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Customer service is the heart and soul of every successful business. In fact, great service has become so valuable, that according to CGS reports, the percentage of customers who are willing to spend extra for excellent service has risen by 6% since 2019, with 30% now prepared to pay a premium for exceptional service.
But where can we find the words that inspire excellence, guide our teams, and remind us why service matters? Sometimes, all it takes are the powerful lines, customer service quotes from leaders, entrepreneurs, or visionaries who’ve been there.
In this blog, we’ve gathered some of the most insightful customer service quotes to motivate your team, elevate your mindset, and help you deliver experiences that truly stand out.
What are customer service quotes?
Customer service quotes are expressions, statements, or phrases that summarize the principles, importance, and philosophy of delivering exceptional customer service.
They remind us that customer service is not just a process, it’s a human experience. It’s about building trust, exceeding customer expectations, and leaving a lasting positive impression.
Whether you’re an experienced customer service professional seeking a new perspective, or a leader looking to empower your team, these great customer service quotes:
- Offer valuable guidance.
- Can be a source of motivation, reminding us of the impact we have on others.
- Serve as a source of reflection, encouraging us to examine our own practices and identify areas for improvement.
- Can be inspirational and highlight the power we hold to create positive change through the simple act of excellent service.
Let us explore the wisdom these customer service quotes offer, the lessons they teach, and the inspiration they provide.
Let these words be your guide, and your fuel as you set out on the journey to deliver service that truly shines.
Inspirational customer service quotes for the support team
Have you ever felt the temptation to give up while tirelessly pursuing a goal?
We’ve all had those moments, when we were on the verge of giving up, searching for a spark of inspiration, a few powerful words or a meaningful quote might reignite our drive.
Here are inspirational customer service quotes to keep your team going on such days.
1. “Life is for service.” – From a plaque at Rollins College that inspired Fred Rogers, American television host, author, and producer.
2. “Service, in short, is not what you do, but who you are. It’s a way of living that you need to bring to everything you do if you’re to bring it to your customer interactions.” – Betsy Sanders, author of Fabled Service: Ordinary Acts, Extraordinary Outcomes.
3. “To earn the respect (and eventually love) of your customers, you first have to respect those customers. That is why Golden Rule behavior is embraced by most of the winning companies.” – Colleen Barrett, President Emerita of Southwest Airlines
4. “It is not your customer’s job to remember you, it is your obligation and responsibility to make sure they don’t have the chance to forget you.” – Patricia Fripp, professional speaker
5. “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, former CEO of McDonald’s
6. “Don’t dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next. Spend your energies on moving forward toward finding the answer.” – Denis Waitley, American motivational speaker and writer
7. “Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful people are always asking, ‘What’s in it for me?”– Brian Tracy, author and motivational speaker
8. “If you just communicate, you can get by. But if you communicate skillfully, you can work miracles.” – Jim Rohn, author and motivational speaker
9. “Self-service options can reduce costs while providing immediate solutions to users. Customers have answers at their fingertips, and agents can respond faster, so everyone is happier and more productive.”—David Schroeder, senior manager of services support at Unity
10. “You’ll never have a product or price advantage again. They can be easily duplicated, but a strong customer service culture can’t be copied.” – Jerry Fritz, Director of the Management Institute, University of Wisconsin
Quotes on great customer service that set the gold standard
These compelling quotes from industry leaders and customer service specialists highlight what makes service truly outstanding.
From forging emotional bonds to focusing on long-term relationships, these insights showcase the strategic mindset behind world-class customer service.
