Best customer service brands 2025: Companies getting it right and leading the way
Customer service can make a brand stand out, for better or worse. Find out the brands winning rave reviews and top ratings for their customer service.
Customer service has always been a fundamental part of business, but it’s more important than ever now. Consumers expect a lot from brands – and have several to choose from. Customer satisfaction needs to be part of each step of their journey, from initial interaction through post-purchase and beyond.
Simply put: Brands need to step up with great service that provides the experience customers expect or risk losing them to the competition.
Let’s take a deep dive into the types of modern customer service, why it’s important, what good service looks like, customer service strategy, examples of brands providing outstanding service, and much more.
What is customer service? (Definition and Meaning)
Customer service encompasses the support and assistance a company provides to individuals before, during, and after they purchase or use its products or services. This includes addressing inquiries, resolving issues, and ensuring that customers have a seamless and positive experience with the brand. Effective customer service is integral to fostering customer satisfaction and loyalty, as it directly influences perceptions of the company and its offerings. By prioritizing customer needs and delivering consistent, high-quality support across various channels—such as phone, email, social media, and in-person interactions—businesses can differentiate themselves in a competitive marketplace and build lasting relationships with their customers.
In the simplest terms, customer service is the ongoing action taken to support customers throughout their journey and interaction with a brand’s product or service.
The days of customer service being a number that you call to get help are gone. Today, service is a crucial element of any product, service, or business, and needs to be baked into all platforms and channels of your brand, including via:
- Phone
- Social media
- Your website
- SMS or text
- In-person/on-site support
- And yes, even traditional postal mail
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Why is customer service important?
Time and again, research shows that service excellence is essential to building customer loyalty and driving business growth. But service has changed dramatically over the years, expanding far beyond phone calls and email. There’s a lot to know and keep up with.
More than pricing, and even the product itself, service can be the biggest driver of customer loyalty.
In a digital-first economy, customer service is at the heart of the customer experience, which is critical to customer retention. To avoid churn, sales and service must be able to work together in real-time – and efficiently (and securely) share customer insights to meet rising expectations.
Consider this: A PwC study found that 32% of customers will walk away from a brand they love after just one poor experience. On the flip side, companies that consistently deliver great service can see revenue increases of 20% or more. In short, good service isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s a business imperative.
What’s the difference between customer service vs. customer support vs. customer aftercare?
Other terms often used interchangeably with customer service include:
- Customer support
- Customer aftercare
- Customer care
There’s quite a lot of overlap with what these terms mean. All are essential to customer experience, but it’s important to know the differences.
Customer service is the umbrella term that encompasses the entire experience a customer has with your brand and its products or services — from pre-sales interactions, through the buying journey, and into post-sales support.
Customer support typically refers to more technical or product-related help that occurs after a purchase — think installation, troubleshooting, and answering how-to questions. It’s focused on problem resolution and ensuring customers can effectively use what they’ve bought.
Customer aftercare, or customer care, extends beyond technical support. It’s about nurturing the relationship post-purchase. This includes follow-up communication, satisfaction surveys, loyalty programs, and proactive outreach — all designed to keep customers happy and engaged.
Why this matters: As customer expectations rise, especially in digital environments, distinguishing between these functions helps organizations better allocate resources, train teams, and ultimately, deliver a more targeted and effective service.
What are the types of customer service in 2025?
Customer service has come a long way from the days when a phone call or a visit to the store were the only options a customer had for reaching a brand.
Today, the explosion of e-commerce, mobile devices, and social media has created a multitude of ways for customers to connect with businesses. Each channel brings different expectations — and opportunities — for delivering standout service.
Here are some of the most common types of customer service:- Social media: Responding to questions, requests, and complaints on platforms like X, Facebook, and Instagram. Social channels offer immediacy and public visibility — making them a crucial part of your customer service strategy.
- Chatbots: These AI-powered tools handle FAQs and basic inquiries 24/7, offering quick resolutions or routing customers to human agents when needed. They’re a cost-effective way to scale support.
- Self-service: Empowering customers to find answers on their own through FAQ pages, knowledge bases, video tutorials, or community forums. According to Gartner, 38% of Gen Z and millennial customers will abandon a service issue if it can’t be solved via self-service.
- SMS/mobile: Increasingly popular with younger generations, this includes order updates, delivery confirmations, and two-way support via text.
- Phone: While no longer the dominant method, many customers still prefer talking to a human. Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and AI-driven routing help streamline calls and reduce wait times.
- Email support: Offers customers a clear way to explain complex issues and get documented responses. It may be slower, but remains a widely used option.
- In-person (traditional, in-store): For certain products and industries, on-site support remains critical — enabling face-to-face interaction and relationship building.
What to keep in mind: The most effective service strategies often combine several of these channels into an omnichannel approach — delivering consistent, connected support no matter where the conversation starts.
