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Showing empathy in customer communication is important, particularly in customer service. It’s one of the most important skills for professionals who interact with customers. However, many struggle to apply it effectively, particularly in sales and service roles.
Showing empathy doesn’t have to be difficult.
Words are incredibly powerful for handling clients’ conversations as businesses often can truly either make or break customer service experiences. Using the right empathy statements and phrases for customer service makes all the difference between a poor or delightful experience.
According to the Empathy Index, “Empathy is more important to a successful business than it has ever been, correlating to growth, productivity, and earnings per employee.”
Businesses can’t provide 100% effective solutions all the time. But what they provide is the best empathetic words in all the points of interaction to deliver a positive experience. Beyond feeling good for your customer and boosting key business metrics, the importance of empathy statements in customer service can be good morale-boosting for your team.
An empathy statement is a phrase or expression used to acknowledge and understand another person’s feelings, showing that you care and are attentive to his/her emotions or concerns.
These statements show that the other person has your complete attention and that you are going to listen to the person and try your level best to solve his issues. Such statements help build trust and mutual understanding. Empathy is an effective tool for showing customers that you are on their side and always ready to assist them. Such empathy statements are particularly useful in handling difficult situations with customers.
According to Verywell Mind, empathy can be categorized into three types:
According to Gartner research, 64% of people consider customer experience more important than price when making a purchase decision.
Empathy statements for customer service show your ability to “walk a mile in someone else’s shoes”. Using the right phrases from the empathy word list can help so much in making customers feel that they are understood, and respected, and their feelings are validated.
Here’s why being empathetic towards your customers is important!
Benefits of empathy statements in customer service
Using thoughtful and personalized empathy statements helps establish a strong foundation for a positive customer experience.
A call center agent’s primary responsibility is to thoroughly understand the customer’s issue. Empathy statements such as, “I’m sorry you’re dealing with this. I understand how tough this for you is,” play a key role in addressing concerns and effectively managing customer complaints.
Truly understanding your customers’ needs means reflecting on their fears, desires, and pain points. In case your sales team fails to understand your customers, how can you expect them to explain how your products or services fit their lives? And here the power of empathy in business can be realized.
Customer support teams with strong empathy skills are more productive and innovative. It means if you want to increase efficiency and expand the number of problems you can solve for customers, you need to hire support reps with strong “soft skills.” They are familiar with the use of power words for customer service to show empathy.
When team members and managers express empathy and a willingness to act compassionately toward customers, it is a strong reason that companies would attract highly engaged individuals. Empathetic companies have better retention and higher morale among employees.
Empathy helps you form stronger connections with your customers. By understanding their thoughts and feelings, customer service agents can respond more effectively to customers’ concerns.
Empathy statements for customer service
Expressing empathy is a good, natural, and honest way to promote relationships, both personally and professionally. The importance of empathy statements for customer service has a direct impact on creating a connection during a customer conversation. It requires your complete attention to the conversation, and you are ready to take responsibility for them.
Your customer support team should be naturally empathetic, or they should be. That being said, nobody can be perfect all the time. We have compiled a few lists of empathetic statements and phrases to help inspire your team to craft even more empathetic responses across different scenarios. So, let’s explore 30 empathy statements for customer service with great examples that create a long-lasting impression.
Possibly, the best thing you can do is to acknowledge how your customer feels. When you try to connect with their pain or struggles, it makes them feel supported. It shows that you are genuinely putting effort into understanding their feelings.
When customers are frustrated, they just want to be heard attentively. They want validation that what they are going through is really very difficult.
Here are some empathy statement samples that can be used to acknowledge or validate consumer pain points.
Saying sorry when your customers are upset is a great way to start mending the relationship and shows that you understand that they have been made to feel negative about your business.
By feeling sorry for what they have gone through, you create a sense of accord. It just not shows empathy for the unfortunate situation, but also assures them that their feelings are understandable.
Using these empathy words shows that you are personally involved in the conversation. This personal approach demonstrates a willingness to identify with the customer’s problems and build a trustworthy relationship.
Customers feel comfortable when they find you genuinely listening to their problems and appreciate your customer service etiquette.
You can’t empathize with customers unless you understand their pains. Outstanding support is defined by genuine empathy and it is crucial to convey to your customers. Listen to them carefully to read their emotions and relate how they feel.
