Empathy Statements for Customer Service
Whether you are working in a call centre role or you work with customers in a face-to-face environment (retail, admin, office etc), having some empathy statements for customer service in your toolkit can make your life a lot easier!
The reality is that with any job that involves interacting with customers, it’s inevitable that at times you will be dealing with customers who may not have had the desired customer experience your company had set out to achieve.
I’ve already provided you with some great tips on how to manage an angry customer that uses the HEAT model and in this article, I’m going to give you another weapon to add to your armoury – empathy statements which can be used to calm down or diffuse an upset customer.
Knowing the right words to say, and when to say them, can make all the difference in how the customer responds to the situation and throw in some Active Listening skills and you’ll be well on your way to being a customer service superstar!
Now it might sound a bit cliche, but one of the keys to showing customer empathy is putting yourself in the customer’s shoes.
Done correctly, and said with genuine care, these empathy statements below will help ensure you convey the right message.
Empathy Statements Definition
Empathy statements are words or phrases that express your ability to understand and share the feelings of another person, in speech or in writing and are often used in customer service settings to calm down a frustrated customer.
Empathy statements can be used in a variety of settings like medical practices and hospitals by doctors and nurses or even in your own relationships with parents, children, partners and so on.
For the purposes of this article, we are particularly focussed on using empathy statements for customer service whether that’s in person such as retail, in the office or warehouse etc or working in a contact centre.
15 Empathy Statements for customer service
I’ve listed below 15 empathy statements for customer service that you can use in-person, over the phone in a contact centre or even via a customer service email.
1. I’m truly sorry to hear about your experience.
2. I understand how frustrating that must have been.
3. I would feel the same way if that happened to me.
4. I’m sorry you are having this problem.
5. I realise how complicated we’ve made things for you.
5. I appreciate your patience in this matter.
6. I understand that this has been inconvenient for you and how annoying that must be.
7. I realise how upsetting this must be for you.
8. Thanks for bringing that to my attention, it’s just not good enough on our behalf.
9. That would frustrate me too.
10. I would be asking exactly the same questions as you are.
11. If I were in your position, I would feel the same way.
12 I know how confusing that must have been.
13. I’m sure there is something else you’d rather be doing so thanks for being patient with me.
14. You’re absolutely right.
15. I really appreciate you raising this with me/us, as it’s clearly not acceptable.
The number one tip when using any empathy statement for customer service
It’s one thing to know what Empathy Statements to use for customer service, but the best tip for ensuring they work is you need to be and sound genuine!
Imagine a robot saying those words – if you were on the receiving end of someone just going through the motions and reading those empathy statements without any feeling or care it can have the potential to inflame the situation further.
But said with warmth and care, these statements will do wonders for calming down angry customers!
Speaking of Angry Customers…
Learning how to empathize with customers over the phone or in person is a great way to diffuse most situations but, of course, it’s not going to work all the time.
Let’s face it, sometimes the company with work for has stuffed up so badly that even the most passive person on the planet may have reached their limit.
We don’t, and will never condone that it’s acceptable for customers to take their anger out on you, but the reality is it’s going to happen at some point. And depending on the type of role you work in, it may happen on more regular occasions.
While nothing will replace some professional training on how to manage angry customers there are some techniques that you can use to calm down an angry customer.
Read our top tips on how to calm down angry customers > or 16 Phrases to use with angry customers >
The reason why customer service is a skill
Being successful in customer service requires a range of different skills and a combination of good management practices to enable you to achieve your best. This can include:
- Regular coaching and feedback.
- Learning the skill of Active Listening.
- Using a Phonetic Alphabet.
- Providing a great induction program.
- Ensuring there is easily accessible and accurate product and service information via a Knowledge Management System.
- Having clear Key Performance Indicators that reward and drive the right behaviours and that are linked to Reward and Recognition programs, gamification tools etc.
So whilst these empathy statements examples I hope are useful, please continue to learn more to help yourself, and your business succeed.
Remember, great customer service doesn’t happen by accident and it delivers real, tangible benefits to employees, businesses and customers!
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Where to find more customer service tips without the sales pitches
We’ve got a range of other articles on ACXPA for contact employees, Team Leaders and Managers as well as articles on Customer Service along with a range of upcoming events and training courses >
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- About the Author
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After spending over 30 years working in contact centres and CX, one thing I’ve learnt is there is always something more to learn!
I’m thrilled to be the inaugural CEO of ACXPA, and together with the rest of the team, we’re focused on helping Australian businesses deliver efficient and effective customer experiences via phone, digital and in-person by empowering their employees with the skills, industry insights and professional support networks they need to succeed.
