Customer service quotes: 60 real quotes for teams that serve
Quotes for support, success and front desk teams, each with a copy button. Every one checked against its source.
KraftyLab TeamUpdated 11 min read
Many great customer service quotes online come with the wrong name under them, and founders get it worst. These 60 were checked one by one: against the speaker's own book, letter, speech, company report or recorded meeting, or the sourced section of their Wikiquote page. Where the popular wording differs from what the person said, we used their words. Account and agency teams can use most of them as excellent client service quotes too. They're sorted by the moment you need one for, from a sign by the desk to a hard day on the queue, with ideas for using them with your team, six huddle openers and 20 customer service sayings we wrote ourselves.
Short customer service quotes for a slide or a sign
Twelve words or fewer, so they fit a sign by the desk, a slide title or the team channel topic.
1
No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.
Aesop, fable writer
2
Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.
Martin Luther King Jr., civil rights leader
3
Welcome the coming, speed the parting guest.
Homer, ancient Greek poet
4
Delighted customers are the only advertisement everyone believes.
Ron Kaufman, customer service author
5
Courteous treatment will make a customer a walking advertisement.
J. C. Penney, department store founder
6
A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all.
Michael LeBoeuf, business author
7
It is difficulties that show what men are.
Epictetus, Stoic philosopher
8
Good manners are made up of petty sacrifices.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, essayist
Customer service quotes from founders and business leaders
Founder quotes are where most misattributions online show up. These come from the founders' own books, shareholder letters, annual reports and recorded meetings.
9
The two most important words I ever wrote were on that first Wal-Mart sign: ‘Satisfaction Guaranteed.’
Sam Walton, Walmart founder
10
Whenever I meet someone, I try to imagine him wearing an invisible sign that says: Make me feel important!
Mary Kay Ash, cosmetics company founder
11
There is only one boss, and whether a person shines shoes for a living or heads up the biggest corporation in the world, the boss remains the same. It's the customer!
Sam Walton, Walmart founder
12
There is only one valid definition of a business purpose: to create a customer.
Peter Drucker, management thinker
13
Customers are always beautifully, wonderfully dissatisfied, even when they report being happy and business is great.
Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder
14
There is one thing we are quite passionate about, and that is serving the customers who have trusted us.
Charlie Munger, Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman
15
Too many companies think of their call centers as an expense to minimize.
Tony Hsieh, Zappos CEO
16
Business, like life, is all about how you make people feel.
Danny Meyer, restaurateur
Quotes about customer service: listening, the extra mile and complaints
Inspirational customer service quotes for the three parts of the job that training rarely covers well.
On listening
Half of good service is hearing the problem the customer actually has. For a coaching session or a call review.
17
When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.
Ernest Hemingway, novelist
18
We have two ears and one mouth, so we should listen more than we say.
Zeno of Citium, Stoic philosopher
19
It is the province of knowledge to speak and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen.
Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., physician and writer
20
You cannot truly listen to anyone and do anything else at the same time.
M. Scott Peck, psychiatrist and author
21
Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force.
Brenda Ueland, writer and teacher
22
I only wish I could find an institute that teaches people how to listen. After all, a good manager needs to listen at least as much as he needs to talk.
Lee Iacocca, auto executive
23
Understanding does not occur when we try to intercept what someone wants to say to us by claiming we already know it.
Hans-Georg Gadamer, philosopher
24
When a customer asks what no one else has ever asked, pay close attention.
Ron Kaufman, customer service author
On going the extra mile
For the small things nobody asked for: the follow-up email, the second check, the extra minute on the call.
25
Shall we make a new rule of life from tonight: always to try to be a little kinder than is necessary?
J. M. Barrie, playwright
26
If what must be given is given willingly the kindness is doubled.
Publilius Syrus, Roman writer
27
Exceed your customers' expectations. If you do, they'll come back over and over.
Sam Walton, Walmart founder
28
You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.
Zig Ziglar, sales trainer
29
Etiquette... means behaving yourself a little better than is absolutely essential.
Will Cuppy, humorist
30
He who civilly shows the way to one who has missed it, is as one who has lighted another's lamp from his own lamp; it none the less gives light to himself when it burns for the other.
Ennius, Roman poet
31
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.
Leo Buscaglia, professor and author
On handling complaints
For the escalation queue and the week after a bad release.
32
Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.
Bill Gates, Microsoft co-founder
33
Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain, and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving.
Dale Carnegie, author and teacher
34
It is difficult to tell how much men's minds are conciliated by a kind manner and gentle speech.
Cicero, Roman statesman
35
Prepare your mind and heart before you prepare your speech. What we say may be less important than how we say it.
Stephen Covey, leadership author
36
If a man is mistaken, instruct him kindly and show him his error. But if thou art not able, blame thyself, or blame not even thyself.
Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor
37
A sweet smile and a soft word have usually their desired effect.