It shows your customer’s side.
Sample empathy statement
Going through difficulties can be a terrible experience for anybody. That is the reason why people share their struggles as if they are longing for a connection. They want someone to show interest in their story and understand how they are feeling.
The best way to connect with someone is not by talking, but by listening. Show you care by asking questions and showing a genuine interest in what they have to say.
Some examples of empathy statements to align conversations with customers:
There are certain situations or incidents that we can relate to when we hear from customers. By using this empathy statement sample, you can support your customers and make them feel that they have been really going through a tough time.
When you align your statements along with your customers they open up explaining in detail. It helps you to understand your customer’s situation better and serve them better.
Not always you can provide a feasible solution to your customers but every time you can comfort them with your empathetic words. Listening to them patiently to what they have gone through is enough.
When you show that you are equally sad by listening to what customers have experienced with your product or service, they feel that you are validating their problem and will be able to get a feasible solution.
Sample empathy statement
When customers reach out to you, they look for concrete information or effective solutions. The customer service agents should have a full understanding to make the process of what happens next, clear to the customer. Do you want to learn more about customer service to show empathy to a customer in a better way? Find free customer service resources.
Reassuring the customers that the company will be striving to fix their issues creates a good impression and further builds brand rapport.
Here is the empathy statement sample below to show how to reassure customers.
When you appreciate your customers for reporting about any product issue or complaining about any service, and assure them to act on it positively, it makes them feel happy that there will be no future hassle.
Giving credence to your customer complaints and valuing their feedback encourages them to reach you when they face any problem.
Reaffirming to customers that you will provide a quick and effective resolution helps to strengthen the rapport between you and customers. When you use such statements, customers set expectations that you are putting effort into fixing the issue faster.
Using ‘we’ gives an idea to the customers that it is the effort of the whole team, and their issue is set as a priority.
Saying customers what they are saying is absolutely correct shows respect and empathy for their opinions. It also displays that you are considering your customer’s predicament.
Sample empathy statement
Generally, customers don’t share their opinions as it is not valued or given an empathetic response.
When someone chooses to open up to you, it shows they really trust you. It’s your job to honor that and respond with care. Offer gratitude to them for sharing their experience in terms of good or bad feedback will always benefit your company.
Let your customers know that you appreciate their sharing with you and acknowledge that it will be implemented. When you do this, it signals that you are a safe harbor for vulnerability.
Here are positive empathy statements for call centers that can help you to deliver a pleasing response.
Generally, customers do not prefer giving feedback due to many reasons. Customer feedback is the best way to improve your overall brand. When they provide their honest feedback, thanking them gives a very good impression.
When you use statements full of gratitude, it expresses that you are genuinely thankful for the feedback they provided.
Companies that welcome customer feedback grow by increasing their loyal customer base. Feedback if looked into carefully brings golden opportunities for every business.
Expressing gratitude to the customers should be practiced whenever they reach out with complaints, feedback, or ideas.
Feedback covers the overall customer experience with your products or services. When you ask customers for feedback, it involves their time to provide it.
Always appreciate and thank them for spending time to share their feedback with you.
Sample empathy statement
It is very important to be encouraging and motivating when your customers are going through a tough time.
Where one side shows customers to fix the issue or look at the brighter side; rarely helps although intentions are good, the other side is that you can’t be encouraging. You simply have to be mindful of how you approach it.
Instead of saying, “It will get better” or “Here’s what I would do,” remind customers that they are important to your business and you always value them.
Here are some good examples of empathy statements and phrases.
Listening to the entire story and concluding that the customer is a strong person sounds encouraging. It makes the customer feel that you really admire the way he handled the situation.
Besides, using good empathetic words helps you to maintain your brand credibility.
Businesses can not replace the pain of the tough times customers have gone through, but certainly, they can empathize with them. Customer service agents must practice active listening to understand the entire customer journey.
Using empathetic words surely motivates them and you are there to help them in every possible way.
When we say such empathy phrases to customers, it shows we find them strong enough to handle the tough times. It makes them feel you are supportive of them and are ready to help them in every way you can.
Sample empathy statement
When it comes to calming irate customers, skillful use of empathy word lists by your agents is very important. By using good emphatic statements, you can tackle difficult or angry customers.
