Empathy Statements

When using the phone, empathy statements allow

an advisor to establish a connection with the person
that they are communicating with.

These statements create trust and mutual

understanding, which can bring great benefits to
customer service interactions.
Empathy Statements
1. “I would feel the same in your situation, but we will sort this
out…”
2. “I know how frustrating it can be – let’s see how I can help
you…”
3. “I completely understand how frustrating it is…”
4. “I appreciate how difficult it is to…”
5. “We will work to resolve the problem. You just enjoy your
(birthday/holidays/Christmas break, etc.), and I will be in
touch shortly.”
Empathy Statements
6. “We are keen to resolve this as much as you are…”
7. “If I were in your position, I would feel exactly the
same…”
8. “I appreciate you bringing this to our attention…”
9. “I will contact you as soon as we have had an update.”
10. “Definitely, you are making perfect sense.”
Empathy Statements
11. “I can assure you that this will absolutely happen.”
12. “We will help you get this issue resolved.”
13. “Apologies for the wait, I appreciate your patience.”
14. “Don’t worry, I can see why you did that.”
15. “Yes, that would certainly frustrate me too.”
Empathy Statements
16. “What I would do in this situation is…”
17. “How do you feel about…”
18. “I know others who have been in your situation and
what we did to successfully help them was…”
19. “Just so we know what we’re aiming for, what would
be the best-case scenario for you.”
20. “Absolutely, I can certainly fix that for you.”
Empathy Statements
20. “Absolutely, I can certainly fix that for you.”
21. “I will quickly put this into action for you and then
everything will be back to normal.”
22. “Just so I can clarify and help you, the problem is…”
23. “I’m afraid that we cannot offer you X, but what I can
do for you is…”
24. “I am going to take care of this for you.”
25. “That does sound frustrating, let’s see what I can do to
help.”
Empathy Statements That Help
Improve Customer-Agent Rapport
 “Empathy is different from sympathy. Empathy
is the ability to “walk a mile in someone else’s
shoes” — while sympathy is feeling the same
feelings as the customer and agreeing with
them. A person feels sympathy — but shares
empathy.”- David Filwood, Principal
Consultant at TeleSoft Systems
What is an empathy statement?

 Empathy statements are short phrases that

help you establish a connection with the
person you are talking to. They show that
the other person is your sole focus and
that you are taking personal responsibility
for them in this conversation. It helps
create trust and mutual understanding.
What should be included?
Personal Pronouns

The words “I” and “you” are essential in an empathy statement, as will
be highlighted later.
When you use personal pronouns (and especially “I” rather than a
more corporate “we”) the listener understands that you are
personally involved and interested in them as an individual. They feel
that you understand their situation and that you want to help them as
a priority.
Active Verbs
Compare: “This will be resolved by our team” with: “I will ask
our team to resolve this.”
The first version is anonymous, lacking personality and has no
underlying responsibility, whilst the second makes you believe
that there is a real person actively working to fix an issue, and
who might physically chase the team until it is done.
So, replace passive verbs with active verbs, which add a
sense of immediacy.
Authenticity
Be genuine, honest and be yourself. Reading standard phrases
without being authentic creates resentment and can increase
anger. It is more important to be natural, calm and positive than
to get the exact phrasing correct.

Authenticity means using a natural tone, and less formal ways of

speaking.

Use “thanks” instead of “thank you”; “hi” instead of “hello”;

“enjoy the rest of your day” instead of “good bye”. Use
contractions/short forms of verbs: you’re, can’t, he’s, don’t, etc.

