Top 20 Books on Customer Service You Must Read to Keep Your Customers Happy

Customer service leaders today face a tough reality: support volumes are climbing, customers expect faster resolutions, and agents are burning out. There’s no playbook handed to you on day one; you have to build your own.

That’s where the right customer service books come in. They’re packed with lessons from leaders who’ve scaled teams, solved real challenges, and turned support into a growth driver, offering impeccable customer experience. 

I’ve put together a list of 20 customer service books every manager, team lead, and frontline agent should read. From mastering empathy to designing scalable workflows, these books will help you sharpen your skills and deliver the kind of service that keeps customers coming back.

Table of Contents

• 20 Best Books on Customer Service to Read in 2025
  • 1. Be Our Guest – The Disney Institute
  • 2. Delivering Happiness – Tony Hsieh
  • 3. WINNING WITH AI: Your Guide to AI Literacy – Jaspreet Bindra & Anuj Magazine
  • 4. Exceptional Service, Exceptional Profit – Leonardo Inghilleri & Micah Solomon
  • 5. Hug Your Haters – Jay Baer
  • 6. The Choice Factory – Richard Shotton
  • 7. Customer Service Revolution – John R. DiJulius III
  • 8. Nudge – Richard H. Thaler & Cass R. Sunstein
  • 9. Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless – Jeffrey Gitomer
  • 10. The Service Culture Handbook – Jeff Toister
  • 11. The Starbucks Experience – Joseph Michelli
  • 12. The Nordstrom Way – Robert Spector & Patrick McCarthy
  • 13. The Effortless Experience – Matthew Dixon, Nick Toman & Rick DeLisi
  • 14. The Customer Rules – Lee Cockerell
  • 15. The Fred Factor – Mark Sanborn
  • 16. Uncommon Service – Frances Frei & Anne Morriss
  • 17. Strategic Customer Service – John Goodman
  • 18. The Thank You Economy – Gary Vaynerchuk
  • 19. Moments of Truth – Jan Carlzon
  • 20. Never Lose a Customer Again – Joey Coleman
• Additional Resources
  • 🎤Podcasts
  • ✍️Blogs
  • 📰Newsletters
• How to Put These Customer Service Books into Action
• FAQs

20 Best Books on Customer Service to Read in 2025

Here are 20 customer service books worth adding to your 2025 reading list. Each one gives you practical takeaways like building service-driven cultures or using AI for personalization.

Whether you manage a support team, lead CX strategy, or work on the frontline, these books will help you solve real challenges and deliver better customer experiences.

Book Title	Why You Should Read It
Be Our Guest (Disney Institute)	Learn how Disney designs experiences that turn guests into lifelong fans.
The Nordstrom Way (Robert Spector, BreAnne Reeves)	Insights on building a service-first culture with legendary customer loyalty.
The Effortless Experience (Matthew Dixon, Nick Toman, Rick DeLisi)	Teaches why reducing customer effort often matters more than delight.
Winning with AI (Jaspreet Bindra & Anuj Magazine)	Shows how AI can personalize service at scale without losing the human touch.
Delivering Happiness (Tony Hsieh)	Zappos CEO shares how culture and service can drive business growth.
Exceeding Customer Expectations (Kirk Kazanjian, Paul Basile)	Step-by-step practices to consistently go beyond what customers expect.
Customer Understanding (Annette Franz)	Framework for using customer insights to design better experiences.
Never Lose a Customer Again (Joey Coleman)	A 100-day strategy to turn new buyers into loyal advocates.
The Customer Rules (Lee Cockerell)	39 essential rules for frontline teams from Disney’s former EVP.
Hug Your Haters (Jay Baer)	How to turn complaints into opportunities to strengthen loyalty.
Chief Customer Officer 2.0 (Jeanne Bliss)	Playbook for embedding customer experience at the executive level.
Customer What? (Ian Golding)	No-nonsense approach to understanding and fixing CX problems.
Exceptional Service, Exceptional Profit (Leonard Berry, Valarie Zeithaml, and others)	Shows the link between consistent service quality and profitability.
Five-Star Service (Michael Heppell)	Practical tips for frontline employees to consistently deliver high-quality service.
Customer Success (Nick Mehta, Dan Steinman, Lincoln Murphy)	Guide to reducing churn and driving recurring revenue in SaaS.
The Power of Customer Experience (Martin Newman)	Teaches how experience directly impacts brand growth and loyalty.
Creating Magic (Lee Cockerell)	Lessons on leadership and service excellence from Disney parks.
What Customers Crave (Nicholas Webb)	Explains how to identify and design around customer desires.
Outside In (Harley Manning, Kerry Bodine)	Forrester’s framework on building customer-obsessed organizations.
Uncommon Service (Frances Frei, Anne Morriss)	Why you can’t be great at everything — and how to focus on what matters most to customers.

