Put Yourself in Your Customer’s Shoes

Quick reference

• 00:04 In this video we're going to talk about how to use empathy in customer service.
• 00:11 So what is empathy?
• 00:13 Empathy is really putting yourself in the customer's shoes.
• 00:18 And gosh, years ago, I had an issue with my phone company, right.
• 00:23 So with my cellular company.
• 00:25 And what ended up happening was,
• 00:26 I had this crazy bill to Australia while I was giving a seminar.
• 00:32 Supposing I was on the phone to Australia.
• 00:34 And the only Australians I know live here in the States.
• 00:37 So it wasn't me, right.
• 00:39 There was a mistake something happened, something went wrong.
• 00:42 So clearly, it's going to be easy to get through, isn't it?
• 00:47 No, no no no.
• 00:48 I call up the company and as soon as I call this company,
• 00:52 there was something up, right.
• 00:54 They were ready to go to battle.
• 00:55 They were looking at my account, doing whatever and
• 00:58 this guy, he just sounded almost like a robot.
• 01:02 He's like no, ma, ma, ma.
• 01:07 And I was just this kind of conversation that wasn't going anywhere.
• 01:11 So I decided to change it up.
• 01:13 I wanted to step out of where we were and
• 01:15 step into just being human having a conversation.
• 01:19 So I asked her hey, can we just be human for a second, just be human.
• 01:24 And I asked him straight up, I said hey,
• 01:26 has anything like this ever happened to you before?
• 01:29 His response was, yes and I said okay, good.
• 01:34 How did that make you feel?
• 01:37 Bad.
• 01:38 Okay, so what did you end up doing?
• 01:41 I paid it.
• 01:44 What?
• 01:45 There was no empathy in this guy at all.
• 01:48 So, I hang up the phone.
• 01:50 And I'm getting ready to switch, right.
• 01:52 I'm like, I want somebody else.
• 01:54 So but one thing I do get and this is funny,
• 01:56 I get a customer service text, right.
• 01:59 How would you rate that call?
• 02:00 I'd be like zero, zero, zero, zero, zero, right.
• 02:04 I'm fuming, I'm like, zero.
• 02:06 And what happens, lo and behold, my phone rings.
• 02:09 I get a phone call from the phone company.
• 02:12 This is gonna be great.
• 02:14 So now I've got somebody elevated from robot man
• 02:17 who's really gonna make me feel good and take care of my problem.
• 02:21 Wouldn't that have been nice?
• 02:23 Instead, I get somebody else, some elevated person,
• 02:27 who just came to the phone with a helmet on.
• 02:30 With the shield and the sword just ready to fight, just come into battle with me.
• 02:36 It was worse than talking to robot guy.
• 02:39 So I hang up, and I had a speaking engagement, I had to go to Arizona.
• 02:43 When I get back, I'm switching companies.
• 02:46 So I'm in Arizona and I'm going to dinner and
• 02:49 my phone rings 800 number, pick it up and it's a guy from this company.
• 02:55 I said, wow man, I'm switching.
• 02:57 I'm outta here, I'm gone.
• 02:59 As soon as I get back to San Diego, I'm outta here and I'm switching companies.
• 03:03 And he says, listen, I understand, I would feel the same way.
• 03:08 I can only imagine how that would be frustrating.
• 03:11 And I looked at the phone and said what?
• 03:14 This guy's absolutely amazing!
• 03:16 And I said well, listen, I'm going to dinner right now, can I just hang up and
• 03:19 call you back?
• 03:20 He says, gosh, I wish I could, but if you call back you might get somebody else.
• 03:26 I said that's it buddy, you're going to dinner with me.
• 03:28 I took the phone with me, we talked through it through dinner and
• 03:31 he resolved it and got me my refund.
• 03:34 Now, how cool was that?
• 03:36 And they could have, by the way, done the exact same thing on the first phone call.
• 03:40 They could have done the same thing on the second phone call, right.
• 03:44 And with keeping me a little bit more mellow, okay.
• 03:48 So what is empathy in customer service?
• 03:50 Put yourself in the customer's shoes.
• 03:53 Okay, think about a time maybe when you were in something similar.
• 03:57 So, what do you say to put yourself in somebody else's shoes?
• 04:01 I understand, again, your customers want to be understood.
• 04:06 Okay, I understand.
• 04:08 Number two, I would feel the same way, wouldn't you?
• 04:13 If you were actually being empathetic and
• 04:15 you're listening intently, would you feel the same way?
• 04:18 Would you be upset if x, y or z happened?
• 04:21 Okay, if you would tell them, what I would feel the same way.
• 04:26 And number three, I can imagine how that would be frustrating.
• 04:32 Super simple and just by doing that your customer will feel heard and
• 04:37 they'll feel understood.
• 04:39 Okay, now you just need to provide that remedy, so that they feel cared for, okay.
• 04:44 And this is sending you down that track to them feeling cared for isn't it, okay.
• 04:50 So put yourself in the customer shoes.
• 04:52 That's empathy.
• 04:53 I understand, I would feel the same way, I can imagine that would be frustrating.
• 04:57 In the next video, we're going to talk about some more ways,
• 05:00 that you can really show empathy in your customer service
• 05:04 to better overcome your customer's challenges.
• 05:06 We'll see you in the video.

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