Letitia Elizabeth Landon, poet and novelist
38
Persuasion is often more effectual than force.
Aesop, fable writer
Hospitality and guest service quotes
Hotels and restaurants have thought about service longer than anyone. These guest service quotes travel well to any front desk, chat window or phone line.
39
Hospitality is present when something happens for you. It is absent when something happens to you.
Danny Meyer, restaurateur
40
Service is the technical delivery of a product. Hospitality is how the delivery of that product makes its recipient feel.
Danny Meyer, restaurateur
41
Enshrining the Golden Rule as our primary working guide was the most fundamental decision in shaping our future.
Isadore Sharp, Four Seasons founder
42
Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, essayist
43
Politeness and a sense of honor have this advantage: we bestow them on others without losing a thing.
Baltasar Gracián, Spanish writer
44
If customers leave without a purchase, you have not failed. But if customers leave without a smile, you have.
Ron Kaufman, customer service author
45
The essence of good manners consists in making it clear that one has no wish to hurt.
Bertrand Russell, philosopher
46
There is no outward mark of politeness that does not have a profound moral reason.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German writer
Motivational quotes for customer service teams
Customer service motivational quotes for the people doing the work, and for the people leading them. Planning a whole week of thanks for your customers instead? See our customer appreciation day ideas.
On the team behind good service
Customers feel how a team treats itself. For managers and team leads.
47
Take care of your employees, and they'll take care of your customers.
J. W. Marriott Jr., hotel executive
48
Customers will never love a company until the employees love it first.
Simon Sinek, leadership author
49
I believe praise is the best way for a manager to motivate people.
Mary Kay Ash, cosmetics company founder
50
Always treat your employees exactly as you want them to treat your best customers.
Stephen Covey, leadership author
51
We all know that a good example is more effective than advice. So set a good example, and it won't take long for others to follow.
Anne Frank, diarist
52
At all the Virgin Group companies our employees come first, then our customers, then our shareholders.
Richard Branson, Virgin Group founder
53
Always look for the helpers. There's always someone who is trying to help.
Fred Rogers, children's TV host
For a hard day on the queue
When the calls are long and the customers are tired. A few are almost two thousand years old, which says something about the job.
54
When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly.
Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor
55
How much more damage anger and grief do than the things that cause them.
Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor
56
Wherever there is a human being there is an opportunity for a kindness.
Seneca, Stoic philosopher
57
Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind.
Henry James, novelist
58
It is a little embarrassing that after forty-five years of research and study, the best advice I can give people is to be a little kinder to each other.
Aldous Huxley, novelist
59
If you stop to be kind, you must swerve often from your path.
Mary Webb, novelist
60
Men are disturbed, not by things, but by the principles and notions which they form concerning things.
Epictetus, Stoic philosopher
How to use customer service quotes with your team
A quote on its own is a poster. A quote with one sentence from you is a message. Four places it works, with wording you can borrow.
As a daily huddle opener. Read one quote, ask one question, and give the round two minutes before the queue opens. One answer each, no debate. The six openers below are ready to use.“Today's quote is Zeno's: two ears, one mouth. Quick round: what's one thing a customer told you this week that the product team should hear?”
In a Customer Service Week post. Customer Service Week falls in the first full week of October in the US. Pair one quote with real names and one real moment, so the post reads as thanks, not as a poster.“Happy Customer Service Week. Danny Meyer wrote that hospitality is present when something happens for you. This year it happened for [customer] when [name] rebuilt their account over a weekend. Thank you, team.”
On a training slide. Open a module with one quote, then turn it into a habit people can check. The quote gets attention; the habit is what they keep.“Slide 1: ‘You cannot truly listen to anyone and do anything else at the same time.’ (M. Scott Peck). Slide 2: our rule: close the other tabs until the call summary is written.”
In a recognition note. Put the quote first and the specific thing the person did right after it. Name the customer problem, not just the effort.“Seneca said wherever there is a human being there is an opportunity for a kindness. [Name] found one on Tuesday: a 40-minute setup call, then a follow-up the next morning before the customer had to ask.”
Six quote-and-question huddle openers
Each pairs a quote from this page with a question we wrote. Read the quote, ask the question, one answer each. For something longer than two minutes, pick one of our customer service team building activities.
Zeno of Citium: “We have two ears and one mouth, so we should listen more than we say.”
What did a customer say this week that surprised you?
Bill Gates: “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.”
Which complaint this week points at something we could fix for everyone?
Danny Meyer: “Hospitality is present when something happens for you.”
What did we do for a customer this week that they didn't have to ask for?
Tony Hsieh: “Too many companies think of their call centers as an expense to minimize.”
Which conversation this week turned a frustrated customer into a fan?
Marcus Aurelius: “How much more damage anger and grief do than the things that cause them.”