1. Be Our Guest – The Disney Institute

This book unpacks how Disney designs every detail of its parks and resorts around guest experience. Nothing is left to chance, from how employees greet guests to how problems are fixed before customers even notice them. The lessons extend far beyond theme parks, offering practical strategies CX leaders can apply in any industry.

Why it matters for CX leaders: Disney’s approach shows how to build systems that ensure every employee delivers consistent, reliable service.

Key takeaway: Customer experience excellence comes from systematizing consistency, not relying on one-off heroic efforts.
Who should read it: Executives and CX strategists aiming to design repeatable, branded experiences at scale.

2. Delivering Happiness – Tony Hsieh

Sometimes, you’ve got to hear it from those who’ve been there and done it for real. In this book, Tony Hsieh reveals how Zappos built its success by making culture the core of business. He shows how putting people first drives lasting results by hiring for values, empowering employees, and tying happiness to growth. He shows how this approach built customer loyalty, boosted employee engagement, and led to a billion-dollar acquisition, proving that happiness drives growth.

Why it matters for CX leaders: This book teaches you to use culture as a strategy to retain talent, inspire innovation, and earn customer loyalty. Hsieh shows how to put this into practice.

Key takeaway: Culture delivers when you build it into hiring, training, and decision-making.

Who should read it: CX leaders, support managers, and HR partners building service-driven cultures.

3. WINNING WITH AI: Your Guide to AI Literacy – Jaspreet Bindra & Anuj Magazine

We know AI is here to stay, so we’d better learn to work it to our strengths. This book equips CX leaders with AI literacy: the vocabulary to engage with tech teams, the criteria to make informed decisions, and the lens to assess risks. It shows how to apply AI for automation, personalization, and data-driven decisions. This helps leaders cut through jargon and adapt their role, strategy, and customer experience in an AI-first world.

Why it matters for CX leaders: This book helps you identify the right automation use cases, such as ticket routing, summaries, and self-service. It also shows how to set guardrails for responsible use and measure real impact on customer experience.

Key takeaway: AI literacy empowers you to lead technology adoption with confidence.

Who should read it: CX leaders, support operations managers, and QA leads looking to adopt AI in their workflows.

4. Exceptional Service, Exceptional Profit – Leonardo Inghilleri & Micah Solomon

Written by Ritz-Carlton executive Leonardo Inghilleri and consultant Micah Solomon, this book explains how to turn Ritz-style hospitality into repeatable systems. The focus is on building service frameworks that empower employees to resolve issues, personalize interactions, and deliver consistent quality.

Why it matters for CX leaders: It shows how to translate high-end, personalized service into scalable systems that your teams can apply, irrespective of the industry.

Key takeaway: Empowered teams create experiences customers will pay more for.

Who should read it: CX leaders and service managers who want to deliver premium service at scale.

5. Hug Your Haters – Jay Baer

When dealing with angry customers, what’s the first thing you want to do as soon as they are out of earshot? Well, this book tells you what to do instead. The title gives it all as Baer lists various tried and tested methods to deal with customer complaints. Now, customers can raise complaints quite quickly and bring them to public attention too. This book on customer service helps you understand the customer psyche better and address the issues correctly. 

Why it matters for CX leaders: In an era where one bad review can go viral, this book helps you turn criticism into an opportunity. It shows how to respond quickly, with empathy and transparency, so you can defuse negativity, rebuild trust, and even turn unhappy customers into advocates. If you’re pressed for time but still want to gain insights, book apps like the Headway app offers bite-sized summary of this and many other books, and other customer service resources to help you stay on top of best practices in a busy world.