Empathy statements – Assessing
the situation
“Can you tell me a little more about it, please?”
The first duty of an agent when handling a customer query is to assess the situation.
When doing so, the agent should use empathy statements to convey their interest
in and attentiveness to the customer’s enquiry. These two statements will help
advisors to do so:
1. “Is there anything I can do for you today, big or small?”
Assuring the customer of your desire to resolve their complaint should allow them to
recognise your care and understanding for the individual’s problems.
2. “Can you tell me a little more about it, please?”
Establishing that you want to extract as much information as possible from the
customer indicates your attentiveness and curiosity in the matter at hand. However,
you must be careful that advisors are being respectful when using this line!
Clarifying the situation
“When I am done, if I have got something wrong, I would
appreciate it if you would correct me, if that is ok?”
Once your advisor has all such information at their
fingertips, the situation must next be clarified to ensure
that your frontline worker and their customer are both
“on the same page”. Here, empathy statements are vital
so that the customer does not get frustrated at having to
repeat themselves. These two remarks will allow the
agent to avoid this.
Clarifying the situation
3. “I want to make sure that I really have an understanding
of what you’re telling me. I’m hearing that…”
Expressing the desire to listen deeply to the customer, by
giving them the opportunity to correct your understanding
of their query, reinforces the customer–advisor connection.
4. “When I am done, if I have got something wrong, I
would appreciate it if you would correct me, if that is ok?”
Involving the customer in the process of clarifying and
solving their enquiry allows them to feel encouraged as to
its progress and does not leave them “stuck in the middle”.
Reassuring the customer
“We will help you get this issue resolved”
When the advisor has a full understanding of the matter at
hand, that individual should make the process of what
happens next clear to the customer. This involves
reassuring the customer that the company is striving to
resolve their issue and further building customer–advisor
rapport. The three empathy statements below
demonstrate how to do so.
5. “Thank you very much for
alerting us about this…”
Highlighting that your company
appreciates feedback, whilst alluding
to the notion that you’d like to act on
it, demonstrates your will to relieve
them of any future hassle.
6. “We will help you get this issue resolved”
Reaffirming the intention for a quick and appropriate resolution
again builds rapport. But the use of the word “we” also indicates
that it is a team effort and that you are prioritizing the matter.
7. “You’re absolutely correct, Sir/Madam”
Displaying respect and empathy for the customer’s opinions
demonstrates the advisor’s consideration for their client’s
predicament.
Tip – As well using respectful, compassionate and attentive
language to empathize with the customer, reassuring noises can
also serve for same purpose. Pure silence on the
agent’s part can cause the customer to feel helpless, so agents
should use such noises to assure the client of their focus and
understanding.
Providing a sense of
immediacy
Whist reassuring the customer of their enquiry’s importance to the
business, it is also important for advisors to provide them with a sense of
immediacy. In order to minimize customer frustration at spending too
long on the phone, your agents should use the five statements below to
alleviate such feeling on behalf of the client and demonstrate a caring
approach.
8. “I appreciate you bringing this to our attention, so that we can deal
with this immediately”
Recognizing the urgency of the query and assuring the client that they
were right to contact the advisor allows the customer to believe that all
their efforts are valued by your company.
9. “I can see where the problem is, Sir/Madam…”
Conveying the advisor’s experience in handling calls of this nature
provides the customer with a strong indication of the ability of the call
centre professional to find a swift solution to the query.
10. “What I’m currently doing to help you is…”
Your taking control of the situation allows the customer to feel as if the
problem has been “lifted from them”, and by phrasing the statement in
this way, you are personalizing the matter and making the customer
feel special.
11. “This should be fixed by the end of the weekend, Mr. Smith”
Providing a close, but realistic, timeframe for when a customer query can be
answered, if it cannot be solved immediately, should again take responsibility away
from the customer and allow them to relax.
Making a commitment
“Do let us know if you have any further questions, Mr. Smith”
As well as reassuring the customer and providing them with a sense of immediacy,
making a commitment to them helps to comfort customers with the knowledge that
their issue is being treated. The following three phrases present ways in which you can
make such a commitment.
12. “I will contact you as soon as we have had an update”
Making a commitment such as this and then following it up should help you to
establish a basis of trust between the company and the customer, which helps in
forming a long-standing relationship.
13. “We will work to resolve the problem. You just enjoy your
(birthday/holidays/Christmas break, etc.), and I will be in
touch shortly”
Acknowledging a customer’s personal holidays and future
plans allows your advisor to add a personal touch to the
interaction, and basing your actions around a customer’s
schedule demonstrates an empathetic approach.
14. “Do let us know if you have any further questions, Mr. Smith”
Encouraging future contact helps to show your company’s
commitment to strengthening your relationship with the
customer and fosters the progression of the customer–agent
rapport.
Maintaining strong customer
relations
After the process has run its course, there is a chance that the
customer will not be completely impressed by the answers that they
have received. In such a situation, building an empathetic
atmosphere is key to maintaining strong customer relations. The two
examples below will help to quell such issues and rebuild customer
faith in your business’s processes.
15. “We always value customers who are keen to give us their
feedback. I will be sure to pass on what you have told me to our
managerial team”
Exhibiting that you are proactive when receiving criticism and that
your advisors are in constant communication with their superiors
helps to assure aggrieved customers that the right procedures are in
place to handle their complaints.
16. “I have experienced a similar problem recently, so I
understand what you are saying. Let me see what I can do
to help you out”
Drawing on their own experiences singles the advisor out
from the company that the customer feels aggravated by.
Then, by signaling that the problem has now gone, the
advisor has demonstrated that a solution is available.
Closing the call
 Now that the call is coming to a close, agents must still
maintain a respectful tone and maintain their empathetic
attitude so that customers feel comfortable voicing more
concerns and stay satisfied with the service received. The
next two statements are crucial in signing off with a
customer and staying empathetic.
17. “Is there anything else that I can help you with today, Mr.
Smith?”
Demonstrating that there are no time limits in the job
description of your agents, this phrase illustrates that there
are not company constraints on providing great customer
service.

18. “Your satisfaction means everything to us. Have we

covered everything that you wanted to discuss today?”
Reminding customers of the business’s ever-willing support for
them helps to conclude with a sustained empathetic
approach, and the use of the word “us” summarizes the
collaborative culture on which empathy is based.
THANK YOU LISTENING !