaders. A number of people asked, "Why didn't you include any of your own quotes?" Well, those were favorite quotes that inspired me. So, in my desire to give customers (and readers) what they want, here are ten of my favorite quotes I've written myself. (There are more, for another article in the future.) I hope these inspire you as much as the penultimate list of sayings.

1. “Customer service is not a department. It is a philosophy that should be embraced by everyone in every department!” I've been preaching this since the beginning of my career in the XNUMXs. Customer service is something we all do, both for our external customers and our internal customers.
2. “Treat your employees the way you would treat your customers.” This is what I call the golden rule for employees. Treat the people who work for you the way you want your customers to be treated. You cannot expect employees to behave differently from their bosses and supervisors.
3. “What happens inside your organization is felt outside by your customers.” This is a great follow up to the Golden Rule for Employees. Happy employees tend to create happy customers. If your organization focuses on employees in the right way, it will be experienced by customers.
4. “The best technology in the world cannot replace the ultimate relationship building tool between a customer and a company: the human touch.” Another way to say this is, "You can't automate a relationship." (That's two quotes for the price of one!) No matter how good your technology is, at some point the customer will want to talk to a live person. Make that easy and convenient, and use that interaction to build customer trust in your business or brand.
5. “For the customer, you are the company.” Many customers will say, "I like doing business with them." Who are they? Often it's just one person, and that one person interacting with the customer has what I call "The Awesome Responsibility." At any given time, one person represents the entire company or brand, as well as all the people who work there. I often ask the audience at my keynotes, “Are you ready and willing to take on that tremendous responsibility?”
6. “Consistency doesn't mean you never have a problem. It means your customers can count on you if they ever have a problem.” No one – and no company – is perfect. But they can excel when there are problems. You want your customers to say, "Even if there's a problem, I know I can always count on them to take care of me." That's the kind of consistency I want and hope for in a company.
7. “Kindness and courtesy are the foundation of a positive customer experience.” I wrote about this concept in my last book, I'll be back. I used different words, but the meaning is the same: be nice! For example, you can go to a restaurant and have great food, but if the waitress and the rest of the staff are rude, you probably won't come back. Friendliness and courtesy (being nice) are essential and fundamental to the customer experience.
8. “Remember… No matter how good your feedback is, you always start over with the next customer.” This is straight out of my book The Cult of the Customer and is a reminder that no matter how good (or bad) we were at dealing with our last customer; the next interaction with the next customer is a chance to start over. Every customer deserves to get a renewed effort from the best you have to offer.
9. "The easier it is to do business with you, the happier your customers will be.” I dedicated a whole book, The Convenience Revolution, to the concept of convenience. Customers like convenience and will choose your organization over the competition if you offer more convenience in doing business. And often they will pay more.
10. “A brand is defined by the customer's experience. The experience is delivered by the employees.” I close with this quote because it brings together some of the key ideas mentioned in previous quotes. It's about the employees. It is not the company that provides the service and CX, but the employees. The right employees, with the right attitude, need to be hired, properly trained and empowered to deliver a great customer experience.

Copyright © 2022 Shep Hyken, reprinted with permission

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