Customer Service Trends to Follow and Mistakes to Avoid in 2026

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This episode of Amazing Business Radio with Shep Hyken answers the following questions and more:

1. What are the top customer service trends that leaders can expect to see in 2026? 
2. Why is it important for businesses to provide both AI-powered self-service options and live customer support? 
3. How can companies build and maintain trust with their customers? 
4. How can frontline employees be a valuable source of insight for customer experience improvements? 
5. Why is ongoing customer service training important for employees, even after onboarding? 

Top Takeaways:

• Trust is the foundation of customer relationships. When customers don’t believe that a business will keep its promises, they will move on to a brand that will. When a brand provides honest communication and consistent follow-through, they build confidence with its customers.  

• Personalized service is an expectation. Customers expect businesses to know who they are and remember their history, whether it’s past purchases or previous conversations. When you use data to improve your customers’ experience, like recommending better products or sending relevant messages, they feel treated as individuals rather than just transactions.  

• AI is becoming a normal part of customer service. Most customers expect self-service options to handle simple requests and get simple answers. But this doesn’t mean that human agents are becoming obsolete. Customers still want to speak to live agents, especially when dealing with complicated or emotional issues. This is why companies need to encourage customers to use self-service tools while letting them know that they are welcome to call when they need to. 

• Companies should map out employee journeys just as they do with customers. Find what’s frustrating, and make work smoother and easier. When employees are treated with care and respect and provided with the tools and training they need, they are more likely to create happy customers. 

• Training should not be limited to onboarding. It should be an ongoing process to keep customer service skills sharp and expand their capabilities. It can take the form of short reminders, weekly huddles, or sharing moments of magic with customers.  

• Consistency is more important than “wow” moments. Trying to go over the top every time isn’t realistic or necessary. Predictable, reliable experiences are what makes customers feel safe and valued.  When customers know what to expect, it builds their confidence and makes them want to come back. 

• When a customer has a complaint or problem, it’s not enough to just fix the issue. The goal is to restore confidence and make the customer want to do business with you again. Meet with your team, and ask why the problem happened. Then, find ways to prevent it in the future. Solve for the customer’s feelings, not just the complaint itself. 

• Plus, Shep shares interesting stats from his latest customer service and experience research. What is more important to customers, service or price? What makes them trust a business more? What makes them come back again and again? Tune in! 

Quotes:

“Customers continue to be smarter than ever and with higher expectations about the experience that they receive from companies they do business with.” 

“Customers don’t compare you to your direct competition anymore. They compare you to the best service they’ve received from their favorite brands, whether those companies are as global as Amazon or the local shoe repair store down the street.” 

“Look outside of your industry. Look at your favorite companies or people you enjoy doing business with, and find ideas that you can use for your own customer experience strategy.” 

“Customer service training is not something you did. It is something you do. It takes ongoing reinforcement of your original training to keep good employees customer-focused.” 

“AI is an answer, but it is not THE answer. It takes a balance between AI and the human-to-human experience to create the best customer experience.” 

“Stop trying to wow the customer and go over the top at every interaction. Instead, focus on consistent and predictable experiences, because predictability is what builds trust and confidence with your customer.” 

About:

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and host of Amazing Business Radio.