Here are the best empathy statements for customer service to be followed to calm down irate customers.
Handling angry customers can be frustrating for call center agents still, they should be taken as seriously as possible, and formally empathetic language should be used at all times.
These positive empathy statement samples should be repeated at various points throughout the customer service conversations. It helps to diffuse the anger and reach out to the solution faster.
When customer service agents encounter a furious customer, the first thing is to offer some words of empathetic reassurance. It helps in reducing their anger significantly. Saying thank you for being patient can also diffuse the situation a bit.
It is important to remember that, regardless of how unpleasant he or she might be as a person, each and every one of your customers is an essential source of revenue for your business.
When it comes to handling stressful situations, properly using words and phrases can go a long way in creating a positive service experience.
Sample empathy statement
One of the key aspects of customer service is following up with customers. When you make follow-ups, it helps to comfort them with the knowledge that their issue is being treated. The customers are updated about the process and they stay positive about the whole circumstance.
Here are some examples of positive acknowledgment statements for a call center that show that you commit to and follow up with customers.
When you commit to customers, make sure that you keep your word as it helps to establish trust between the company and the customer.
Keeping the promise helps in building long-standing relationships.
When you acknowledge your customer’s personal holidays, it allows you to add a personal touch to your interaction.
Basing your services across your customer’s schedule demonstrates an empathetic approach.
Encouraging future contact with your customers helps show your company’s commitment to strengthening your customer relationship and fostering advancement in the rapport between the customers and agents.
Sample empathy statement
Providing a sense of immediacy with proper phrases is as important as customer inquiry for businesses. These positive acknowledgment statements are more important for irate customers. Agents can use the right words and reduce customer anger.
Here are the best empathy statements for irate customers that show a caring approach.
At times customers identify some issues that businesses have overlooked. When customers reach out to you, highlighting such issues, you should assure them that the issue they have raised is right.
Using empathy phrases that appreciate them will allow the customers to believe that all their efforts are valued by your company.
Conveying the advisor’s experience in handling calls of this nature provides the customer with a strong indication of the ability of the call center professional to find a swift solution to the query.
When you use such a positive empathy statement for customer service, it shows that you are taking control of the situation, which allows the customer to feel as if the problem has been handed over to the agents.
It also shows that you are personalizing the matter and making the customer feel special.
Certain issues cannot be resolved in a day. When customer service agents provide a relevant timeframe for query resolution, the agent must make customers feel relaxed.
When you provide an estimated time for resolution, the customers are in a positive mindset of getting the feasible solution after a day or two.
Sample empathy statement
There are times when customers are not convinced by the answers you give them. Starting an empathetic conversation is the key to handling such situations and building strong customer relations.
But how do you empathize with a customer in such a scenario?
Here are examples of empathy statements for customer service that will help to quell such issues and rebuild customer trust in your service and business processes.
When you exhibit that you value customer feedback and take proactive actions to imply it, customers tend to share honest feedback that turns out to be golden opportunities for your business.
Describing the process of sharing feedback across the right team and departments shows your well-defined process for handling customer concerns.
One of the best ways to use a positive empathy statement is by sharing their own experiences with the customers. Sharing such things with customers signals that it is not only he but many who have faced such an issue.
The customers feel comforted that they will be getting a solution soon.
Sample empathy statement
While closing the conversation, support agents must maintain a respectful tone and empathetic attitude so that customers feel comfortable voicing more concerns and stay satisfied with the service they have received.
Here is an empathy statement sample that can be used while signing off with a customer and staying empathetic.
When you use phrases and rely on customer service script sample to assist your customer concerns further it shows there is no time limit in the job description of your agents and your business has no limitations on providing great customer service.
Conveying customers about your business objectives and showing that you are always on your heels to support them helps to conclude with a sustained empathetic approach.
Using the right words from the empathy word list such as our customer satisfaction as the prime goal summarizes the collaborative culture, which is the foundation of empathy.
From all the available options, your customers have chosen you for some reason. Let them know, you truly appreciate their choice to work with your business.
Expressing your pleasure in terms of interacting with customers, serving them, and wishing them a good day makes customers delighted and they will be comfortable in reaching out in the future.
