Customer service is basically an intangible thing or experience through which a customer is made to feel appreciated,important,and/or valued during and after an interaction with a representative of a company. The customer in the process receives a treatment far greater than his/her expectation and is left with a wow! feeling .It is an embodiment of processes, systems and skill.

When I engage with and listen to my customer - internal or external, online or offline - and am able to accurately reflect back to them what they need; when I assess my customer's expressed need in the light of my broader knowledge, and can solve a broader need; when I offer a solution that is consistent with my organisation's best practice, and supported on into the future by our customer service culture - that's good customer service :).

@terrykelly.. You are absolutely correct.. a buisness could have the best product and price; however if the service is less than adequate, the customer will not return. Social networks has offered a new approach to 'word of mouth'. The consumer may post a negative remark (or positive) and it's as if they have just had a conversation with 6-8 thousand people.. minimum.

"customer service is also about building and maintaining credibility and confidence in the service" without creditability, confidence, and proper corporate customer service 'culture' training, in my opinion, may be the demise of a company.

Here, as well as being the soft sales department, customer service is also being a advocate for the customer.

This includes issues like:
Making sure that the products & services provided are what the customer is looking for (as far as possible)
Making sure that any complaints are dealt with in a satisfactory and timely manner.
Making sure that any training material, knowledge-bases and how-to notes are accessible and current (& if possible easy to read!).
Making sure any products and services are provided for a cost that is good value for money, and that the company acts ethically towards our customers.

-------------------------------------
Ben Fleeson
Customer Service Manager
http://intellimon.com/