The invention of the telephone was a pretty messy affair. There were many different inventors — in different places and who did not even know each other — who basically seemed to have invented or at least worked on the idea at the same time. For the sake of simplicity, we will refer here to two names: Innocenzo Manzetti and Alexander Graham Bell. Innocenzo (remember we are on a first name basis in this book) had already considered the idea of a telephone in 1844. He seemed to have a working model in 1864. But it is Alexander who is most often considered as the inventor of the first practical telephone. He obtained a patent for a device similar to a telephone in 1876.

But why are we talking about the phone in a booklet about the history of Service Design? Let’s see what authors like the guys behind Zendesk or CustomerGauge have to say about the relation between customer service and the history of the telephone. What these people say is simple. For the first time in history, the telephone enables customers to get in touch with merchants, shop owners and companies without having to travel to their physical location. It’s the first time that, as a customer, you can ask for support or complain about a product from your sweet and comfortable home without having to travel in the rain until you arrive at the shop where you bought the product.

This article is part of the book "A Tiny History of Service Design, " a tiny two-hour read that goes through the historical events that created what Service Design is today.