--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Serving the customer (“customer service”)…" description: "\"“Serving the customer (“customer service”) is not becoming a personal concierge and catering to their every whim and want. Customer service is providin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc0/timothy-ferriss-973_customer-service_serving-the-customer-customer-service-is_1798486.jpg" --- # Serving the customer (“customer service”) is not becoming… ![“Serving the customer (“customer service”) is not becoming a personal concierge and catering to their every whim and want. Customer service is providing an excellent product at an acceptable price and solving legitimate problems (lost packages, replacements, refunds, etc.) in the fastest manner…” quote by Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc0/timothy-ferriss-973_customer-service_serving-the-customer-customer-service-is_1798486.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc0/timothy-ferriss-973_customer-service_serving-the-customer-customer-service-is_1798486.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc0/timothy-ferriss-973_customer-service_serving-the-customer-customer-service-is_1798486.jpg) > ““Serving the customer (“customer service”) is not becoming a personal concierge and catering to their every whim and want. Customer service is providing an excellent product at an acceptable price and solving legitimate problems (lost packages, replacements, refunds, etc.) in the fastest manner possible. That’s it.”” [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Customer service should focus on delivering quality products and solving real problems quickly, not on overly pampering customers. **In simple terms:** Serve well, solve problems fast. Key Takeaway Prioritize efficient problem resolution. Themes business customer service efficiency Mood pragmatic direct Type advice business strategy When to use this quote - handling complaints - returns - shipping issues - pricing strategies Key Concepts service design value proposition Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance speed and quality? - When should you go beyond the basics? A Different Perspective Excessive personalization can increase costs and dilute brand. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Customer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer/) [Customer service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer-service/) [Service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/service/) [Service Personal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/service-personal-690432/) [Service Providing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/service-providing-2009677/) [Serving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serving/) [Serving Customer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serving-customer-683842/) ## Related quotes > [If you're not serving the customer, your job is to be serving someone who is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-carlzon/if-you-re-not-serving-the-customer-your-job-is-to-be-serving-someone/) [Jan Carlzon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-carlzon/) > [My professional life has been about public service. My personal life I define very intently through my family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-de-blasio/my-professional-life-has-been-about-public-service-my-personal-life-i/) [Bill de Blasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-de-blasio/) > [“Service is providing what's wanted, not what I'd like to give.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-klemmer/service-is-providing-what-s-wanted-not-what-i-d-like-to-give/) [Brian Klemmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-klemmer/) > [“The future of retail is not about the channel; it’s about best serving the customer at the point of need.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-future-of-retail-is-not-about-the-channel-it-s-about-best-serving/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Deal with complaints. If you give the complaint your attention, you may be able to please this one person this one time - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-ward/deal-with-complaints-if-you-give-the-complaint-your-attention-you-may/) [Susan Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-ward/) > [Of course, constructive conversations are part of customer service. So is action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-husted/of-course-constructive-conversations-are-part-of-customer-service-so/) [Jon Husted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-husted/) > [One of the biggest things that I've tried to wrap my head around in this work is this concept I call, 'customer service governance.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-kim/one-of-the-biggest-things-that-i-ve-tried-to-wrap-my-head-around-in/) [Andy Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-kim/) > [Biggest question: Isn't it really 'customer helping' rather than customer service? And wouldn't you deliver better service if you thought of it that way?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-gitomer/biggest-question-isn-t-it-really-customer-helping-rather-than/) [Jeffrey Gitomer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-gitomer/) > [Most customer service people are great. It's that one customer service person from hell that drives me crazy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-jones/most-customer-service-people-are-great-it-s-that-one-customer-service/) [Jon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-jones/) > [Southwest Airlines is successful because the company understands it's a customer service company. It also happens to be an airline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-mackay/southwest-airlines-is-successful-because-the-company-understands-it-s/) [Harvey Mackay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-mackay/) > [“Customer service is greatly impacted by whether or not employees enjoy working with each other. Its important that employees enjoy working with each other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hendrith-vanlon-smith-jr-ceo-of-mayflower-plymouth/customer-service-is-greatly-impacted-by-whether-or-not-employees/) [Hendrith Vanlon Smith Jr, CEO of Mayflower-Plymouth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hendrith-vanlon-smith-jr-ceo-of-mayflower-plymouth/) > [The best feature of a product should really be the customer service.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-fried/the-best-feature-of-a-product-should-really-be-the-customer-service/) [Jason Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-fried/) > [“I did customer service for a company. I hated it, as the customers knew they were building problematic systems!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/i-did-customer-service-for-a-company-i-hated-it-as-the-customers-knew/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Every customer interaction is a marketing opportunity. If you go above and beyond on the customer service side, people are much more likely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-butterfield/every-customer-interaction-is-a-marketing-opportunity-if-you-go-above/) [Stewart Butterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-butterfield/) > [“The police ultimately pay the price for poor customer service when citizens become fearful of them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-police-ultimately-pay-the-price-for-poor-customer-service-when/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) ## More by Timothy Ferriss > [“First of all, if we’re serious all the time, we’ll wear out before we get the truly serious stuff done. Second, if this book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/first-of-all-if-we-re-serious-all-the-time-we-ll-wear-out-before-we/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [“What is the book (or books) you’ve given most as a gift, and why? Or what are one to three books that have greatly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/what-is-the-book-or-books-you-ve-given-most-as-a-gift-and-why-or-what/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [“What advice would you give to a smart, driven college student about to enter the “real world”? What advice should they ignore? Nobody really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/what-advice-would-you-give-to-a-smart-driven-college-student-about-to/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [“Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can’t see from the center. Big, undreamed-of things—the people on the edge see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/out-on-the-edge-you-see-all-kinds-of-things-you-can-t-see-from-the/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [“information without emotion isn’t retained.