What helps you reset after a hard call?
Richard Branson: “At all the Virgin Group companies our employees come first, then our customers, then our shareholders.”
Who helped you solve something for a customer this week, and how?
20 customer service sayings we wrote
Some teams want their own words rather than a famous name. We wrote these, so they carry no attribution: put one on a sign by the desk, in the huddle or in the channel topic.
1
Fix the problem, then fix the reason it happened.
2
Every ticket is a person with a deadline.
3
Answer the question they asked, then the one they meant.
4
Own it, even when it isn't yours.
5
Calm is contagious. Start it.
6
We don't close tickets. We solve problems.
7
The best reply is the one nobody has to follow up on.
8
Listen to the end of the sentence.
9
Say their name, solve their problem, thank them.
10
A clear “here's what I can do” beats a vague yes.
11
Patience is part of the product.
12
Never make a customer tell the story twice.
13
Leave every customer a little less stressed than you found them.
14
Small courtesies, every time.
15
The queue is long, but each customer sees only one conversation.
16
Assume confusion before you assume bad intent.
17
Write it so a tired person can follow it.
18
Today's complaint is tomorrow's help article.
19
Thank the customer who tells you what broke.
20
Behind every great reply is a teammate who helped.
Famous customer service quotes we left out
These show up on most lists of the best customer service quotes. We left them off because we couldn't confirm the words under the name.
“The customer is always right.” (usually credited to Harry Gordon Selfridge)
Wikiquote's only citation for Selfridge is a 2012 business book, and it notes the line is also credited to Marshall Field. We couldn't find it in anything either man wrote, so treat it as an old retail slogan and use it without a name.
“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” (usually credited to Maya Angelou)
Wikiquote lists it under misattributed: a very close version was credited to Carl W. Buehner in Richard Evans' Quote Book (1971), years before it was tied to Angelou.
“Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends.” (usually credited to Walt Disney)
The earliest printings we found are quote collections and service books from decades after his death in 1966. We couldn't find it in any interview, speech or writing of his own.
“Clients do not come first. Employees come first.” (usually credited to Richard Branson)
We couldn't find this wording in his books or a recorded interview. The idea is his, though: in Like a Virgin (2012) he wrote that Virgin's employees come first, then customers, then shareholders, and that line is in our list.
“The only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.” (usually credited to Albert Schweitzer)
Wikiquote lists it under disputed: widely credited to him online, with no known original source.
A quote in the channel is a start. When your service team has earned more, a live host can run an hour for them on your video call, on Zoom by default (Teams, Google Meet or Webex on request). Gratitude Games & Grins is a game night built around thanks, with small teams that reshuffle every game. Let's Stand Up to Stress gets people out of the chair with quick ways to release tension after a long week on the phones. Support teams that cover several time zones can book two sessions so nobody joins at midnight. Book about 2 weeks ahead.
Danny Meyer's “Hospitality is present when something happens for you. It is absent when something happens to you.” explains good service in two sentences, and it's from his own book, Setting the Table (2006). For a team that handles complaints, Bill Gates's “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning” is the classic.
What are some short customer service quotes?
Try “Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve” (Martin Luther King Jr.), “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted” (Aesop) or “Courteous treatment will make a customer a walking advertisement” (J. C. Penney). Every quote in our short list is 12 words or fewer, so it fits a sign or a slide.
Did Sam Walton say “There is only one boss, the customer”?
Yes, in a longer form. Wal-Mart's 1988 annual report, published while he was chairman, prints under his name: “There is only one boss, and whether a person shines shoes for a living or heads up the biggest corporation in the world, the boss remains the same. It's the customer!” The short version online is a trimmed paraphrase of that.
Who said “The customer is always right”?
We couldn't find a solid source for it. It's usually credited to the department store owners Harry Gordon Selfridge or Marshall Field, but Wikiquote's only citation for Selfridge is a 2012 business book, and we couldn't find it in anything either man wrote. Treat it as an old retail slogan rather than a quote.
What are good motivational quotes about customer service?
For a hard day, Seneca's “Wherever there is a human being there is an opportunity for a kindness” and Henry James's “Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind…” land well. For the team itself, Simon Sinek's “Customers will never love a company until the employees love it first” is a good one to share with managers. For more, see our motivational quotes for work.
How do you use a customer service quote in a team huddle?
Read one quote, ask one question about it, and give the round two minutes with one answer per person. Our six huddle openers pair a quote with a question we wrote. For longer sessions, try our customer service team building activities.
What's the difference between a customer service quote and a customer service saying?
A quote is something a real person said or wrote, so it carries their name. A saying is a line with no author, like the 20 we wrote for this page: put it on a sign or in a huddle without a name under it.
Thank the people who serve your customers
A live host runs an hour of games or a stress reset for your service team on your video call. Send your date and headcount for a plan within 24 hours.
