The difference between customer experience and customer service: CX Mini Masterclass – E15

This CX Mini Masterclass clarifies the difference between customer experience and customer service. Confusion around the distinction of these two concepts has long been a bugbear of CX professionals. This is compounded by the fact that the word “service” is vague and open to personal interpretation, so CX expert and show host Julia Ahlfeldt provides a clear definition.

Clarifying the difference between customer experience and customer service

In the previous CX Mini Masterclass episode, we defined customer experience as all the ways that a consumer interfaces with a brand. This includes things like price, product, store environment, communications, service interactions and many other elements of experience. Customer service an important component of customer experience, though it is just one piece of a large and multifaceted jigsaw puzzle.

Defining customer service

Customer service has always been a difficult thing to define. If you were to ask 5 people for their definition of service, you’d probably get 5 different answers, but there are some common themes. Customer service usually refers to company/customer interactions within a couple of broad categories:

• The human element of customer experience – we often speak about service in terms of the interactions that we have with people representing the brand. This includes perceptions of their attitude, friendliness and helpfulness. And that last one brings us to the next category…
• Customer support interactions – customer service often refers to actions that an organization takes to assist a customer during their journey. This can include things like expert recommendations or issues resolution. It is distinct from the first category, because it isn’t necessarily provided by a person. Support can be provided by a chatbot or through a self-service channel.

Ways to keep learning about CX

If you’d like to checkout more of these CX Mini Masterclasses or listen to the longer format CX expert interviews, check out the full listing of episodes for this CX podcast.

And if you are looking to super-charge your CX skills and continue learning, be sure to check out CX University. They have a great array of CXPA accredited training resources available on a flexible monthly subscription plan. Use the code PODCAST10 to get 10% off your first month’s subscription and support this podcast.

Decoding the Customer is a series of customer experience podcasts created and produced by Julia Ahlfeldt, CCXP. Julia is a customer experience strategist, speaker and business advisor. She is a Certified Customer Experience Professional and one of the top experts in customer experience management. To find out more about how Julia can help your business achieve its CX goals, check out her customer experience advisory consulting services or get in touch via email.