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/information-without-emotion-isn-t-retained/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [“Pure hell forces action, but anything less can be endured with enough clever rationalization.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/pure-hell-forces-action-but-anything-less-can-be-endured-with-enough/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [“What advice would you give to a smart, driven college student about to enter the “real world”? Most of the game is about persistence.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/what-advice-would-you-give-to-a-smart-driven-college-student-about-to-2/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [“Don’t aim at success. The more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/don-t-aim-at-success-the-more-you-aim-at-it-and-make-it-a-target-the/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [“conscious thinking is largely asking and answering questions in your own head. If you want confusion and heartache, ask vague questions. If you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/conscious-thinking-is-largely-asking-and-answering-questions-in-your/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [“What bullshit excuses do you have for not going after whatever it is that you want? Please,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/what-bullshit-excuses-do-you-have-for-not-going-after-whatever-it-is/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [“The fishing is best where the fewest go,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/the-fishing-is-best-where-the-fewest-go/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [“Using people to leverage a refined process multiplies production; using people as a solution to a poor process multiplies problems.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/using-people-to-leverage-a-refined-process-multiplies-production/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [“Being financially rich and having the ability to live like a millionaire are fundamentally two very different things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/being-financially-rich-and-having-the-ability-to-live-like-a/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [“What are the top-three activities that I use to fill time to feel as though I’ve been productive? These are usually used to postpone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/what-are-the-top-three-activities-that-i-use-to-fill-time-to-feel-as/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [“The factory of the future will have only two employees, a man and a dog. The man will be there to feed the dog.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/the-factory-of-the-future-will-have-only-two-employees-a-man-and-a/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) [Explore all 310 Timothy Ferriss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) ## More Customer quotes > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Amongst the financial Twitterati, the term 'muppets' has come to describe any client used and abused by some financial predator. I've adopted the term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/amongst-the-financial-twitterati-the-term-muppets-has-come-to/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [Many early-stage entrepreneurs make one simple mistake: Describing this 'big picture' in vague concepts and words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunil-nagaraj/many-early-stage-entrepreneurs-make-one-simple-mistake-describing/) [Sunil Nagaraj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunil-nagaraj/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [Don't think OF the market. Think AS the market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-fishman/don-t-think-of-the-market-think-as-the-market/) [Michael Fishman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-fishman/) > [If Wall Street crashes, does Main Street follow? Not necessarily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-bernanke/if-wall-street-crashes-does-main-street-follow-not-necessarily/) [Ben Bernanke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-bernanke/) > [The exact details of how you practice value investing will vary investor to investor, but the fundamental principle of scouring the world, looking for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-tilson/the-exact-details-of-how-you-practice-value-investing-will-vary/) [Whitney Tilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-tilson/) > [The best way to hold customers is to constantly figure out how to give them more for less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kotler/the-best-way-to-hold-customers-is-to-constantly-figure-out-how-to/) [Philip Kotler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kotler/) > [Perhaps the most important reason to be skeptical of government inflation numbers is that the government, like a fox campaigning to guard a hen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/perhaps-the-most-important-reason-to-be-skeptical-of-government/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [When the dollar collapses, it's not doing it in a vacuum. If the dollar loses value, it's doing so relative to some other currency.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/when-the-dollar-collapses-it-s-not-doing-it-in-a-vacuum-if-the-dollar/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [Corporations invest in sophisticated CRM, or Customer Relationship Management, programs to effectively oversee their relationship with their customers at every point during the buying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-ostrofsky/corporations-invest-in-sophisticated-crm-or-customer-relationship/) [Marc Ostrofsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-ostrofsky/) > [I believe confusion is good. Worldwide market leaders gain when there is confusion in the market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subhash-chandra/i-believe-confusion-is-good-worldwide-market-leaders-gain-when-there/) [Subhash Chandra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subhash-chandra/) > [Damn inflation, full speed ahead,' Greenspan has said in both action and word. I think an investor should believe him and invest accordingly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gross/damn-inflation-full-speed-ahead-greenspan-has-said-in-both-action-and/) [Bill Gross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gross/) > [“When companies get big, they devote most of their care and feeding to the business that got them big. This is as it should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-schmidt/when-companies-get-big-they-devote-most-of-their-care-and-feeding-to/) [Eric Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-schmidt/) > [“Salesmanship is usually the art of making it the prospect’s problem, the salesperson’s need or desire to earn money.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/salesmanship-is-usually-the-art-of-making-it-the-prospect-s-problem/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) [Browse all 9,257 Customer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Serving the customer (“customer service”) is not becoming a personal concierge and catering to their every whim and want. 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