11. “The customers that have had a good CX experience are much more likely to recommend the company, forgive the company if it makes a mistake, trust it and try new offerings.” – Bruce Temkin, Head of the Qualtrics XM Institute
12. “If you make a sale, you can make a living. If you make an investment of time and good service in a customer, you can make a fortune.” – Jim Rohn, American entrepreneur, author, and motivational speaker
13. “First and foremost, invest in building an emotional relationship with your customers, not just a functional relationship, but forming that bond to build brand love and product love, because that, ultimately, is what leads to customer retention and happiness.”- Robert Chatwani, Chief Marketing Officer at Atlassian
14. “The key is to set realistic customer expectations and then not only meet them but also exceed them—preferably in unexpected and helpful ways.” – Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin Group
15. “If you make a sale, you can make a living. If you make an investment of time and good service in a customer, you can make a fortune.” – Jim Rohn, American entrepreneur, author, and motivational speaker
16. “You’ll never have a product or price advantage again. They can be easily duplicated, but a strong customer service culture can’t be copied.” – Jerry Fritz, Director of the Management Institute, University of Wisconsin
17. “A business devoted to service will have only one worry about profits. They will be embarrassingly large.”—Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Co.
18. “Customer experience isn’t an expense. Managing customer experience bolsters your brand” – Stan Phelps, author and speaker on customer experience
Quotes on turning bad customer service into valuable opportunities
While nobody aims for poor service, understanding the consequences of customer service failures can be just as valuable as celebrating successes. These quotes serve as powerful reminders of what’s at stake when service falls short.
However, they also illuminate a crucial truth: every service failure is an opportunity for recovery, learning, and building stronger relationships.
19. ”Whether it’s a bored demeanour, a dismissive look, or just plain rude behaviour, sloppy customer service spells disaster faster than just about any other business transgression.” – Lauren Simonds, Managing Editor of Small Business Computing
20. “Good customer service costs less than bad customer service.” – Sally Gronow, Customer Manager, Welsh Water
21. “When a customer complains, he is doing you a special favor; he is giving you another chance to serve him to his satisfaction. You will appreciate the importance of this opportunity when you consider that the customer’s alternative option was to desert you for a competitor.” — Seymour Fine
22. “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” – Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft
23. “Failure is not the opposite of success; it’s part of success.” – Arianna Huffington, co-founder of The Huffington Post
24. “Thank your customer for complaining and mean it. Most will never bother to complain. They’ll just walk away.” – Marilyn Suttle, Success Coach
25. “If you make customers unhappy in the physical world, they might each tell six friends. If you make customers unhappy on the internet, they can each tell 6,000 friends.” – Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon
26. “Although your customers won’t love you if you give bad service, your competitors will.”—Kate Zabriskie, president of Business Training Works
27. “Face the simple fact before it becomes involved. Solve the small problem before it becomes big.” –Laozi / Lao Tzu, Chinese philosopher
Quotes on the power of happy customers
The goal of providing exceptional customer service experiences is to create genuinely happy customers who become passionate advocates for your brand.
These quotes capture the emotional and business impact of customer satisfaction, emphasizing that the feelings you create matter more than the products you sell.
28. “People will soon forget what you said. They will never forget how you made them feel.” – Dr. Maya Angelou, American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist
29. “You are allowed to do this — don’t worry about the rules, don’t worry about getting into trouble, your job is to take care of the customer. Your job is to make the person leave happy.” – John Pepper, Founder of Boloco
30. “Happy customers are your biggest advocates and can become your most successful sales team.”—Lisa Masiello, author, advocate, and entrepreneur
31. “Be kind and merciful. Let no one ever come to you without leaving feeling better and happier.” – Mother Teresa
32. “A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all.” – Michael LeBoeuf, Business author and former management professor
Customer service motivational quotes for managers
Successful entrepreneurs throughout history have faced numerous challenges they had to overcome in their time. These customer service quotes reflect on their wisdom and experiences, and provide insights you can apply to enhance customer experiences.
33. “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.
34. “I think it’s very important to have a feedback loop, where you’re constantly thinking about what you’ve done and how you could be doing it better.” – Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and founder of SpaceX.
35. “How you think about your customer influences how you respond to them.” – Marilyn Suttle, customer service expert and CEO of Suttle Enterprises.
36. “Good customer service is about understanding your client’s needs and then exceeding them.” – Cory Cabral, CEO and president of Proactive Access
37. “Service is the rent we pay for being. It is the very purpose of life, and not something you do in your spare time.” – Marian Wright Edelman, Founder Children’s Defense Fund
38. “A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn a reputation by trying to do hard things well.” – Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.