Digital self-service and AI: Streamlined service, happy customers, real-life results
Success! A top utility provider implemented self-service + AI chatbots to boost customer service, improve efficiency, and reduce costs.
What does it mean to be customer service oriented in 2025?
Being customer service oriented means prioritizing the needs of the customer ahead of the needs of the business. A service oriented business understands that customer experience takes priority over profit.
A customer service oriented business recognizes that it won’t thrive unless it consistently improves customer focus and satisfaction across every touchpoint in the customer journey. This means being proactive, empathetic, and willing to adapt based on feedback — not just reacting to problems after they arise.
For service agents, being customer-oriented means showing up with curiosity, kindness, and a solution-first mindset. It’s about genuinely wanting to help, listening carefully, and providing thoughtful, personalized support — not just checking boxes or closing tickets.
The payoff? Stronger brand loyalty, reduced churn, and a reputation for putting people first — which, in a crowded market, is often what sets standout brands apart from everyone else.
Service strategy 101: What are the key elements of great customer service in 2025?
Service is a core element of business, and can help companies thrive, or be their demise if service isn’t up to par.
Here are the top considerations for a customer service strategy:
- Customer feedback through the service channel is an invaluable source of information about how your company is performing, and ways you can continue to improve.
- Service agents need data at their fingertips to deliver timely, personalized support. When they can see a customer’s history, preferences, and past interactions, they’re better equipped to help.
- Intelligent technologies help reduce contact volume and manual work so agents have more time to focus on meaningful customer interactions.
- Resilient service strengthens your brand. By supporting customers through change — whether it’s internal disruption or external challenges — companies build trust and long-term loyalty.
If you support your customers when times are difficult, it’s highly likely they’ll stick with you for the long term.
That’s why many organizations are turning to service cloud technology to deliver the stellar experiences customers expect. These tools are modernizing service delivery — boosting efficiency, increasing satisfaction, and driving growth.
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The key elements of great customer service in 2025 include:
- Easy access: Be easily available to customers, and become accessible through various channels.
- Empathy: Prioritize customer needs ahead of the those for the business, i.e., profit.
- Clarity in communication: Understand the customer’s goals and roadblocks, then be clear and concise in communicating with customers to resolve issues.
- Professionalism: Adhere to high ethical and professional standards by displaying a courteous and helpful attitude at all times when interacting with customers.
- Personalized attention: Deliver personalized customer service experience based on a customer’s history and preferences.
- Adaptability: Be flexible and responsive to accommodate changing customer needs
- Speed & efficiency: Find solutions to customer issues quickly and efficiently with genuine interest and enthusiasm.
- Technical competence: Provide quality, accurate information and answer questions correctly with sufficient details and in a satisfactory manner.
- Continuous improvement: Commit to continuously improving customer service delivery and customer experience through product, service, or process changes based on customer feedback.
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Why skills are the secret sauce of service
Customer service technology is evolving fast — but at the end of the day, it’s people who make or break the experience.
Even the most advanced platform can’t replace the power of human connection. That’s why soft skills like empathy, active listening, and clear communication aren’t just “nice to have” — they’re essential.
Top-performing service teams invest in continuous learning, coaching, and the tools to help their reps succeed. Because empowered, skilled agents don’t just solve problems faster — they build trust, loyalty, and long-term value for your brand.
Curious about what makes a great service rep? Check out our breakdown of 12 essential customer service skills.
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What are the benefits of excellent customer service?
A business benefits in many ways when it provides excellent service:
- Customer loyalty. When customers have a good service experience, they’re more likely to stick with a brand. Get it right, customers will keep coming back for more. But there’s little margin for error. A global study by PwC found that 32% of consumers will leave a brand after just one bad experience.
- Brand ambassadors. Loyal customers are likely to tell others about their good experiences with a brand. This word-of-mouth advertising is priceless, especially in today’s world of social media, which can quickly amplify that goodwill. Of course, consumers also are quick to take to a social platform to share a bad experience, ramping up the pressure on brands to get service right.
- Increased sales. Experience is a key differentiator. According to PwC, 73% of consumers say the service a company provides is a deciding factor in their purchasing decision. Many are willing to pay more for a better experience.
- Upsell and cross-sell opportunities. When customer service reps have a full view of the customer — their needs, history, and preferences — they’re in a strong position to recommend relevant products or services that add value.
- Competitive edge. In crowded markets, customer service can be the differentiator. Brands that deliver standout service consistently win more market share.
- Boost the bottom line. Companies that listen to customers, act on feedback, and improve their offerings accordingly tend to grow faster. Research shows that strong service can drive sales increases of 20% or more.
Be the food truck: Modern service requires that you go to the people, where and when they want, serving up the best that you can offer. If you do this, folks will begin flocking to you wherever you go. It’s a virtuous circle.
