THE 3 STRATEGIES TO ENSURE YOUR TEAM IS USING THE ONE MORE IMPORTANT WORD IN CUSTOMER SERVICE
MERIDITH POWELL AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR, KEYNOTE SPEAKER, BUSINESS STRATEGIST, SALES/LEADERSHIP EXPERT Copyrighted by Meridith Powell
3 Strategies to Ensure Your Team Is Using It. I just finished one of those weeks; you know – those weeks I am sure you have them on occasion – the kind of week where nothing seems to go
calm when I can’t control the situation when forces beyond my control are causing the issues. But not this time – I was livid.
right. I left home without my wallet, accidentally double booked a meeting, and had multiple travel delays and issues.
However, I take the flight attendant’s advice, and I jump on the phone with the gate agent. Again, she is nice, has a few ideas, but I get off that
After the long week, I was on my last nerve, when my flight home was grounded. The flight attendant kept coming going on air and telling us
that we would be taking off any moment. Then we would sit for another
call even more mad than I was before. After I hang up the phone and start to think about why I am so angry? What is it that has me so irritated? When both of these people have tried to help me? It takes me a while, but then it hits me. Both of these
twenty minutes until she
representatives forgot the most im-
came back on and made
portant word in customer service — the
the same announcement.
most valuable word in the customer experience.
When we had been on the tarmac for more than
That word is SORRY. When a customer is
two hours, I was getting
frustrated, when things go wrong, when
well, let’s say, frustrated.
there are issues, this is the most power-
I was getting frustrated
ful word you can use.
because I was tired of sitting on this plane, but more than frustrated because I was dangerously close to missing my connection. A connection that I had purposely chosen, so I would have plenty of time between flights.
Why Saying Sorry Works Customer Feels Heard – when you say you’re sorry, your unhappy customers feel heard. See, both of these associates jumped right to solving my problem. That made me feel as they didn’t understand how big a
Has Empathy gone A.W.O.L? So, I track the flight attendant down and share my dilemma with her. She was perfectly nice, let me know there was not much she could do, but she offered to connect me to a gate agent who could help me. As I listened to her, I realized I was furious. I was kind of surprised, I mean, I
know I was in a tight spot, but I am pretty good at letting things go. Pretty
18 INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE MAGAZINE
problem this was for me. Customers Know You Care – when you tell them that you sympathize with where they are coming from, you’re showing empathy, they know you care. Customer's service is emotional; empathy is a way to connect. When you say you’re sorry – you are letting customers know you understand what they are going through.