Key takeaway: A well-handled complaint can build more trust than flawless service.
Who should read it: CX leaders, social support managers, and anyone handling high-volume feedback channels.

6. The Choice Factory – Richard Shotton

Richard Shotton explains 25 psychological biases that influence how customers make decisions, often in ways they don’t even realize. Backed by experiments and case studies, the book shows how small design choices in communication, pricing, and follow-up can shift outcomes.

Why it matters for CX leaders: This book bridges behavioral science and service design. You’ll learn how to reduce friction, present options more effectively, and create experiences that align with how people actually decide, not how we assume they do.

Key takeaway: Subtle changes in language, timing, or presentation can massively improve outcomes.

Who should read it: CX strategists, service designers, and support leaders looking to apply behavioral economics in their workflows.

7. Customer Service Revolution – John R. DiJulius III

This book challenges you to see customer service as the heart of your business, not just a department. John DiJulius, a leading customer experience consultant, shares lessons from his own experience and shows how small shifts in mindset and process can turn everyday customers into loyal fans.

Why it matters for CX leaders: For CX leaders, it’s a reminder that service isn’t just about solving problems but about building a brand customers can’t live without.

Key takeaway: Great service comes from treating it as your core business strategy, turning routine interactions into lasting loyalty.

Who should read it: CX leaders looking to reposition service as a driver of brand and growth.

8. Nudge – Richard H. Thaler & Cass R. Sunstein

This book is all about understanding how people think and using that knowledge to improve customer service. Written by a Nobel Prize–winning economist and a legal scholar, it shows how small environmental cues can shape our decisions. If you enjoy digging into the “why” behind human choices, you’ll find this an engaging read with plenty of real examples. Chances are, you’ll even start rethinking your own buying decisions along the way.

Why it matters for CX leaders: You can use these insights to design customer journeys that reduce friction and encourage desired behaviors without heavy-handed tactics.

Key takeaway: The way you frame options can drive satisfaction and loyalty.
Who should read it: Leaders revamping onboarding flows, self-service, or renewals.

9. Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless – Jeffrey Gitomer

With an interesting title to begin with, this book on customer service stands out for thinking outside the box. If you’re someone who boasts about 98% customer satisfaction, you need this book. Gitomer claims that by doing this, you’re boasting about the 2% unhappy customers with the fact that these 98% would go to any other brand at any given chance. This easy-to-read, quite honestly blunt guide challenges the complacency around “satisfied” customers. But it doesn’t end there. It also lays out the plan for beginning to work towards loyal customers.

Why it matters for CX leaders: You’ll learn how to go beyond CSAT and design programs that increase repeat purchases, referrals, and long-term advocacy.

Key takeaway: Aim for devotion, not just approval.
Who should read it: Leaders prioritizing retention over acquisition metrics.

10. The Service Culture Handbook – Jeff Toister

In this quick read, Toister explains why culture matters and how it shapes lasting brand identity for both employees and customers. It’s especially useful if you’re building or refreshing a customer service training program for your team. I won’t spill more here, so grab it and give it a read. I promise you’ll not regret it. 

Why it matters for CX leaders: Culture-driven service is more sustainable than one-off initiatives. This book shows how to hire, train, and reward with service in mind.

Key takeaway: Culture is the foundation for long-term service excellence.

Who should read it: CX leaders who want to scale service mindsets across an organization.

11. The Starbucks Experience – Joseph Michelli

In this book, Joseph Michelli distills five principles behind its success: consistency, personalization, emotional connection, employee empowerment, and community. It offers clear lessons CX leaders can use to build loyalty and stronger customer relationships. It’s a read that makes you look at your morning coffee run in a whole new way.

Why it matters for CX leaders: It shows how combining efficient operations with a human touch can turn everyday transactions into memorable brand moments.

Key takeaway: Consistency is the bedrock of brand love.

Who should read it: Retail and F&B leaders seeking customer connection at scale.

