EDITORIALFEATURE
The Big E Word in
Customer Service
By Errol D. Allen
W
hen speaking with managers in the customer service industry, this comment is
often repeated – “I just wish I could get
my people to show more empathy toward the customer.” Empathy – The big E word
in customer service. One’s ability to sincerely interject this trait in customer service is critical. It’s
important to properly express empathy when
customers are upset or angry with your company’s products or services. Let’s look at a few ways
to express empathy.
How Would I Feel? - Empathy is the art of putting
one’s self in another’s shoes. One could contemplate, “If I were in this situation, how would I
feel?” The action of mentally pausing to consider
this question allows one to “feel” what the other
person is actually experiencing. When customers
are unhappy, upset, or disgruntled, they usually just
want someone to listen to and acknowledge their
particular situation. When customers feel “heard”,
more often than not, their level of discontentment
is reduced. It’s important to place one’s self in the
customer’s shoes!
What Would I Expect? - When exercising your empathy
skills, it should be natural to ask yourself, “What
would I expect as a resolution if I was experiencing this situation?” If you know what you would
expect, examine your options for the best way to
resolve the customer’s situation. Should your options not include what you feel might be the best
solution, make suggestions to upper management
to get additional options included to insure customers are satisfied with your offerings for resolving the situation. When customers feel that you’ve
provided the optimal solution for their situation,
the chances of retaining them as customers are
greatly enhanced.
Do I Trust You? - When assisting an unhappy, upset, or
disgruntled customer, exercising empathy helps to
build rapport and establish trust. Think about it – if
someone is indifferent towards your situation, how
can you trust that they will put forth their best
24 SMALL BUSINESS TODAY MAGAZINE [ APRIL 2014 ]
efforts to provide the appropriate resolution? Ask
yourself, “How can I get this person to know that
I understand and truly empathize with their situation?” Once the person truly feels that you are
sincere when exercising empathy, they are more
than likely to accept the offered resolution.
Are You Listening? - In order to empathize with others, you must first be willing to listen to their story. Utilizing effective listening skills is paramount
to the customer feeling that you are being empathetic. When face-to-face with customers, be
sure to maintain eye contact as this indicates to
the customer that you’re focused on them. Watch
your body language and facial expressions as these
are indicators of how you truly feel about the customer’s situation. It’s pretty easy for customers
to determine if you’re really paying attention to
what they’re saying when face-to-face. When on
the phone with customers, your voice tone and
inflections provide assurance that you are listening.
Allow the customer to get their whole story out
before attempting to offer a solution. Interject with,
“I understand your frustration.” or “I too would be
unhappy if I was in this situation” when the customer pauses while voicing their displeasure. These interjections are indicators to the customer that you
are in fact listening. Restate the customer’s issue to
reassure them that you were in fact listening and
understand their situation. Effective listening skills
are the foundation for empathizing with customers. Remember, more listening and less talking leads
to retaining an upset customer.
Employing the art of empathy can be the difference in your attempt to retain an angry customer. Empathize sincerely by asking yourself – “How
would I feel?”, “What would I expect?”, “Do I trust
you?”, and “Are you listening?”
Errol Allen, Customer Service Engineer, can be contacted by email
at [email protected], by phone at 1-800-8304167, or visit his website at www.errolallenconsulting.com.