"Hey! How's it goin'?" he asked.
"I'm good," I said, "How about yourself?"
"Just tired," he responded.
"I can imagine," I said!
It's a phrase I learnt during my call center days. An expression call center employees were trained to use when a customer expressed a problem or concern.
"It's natural to say - I understand," the trainer explained.
"But imagine a situation! A customer is trying to complete the purchase of his new home by a certain date. He would like to move in before the new school year starts for his children, but his home loan is not approved though he was promised approval by that date and has submitted all the documents he was asked to."
"In that situation, if you said, "I understand", the customer would say, "No, You don't understand!"
"Which is why a better way to respond is to say, "Dear Mr. Customer, I can imagine how that creates a problem for you..." and then provide the reasons for the delay, or better still, an alternate solution."
It struck a chord right away! And has stayed with me for over 15 years.
Which is why, as I got ready to stretch my hamstrings and quadriceps at my 7 PM physical therapy appointment (the last one for the day), I could imagine why Warren (one of the therapists) felt tired...
"I'm good," I said, "How about yourself?"
"Just tired," he responded.
"I can imagine," I said!
It's a phrase I learnt during my call center days. An expression call center employees were trained to use when a customer expressed a problem or concern.
"It's natural to say - I understand," the trainer explained.
"But imagine a situation! A customer is trying to complete the purchase of his new home by a certain date. He would like to move in before the new school year starts for his children, but his home loan is not approved though he was promised approval by that date and has submitted all the documents he was asked to."
"In that situation, if you said, "I understand", the customer would say, "No, You don't understand!"
"Which is why a better way to respond is to say, "Dear Mr. Customer, I can imagine how that creates a problem for you..." and then provide the reasons for the delay, or better still, an alternate solution."
It struck a chord right away! And has stayed with me for over 15 years.
Which is why, as I got ready to stretch my hamstrings and quadriceps at my 7 PM physical therapy appointment (the last one for the day), I could imagine why Warren (one of the therapists) felt tired...
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