Show me the data: Customer service stats
Still doubting the importance of great customer service? Let’s take a look at what the data tells us about how today’s consumers expect to be supported — and where brands often fall short.
- Consumers want answers — fast: More than half of consumers expect a response within an hour, even on weekends. This level of immediacy is now a baseline expectation — not a bonus. Brands that want to stay competitive must build this into their customer experience strategy, often leveraging AI and chatbots to meet the demand for speed and availability.
- The cost of bad service: Most organizations believe customer service is core to their ability to deliver good customer experience, and view it as a drivers of brand value and revenue, but only 58% of those surveyed are satisfied with the service they provide, according to a study by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services.
- When service fails, people speak up: Customer complaints about shoddy service or products are on the rise in the US, along with consumer rage, according to the 2023 National Customer Rage Survey from Customer Care Measurement and Consulting (CCMC) and the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. 43% of those polled admitted to raising their voice when lodging a complaint, up from 35% in 2015.
- The value of personalization: Consumers think companies should understand their expectations and needs. Consumers expect personalized interactions, even during support calls. A Deloitte Digital survey found that 69% are more likely to buy from a brand that delivers tailored experiences.
- When service feels cold, customers notice: According to an Accenture study, 47% of consumers feel less valued when they encounter unsupportive agents or face difficulties getting through to one. Emotional connection matters — and when it’s missing, so is customer trust.
- Channel preferences are shifting: Email is the most commonly used customer service channel, with 54% of consumers using it. For millennials, email and text messaging are the most two most convenient ways to deal with any customer service issues. For Gen Z, you’d better have customer service as part of your social media strategy. If you don’t have a team readily available or a nurture stream already set up to answer questions (bonus points for having an FAQ page that can answer most questions for people), then you’re behind.
- Self-service is essential — but underdelivering: 81 percent of consumers say they want more self-service options, but only 15% are completely satisfied with the self-service tools they encounter. This underscores the importance of making it easy for customers to get help on their own at anytime on their preferred channel.
- Self-service must deliver — or customers walk away: A Gartner survey revealed that 38% of Gen Z and millennial customers are likely to abandon an issue entirely if it can’t be resolved through self-service. These are digital-native consumers who expect fast, frictionless solutions on their terms — not yours.
- AI is helping reps help customers: 78% of customer service agents say AI helps them focus on the important parts of their job and 62% say it helps them understand customers better. Intelligent customer service provides agents with fast access to case summaries to help them resolve issues and can provide automated recommendations to speed resolution.
What is omnichannel customer service?
Omnichannel service isn’t just a buzzword — it’s a business imperative. In an always-on world, customers expect to reach brands on their terms — wherever and whenever it’s most convenient for them. That could mean starting a conversation in a chatbot, following up via email, and finishing it with a live agent over the phone. And they expect that journey to feel seamless.
If a customer contacts a company via one channel – say a chatbot – but also calls about the same issue, the conversation should carry across channels.
That’s the essence of omnichannel: a unified experience that feels connected, not disjointed.
Many companies offer multi-channel support — meaning they’re accessible through various platforms. But true omnichannel service goes further. It integrates those channels on the back end, giving service agents a single view of the customer and the context they need to respond effectively.
When that context is missing, customers are forced to repeat themselves. And when they repeat themselves, frustration builds — fast.
Leading companies are investing in tools that tie channels together and surface relevant information in real time. That means fewer dead ends for customers, and a more personalized experience that builds trust.
Because in 2025, service isn’t about the channel. It’s about the connection.
Examples of brands with the best service
Newsweek and Statista published a list of companies with the best customer service in 2024. Social media also provides insight into businesses with a reputation for delivering sparkling service. Here’s what we found:
Chewy: The online pet products retailer has won over pet parents with its personalized service. Agents are trained to answer all kinds of pet questions, new customers receive handwritten notes, and all customers get holiday cards. Chewy even surprises customers with oil paintings of their pets.
Costco: The membership-only, big-box retail giant is known for its high-quality goods, warehouse prices, and generous return policy. Low employee turnover and high morale help drive great CX and service.
USAA: The banking and insurance services company, which serves those who served in the US armed forces and their families, scored nearly a perfect 10 in Newsweek’s list.
Trader Joes: The quirky grocery store chain known for its low-priced specialty food items and employees dressed in Hawaiian shirts topped ACSI’s list for 2023. Workers have a reputation for going out of their way to help.
Waldorf-Astoria: The Hilton-owned luxury hotel chain placed seventh on the Newsweek-Statista list of companies with the best customer service in 2024. Customers enjoy the personalized service and swanky accommodations.
Ritz-Carlton is another luxury hotel chain is well-known for a culture focused on service excellence. The brand adheres to its Gold Standards, which includes three steps of service: a warm and sincere greeting by name, anticipating and fulfilling each guest’s needs, and a fond farewell.
Service, meet your brand savior.
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