12. The Nordstrom Way – Robert Spector & Patrick McCarthy

This book reveals how Nordstrom built its reputation for legendary service by putting the customer’s perspective at the center of every decision. Through stories and strategies, it shows CX leaders how to empower employees, remove friction, and make service the ultimate brand differentiator.

Why it matters for CX leaders: It shows how empowering employees to act in customers’ best interest builds loyalty that advertising can’t buy.

Key takeaway: Trust your people to make the right calls.

Who should read it: Leaders in premium, high-touch markets where customers choose to spend.

13. The Effortless Experience – Matthew Dixon, Nick Toman & Rick DeLisi

Let the numbers speak for themselves. This book is based on five years of CEB (now Gartner) research with thousands of customers. The findings are clear: loyalty doesn’t come from “wow” moments. It comes from making things effortless. The book on customer service shares practical strategies to remove friction and give customers experiences that feel simple and stress-free.

Why it matters for CX leaders: Based on data from thousands of customers, it shows that making service hard kills loyalty—and explains how to prevent it.

Key takeaway: Make it easy, and loyalty will follow.

Who should read it: CX Leaders aiming to streamline and simplify service journeys.

14. The Customer Rules – Lee Cockerell

If you need a crash course on the best customer service with 39 digestible, bite-sized chapters, this one is your best pick among books on customer service. Former EVP of Operations at Walt Disney, Cockerell, tells you how the customer always rules. No matter your industry, this book on customer service has some great advice for exceptional customer experience. Implementing things from this book into your business, you’ll get customer loyalty for sure. I’d say, give it a shot, and you’ll be glad you did. 

Why it matters for CX leaders: Offers practical, everyday habits leaders can instill in teams to maintain high standards under pressure.

Key takeaway: Great service comes from consistent habits, not one-off gestures.

Who should read it: Managers training and motivating frontline teams.

15. The Fred Factor – Mark Sanborn

“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together,” said Vincent Van Gogh. This book zooms in on the philosophy. Sanborn shares the story of Fred, a mailman who goes above and beyond to deliver the best service to the customers. It’s the perfect motivation to remind you that no matter how small your role is, it still matters. Since it’s a short read, it’s the perfect pick for those busy days. 

Why it matters for CX leaders: A reminder that attitude and ownership are often the cheapest yet most scalable drivers of great service.

Key takeaway: Exceptional service starts with individual initiative.

Who should read it: Teams looking to reignite passion for customer care.

16. Uncommon Service – Frances Frei & Anne Morriss

If you’re looking for a solid framework to prioritize customer service in your company, this book is for you. Frei and Morriss are very straightforward and clear with the idea that exceptional service needs tough choices. I can assure you that this is going to be an uncommon read and will benefit your business philosophy positively. 

Why it matters for CX leaders: It shows you how to identify where your service creates the most impact and direct resources there, instead of wasting energy on areas that don’t differentiate.

Key takeaway: Strategic focus beats trying to excel at everything.

Who should read it: Executives refining service positioning and budgets.

17. Strategic Customer Service – John Goodman

If you believe in the power of data, John Goodman delivers it in the best way possible. As the founder of TARP, he has managed over 1,000 customer service programs and brings those lessons together in this book. It helps you see the real cost of poor service and shows practical ways to turn it around.

Why it matters for CX leaders: Proves the ROI of service initiatives, equipping you with numbers and narratives to win executive buy-in.

Key takeaway: Service is a profit center if managed strategically.

Who should read it: Senior leaders aligning CX with corporate growth goals.

18. The Thank You Economy – Gary Vaynerchuk

The internet has changed how we sell and shop. The customer’s voice matters more than ever, as does the personal connection you build with them. This book was written in 2011, so it focuses on the internet age, but the lessons apply even more in today’s AI era, where bots handle much of the work. Imagine the difference when a customer gets a real, human connection instead. This is one of the classic books on customer service that can transform how you think about the customer experience.

Why it matters for CX leaders: The book offers timeless lessons in using social channels to listen and respond with a personal touch. It shows how to build genuine loyalty, which matters even more in the AI era.

Key takeaway: Gratitude, when genuine, scales better than marketing spend.

Who should read it: Brands engaging customers across multiple digital channels.

