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Customer service has changed in many ways over the years but a focus on the customer has been the same since the 1800s. Desk.com delivers the next generation of support allowing you to deliver fast, awesome customer service no matter what.

This infographic illustrates the evolution of customer support starting in 1793 when customer loyalty programs were created to build a relationship between a business and the customer. In the 1800s people went to the store for support and telephones and the switchboard were invented. The 1900s followed with call centers emerging and 1-800 numbers invented so it would be easier to get in touch with companies.

In the 1990s interactive voice responses started being used, online shopping was invented, Apple launched Lisa (a precursor to the modern shopping experience), and phone trees became popular. The 1990s also marked the creation of the worldwide web, Amazon.com, email and live chat support, and Zappos.com which created a whole new dawn of customer service. Then finally the 2000s saw the first self-checkout lanes, crowd sourcing became popular, social media support appeared, the first shopping app hitting the app store, and Amazon debuted “textbuyit.”