You are sitting on a plane, there is a woman beside you holding an infant. The baby is crying and squirming and bothering a lot of people. In your opinion, would a flight attendant that is a mother who understands that type of situation or a young twenty something pretty face attendant know how to handle that situation the best? – The answer is the attendant that is a mother herself. She empathizes with they woman trying to sooth her screaming child because she has been there.
Empathy is always a good thing in customer service according to Jeff Toiser. In his book, Service Failure, he talks about why empathy is such a great quality in customer service people. He talks of how to teach empathy and how to hire empathy. You can teach empathy through training and through telling stories. You hire empathy by hiring individuals that would normally shop or buy your product or service.
This aligns with what Evan Addams described in class on his last visit. He stated that he is no longer a “sales person.” He is a customer service and relationship person. He is the individual that makes sure everything is working for the customer and it is everything that they want. He can empathize with the customers because he understands the struggles in sitting people, wait times, and organization of restaurants.
BoweryJE22
I just realized something about empathy from your post that I hadn’t before… Empathy often comes through experience. The flight attendant can empathize with the woman on the plane because they share the experience of motherhood. I guess it’s all about finding points of connection with a customer; it’s all about finding shared experiences. Thanks for the insight!