39. “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work.” – Steve Jobs, co-founder Apple.
40. “We asked ourselves what we wanted this company to stand for. We didn’t want to just sell shoes. I wasn’t even into shoes—but I was passionate about customer service.” – Tony Hsieh, former CEO of Zappos.
41. “When the customer comes first, the customer will last.” – Bob Half, founder of Robert Half International
Funny customer service quotes to entertain your support team
Providing customer service can be an emotional journey with many highs and lows.
But within the chaos, there’s laughter to be found, and that’s where these funny customer service quotes come in.
42. “If you don’t care, your customer never will.” – Marlene Blaszczyk, motivational specialist.
43. “The best customer service is if the customer doesn’t need to call you, doesn’t need to talk to you. It just works.” – Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.
44. “Rule 1: The customer is always right. Rule 2: If the customer is ever wrong, read Rule 1.” – Stew Leonard, founder of Stew Leonard’s.
46. “If you’re not serving the customer, your job is to be serving someone who is.” – Jan Carlzon, Swedish businessman.
47. “If you are not taking care of your customer, your competitor will.” – Bob Hooey, author, coach, and speaker.
48. “Although your customers won’t love you if you give bad service, your competitors will.” – Kate Zabriskie, President of Business Training Works, Inc.
49. “Say and do something positive that will help the situation; it doesn’t take any brains to complain.” – Robert A. Cook, Christian author, radio broadcaster, and pastor.
50. “Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain – and most fools do.” – Dale Carnegie, American writer and lecturer.
51. “A smile is a curve that sets things straight.” – Phyllis Diller, American comedian and actress.
52. “It’s not the customer’s job to know what they want.” – Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple.
53. “I’m not sure what’s more impressive: the size of your order or the confusion surrounding it.” – Anonymous (likely a customer service hero).
Customer loyalty quotes to keep customers coming back
Providing exceptional customer service is essential for any business that wants to thrive and retain a loyal customer base.
A positive customer service experience can turn a one-time buyer into a lifelong client. Here are some inspirational customer loyalty quotes.
54. “You don’t earn loyalty in a day. You earn loyalty day-by-day”– Jeffery Gitomer, author
55. “It takes months to find a customer … seconds to lose one.”– Vince Lombardi, former American football player, coach, and NFL executive.
56. “Every interaction with a customer is an opportunity to make them feel valued, heard, and understood. The more you can do this, the more likely they are to come back or recommend your business to others.”– Sarah Walters, marketing manager at The Whit Group
57. “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, author and keynote speaker.
58. “All lasting business is built on friendship.”– Alfred A. Montapert, author.
59. “Sell good merchandise at a reasonable profit, treat your customers like human beings and they’ll always come back for more.”– Leon Leonwood Bean, L.L. Bean founder.
60. “Satisfaction is a rating. Loyalty is a brand.”– Shep Hyken, Journalist.
61. “Every contact we have with a customer influences whether or not they’ll come back. We have to be great every time or we’ll lose them.”– Kevin Stirtz, author.
Additional customer service quotes to inspire your team
One way to inspire and motivate your support team is by using impactful customer service quotes. Here are some bonus quotes that can boost your customer support team.
62. “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” – Albert Einstein, theoretical physicist.
63. “The goal as a company is to have customer service that is not just the best but legendary.” – Sam Walton, founder of Walmart and Sam’s Club.
64. “Your customer doesn’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” – Damon Richards, customer care expert.
65. “It is not the employer who pays the wages. Employers only handle the money. It is the customer who pays the wages.” – Henry Ford, founder Ford Motor Company.
66. “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” – Mahatma Gandhi, lawyer, activist, writer, and politician.
67. “The customer’s perception is your reality.” – Kate Zabriskie, President of Business Training Works, Inc.
68. “Customers want good service, but they also want to feel valued.” – Anonymous
69. “Approach each customer with the idea of helping [them] to solve a problem or achieve a goal, not [just] selling a product or service.” – Brian Tracy, author and public speaker.
70. “To give real service, you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity.” – Don Alden Adams, President, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania.