19. Moments of Truth – Jan Carlzon

This short book focuses on obsessing over every customer touchpoint. Carlzon shows how Scandinavian Airlines rose to the top by putting customers and employees first. The examples may be dated, but the philosophy remains timeless and highly relevant today.

Why it matters for CX leaders: Reinforces the idea that every employee — not just frontline staff — shapes the customer experience.

Key takeaway: Every customer interaction matters, and empowering employees to own them builds lasting loyalty.

Who should read it: CX leaders managing multi-channel journeys with many touchpoints across sales, service, and support.

20. Never Lose a Customer Again – Joey Coleman

There’s no better book to wrap up this list. Coleman explains that in the first 100 days, customers go through eight key stages of the journey. By understanding their emotions and engaging through the right channels, you can turn new buyers into loyal fans. The book offers practical ways to connect at critical touchpoints so customers feel valued from the start.

Why it matters for CX leaders: Gives a repeatable plan for onboarding and relationship-building, reducing churn and increasing lifetime value.

Key takeaway: Nail the first 100 days, and you’ll likely have a customer for life.

Who should read it: CX leaders in SaaS, subscriptions, and other recurring-revenue businesses.

Additional Resources

Since you’ve made it this far, here’s a little bonus. Books are just the starting point. To keep building your service mindset, here are trusted resources from podcasts to blogs and newsletters that deliver practical strategies you can apply right away.

🎤Podcasts

• Experience This! (Joey Coleman & Dan Gingiss) → Real-world CX stories that show what works and what doesn’t.
• The CX Cast (Forrester) → Research-backed insights into emerging CX trends.
• Experience Matters (Hiver) → CX leaders share challenges and proven strategies you can apply with your team.

✍️Blogs

• Hiver Blog → Actionable strategies to make your support team more efficient and customer-friendly.
• Shep Hyken’s Blog → Short, practical advice on customer service and experience.
• CX Network → Expert insights and industry perspectives from across the CX field.

📰Newsletters

• Customer Experience Weekly → Fresh ideas and case studies to inspire better customer experience.
• Inside Intercom → Insights on how technology, product, and service shape customer journeys.

How to Put These Customer Service Books into Action

Great customer service isn’t built overnight. It grows through learning, testing, and adapting to what customers expect. The books we’ve covered are practical playbooks; use them to spot gaps in your service, train your team differently, or design better customer journeys. Apply one idea at a time and measure the results.

Customer expectations will keep changing, so your approach must evolve too. Keep learning, keep experimenting, and turn these insights into concrete actions that create memorable experiences and lasting loyalty. That’s how service becomes your true competitive edge.

For more tips, strategies, and practical insights on customer experience, don’t forget to subscribe to the Hiver Blog.

FAQs

1. How can books on customer service actually improve customer experience?

Books go deeper than quick articles or blog posts. They combine years of research, case studies, and proven strategies into lessons you can apply right away. By learning from brands like Disney, Zappos, or Nordstrom, you get practical examples of what works in the real world and how to adapt those ideas to your own business.

2. With so many CX resources online, why should I invest time in reading books?

Online resources are great for quick updates, but books provide structure and depth. They give you frameworks you can revisit and build on, instead of just one-off tips. A good book also pushes you to think differently about challenges, helping you uncover long-term solutions rather than short-term fixes.

3. What kind of challenges can these books help me solve as a CX leader?

These books tackle some of the toughest CX problems: building a service-driven culture, handling unhappy customers, reducing customer effort, and making smart use of technology like AI. They also help you strengthen loyalty programs, refine onboarding, and improve recovery when things go wrong.

4. How do I know which book on customer service is right for me?

It depends on your immediate focus. If you want to improve culture, The Service Culture Handbook is a great pick. To handle complaints, go with Hug Your Haters. If AI is on your agenda, Winning With AI will help. And if you’re focused on loyalty, Never Lose a Customer Again is a must-read. Start with the book that aligns with your biggest pain point right now.

5. Can reading these books really make a difference for my team?

Yes. These books aren’t just for leaders; they offer stories, tools, and examples that can be shared with frontline teams too. Discussing key takeaways in training sessions can inspire your team, align them around shared values, and give them practical techniques to handle customers better.