71. “The more you engage with customers, the clearer things become and the easier it is to determine what you should be doing.” – John Russell, Vice President and Managing Director, Harley Davidson Europe
72. “Customer service is about making the customer feel like they made the right choice in choosing you.” – Anonymous
73. “Quality in a service or product is not what you put into it. It is what the customer gets out of it.” – Peter Drucker, Austrian-American consultant and educator.
74. “Make a customer, not a sale.” – Katherine Barchetti, author and former owner of K. Barchetti Shops.
75. “Good customer service costs less than bad customer service.” – Sally Gronow, Head of customer service at Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water.
76. “Inside of every problem lies an opportunity.” – Robert Kiyosaki, Author of Rich Dad Poor Dad.
77. “Get closer than ever to your customers. So close, in fact, that you tell them what they need well before they realize it themselves.” – Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple.
78. “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” – Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.
79. “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day-in and day-out.” Robert Collier, author.
Why use customer service quotes?
Customer service quotes are more than just words. They’re important rules or guiding principles.
These quotes are reminders that kindness, communication, and problem-solving are the instruments that build lasting customer relationships.
They aren’t just for display; they’re tools we can use, sayings we can repeat, and lights to help us through tough times in customer service. They can empower you to:
- Motivate your team: Use these customer service quotes to build a passion for service in your team. Remind team members of the impact they make and the value they bring.
- Inspire yourself: When doubt arises or challenges increase, lean on these powerful words to inspire your own commitment to providing excellent customer service.
- Connect with customers: Share these customer service quotes with your customers. Show them that you understand their concerns and value their presence. You might be surprised at the customer connections you build through these shared words.
These customer service quotes often reflect key topics such as empathy, communication, satisfaction, and the overall customer journey.
They serve as reminders of the important role that customer service plays in building relationships, ensuring loyalty, and adding to the success of a business.
Customer service quotes are not only used to inspire and guide customer support professionals, but they are also shared widely to strengthen the importance of customer-centric values in an organization.
They express the principle that exceptional customer service is not just a department but a mindset that should cover every aspect of a business.
How and where to use customer service quotes effectively
Good customer service is the pillar of any successful business. It not only ensures customer satisfaction, but it also encourages a positive reputation and encourages repeat business.
Here’s how to use customer service quotes effectively.
- Post them on your desk or workspace: Position them where they are easily seen and allow them to be a constant source of inspiration and guidance.
- Share them with your team: Start a conversation or debate and learn from each other’s interpretations.
- Use them to provoke thoughts: After a challenging interaction, revisit a relevant quote and see if it offers a new perspective.
- Use them in training: Include these customer service quotes in training materials to inspire new hires and remind knowledgeable employees of the values and attitudes that contribute to good customer service.
- Share them with customers: Use customer service quotes in email signatures or on your website to communicate your promise to provide quality service to your clients.
Inspire excellent support with exceptional customer service quotes
Infusing customer service wisdom into your team’s mindset can spark a powerful transformation. These quotes are catalysts for building a reputation of excellence and empathy, turning everyday interactions into memorable experiences.
Ready to elevate your support strategy? Discover how BoldDesk, an intelligent help-desk solution, can help you tackle real-world service challenges with ease.
Book a 30-minute live demo to see it in action or jumpstart your journey with a 15-day free trial designed to match your team’s unique needs. If you have questions, reach out to BoldDesk support for personalized guidance and expert assistance.
Remember, customer service quotes have the power to transform interactions, build trust, and create customers who are not just satisfied, but truly happy.
We hope you enjoyed browsing through our selection of good customer service quotes. Found any favorites? Drop them in the comments, we’d love to hear what resonated with you!
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Frequently Asked Questions
Create opportunities for team members to share their customer service wisdom through team meetings, internal newsletters, or recognition programs.
Consider implementing a “Customer Service Quote of the Month” contest where team members submit their favorite quotes or original insights.
While the core principles of good customer service are universal, the language and examples should be adapted to your industry culture.
For instance, highly regulated industries might need more formal language, while creative industries might embrace more casual, innovative expressions in their customer service quotes.
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