Sample empathy statement
The words you choose in your responses can make a significant impact. Incorporating specific words of empathy into your statements shows customers that you genuinely understand their concerns and are committed to resolving their issues. This helps build trust and confidence in your brand. Here are 20 empathy keywords to consider:
1. Understand: “I completely understand your problem.”
2. Recognize: “I can recognize your concern.”
3. Apologize: “I apologize for whatever you are going through right now.”
4. Immediately: “I appreciate you bringing this to our attention. We’ll act on it immediately to ensure a swift resolution.”
5. Urgently: “We’ll address it urgently to find a solution as quickly as possible.”
6. Priority: “Given the importance of this matter, we’re making it our top priority and will focus on resolving it as soon as possible.”
7. Name: “Hi [Name], I’m really sorry to hear about the issue you’re facing.”
8. Specific Issue: “I completely understand the difficulty you’re facing with your recent return, [Name].”
9. You: “I appreciate you pointing out the issue [Name]. We’ll address it immediately.”
10. Grateful: “I’m grateful for your patience while we work on this issue.”
11. Delighted: “I’m delighted to assist you today, [Name].”
12. Absolutely: “Absolutely, I’m here to assist you with any concerns you may have.”
13. Skilled: “Our skilled technicians are working hard to resolve the issue.”
14. Experienced: “I appreciate your patience, [Name]. Our experienced team will work to resolve this for you.”
15. Expert: “You’re in good hands with our expert support team, who will handle this with the utmost care.”
16. Appreciate: “I appreciate your feedback, and we’ll take steps to improve based on your input.”
17. Supportive: “I want you to know that we’re fully supportive of your needs and will do everything we can to help you through this.”
18. Thank You: “Thank you for reaching out to us.”
19. Frustrating: “I know this has been a frustrating experience for you, [Name].”
20. Disappointing: “It’s disappointing to hear that we didn’t meet your expectations, [Name].”
It is a crucial skill in customer service as it helps build rapport, trust, and satisfaction. Here’s an in-depth exploration of what to include in your empathy statements to empathize with a customer:
What to include in empathy statements?
This involves not just hearing words but understanding the underlying message. It’s about giving your full attention to the customer, which means eliminating distractions and truly focusing on what they are saying. Whether the interaction is in person, over the phone, or via chat, active listening is the foundation of effective communication in customer service. You should always maintain eye contact, nodding, and providing verbal cues like “I see” or “Go on” can signal to the customer that you are fully engaged.
These are tools that ensure mutual understanding. You can repeat back the customer’s concerns in your own words to confirm that you’ve correctly understood their situation but also convey to the customer that their perspective is valued. It’s a way of saying, “I hear you, and I want to make sure I’ve got it right.” This practice helps to avoid misunderstandings and clarifies any ambiguity in the customer’s communication.
It’s about acknowledging their emotions and demonstrating that you care. Phrases like “I understand how frustrating that must be” or “I’m sorry to hear that you’re going through this” express empathy. This acknowledgment helps build a connection with the customer, making them feel heard and valued.
This requires imagining the impact of the situation on the customer’s life and emotions. Even if you haven’t experienced the same issue, recognizing the customer’s perspective and validating their feelings contributes to a more empathetic response. It shows that you acknowledge the validity of their emotions and concerns.
A genuine smile, maintaining eye contact, and an open posture convey warmth and interest. Avoiding defensive postures or gestures that might signal disinterest is equally important. Positive body language enhances the customer’s perception of your sincerity and commitment to assisting them.
If a customer expresses frustration or disappointment, acknowledging those emotions directly is crucial. Reflect on the specifics of what the customer has shared and respond in a way that aligns with their emotional state. This not only shows understanding but also helps in building trust and rapport.
It’s about reassuring the customer that you are there to help and actively working towards a solution. Clearly communicate your commitment to resolving their issue and outline any steps that will be taken. You can deliver actionable solutions or a roadmap to give the customer confidence that their concerns are being taken seriously.
After the initial interaction, reaching out to ensure the resolution has been satisfactory reinforces the idea that the customer’s satisfaction matters beyond the immediate issue. This step not only provides an opportunity to address any lingering concerns but also contributes to building a lasting relationship based on trust and reliability.
In customer service, a positive empathy statement works beyond just mere problem-solving—it involves understanding the emotional state of the customers and addressing their feelings alongside their concerns. Using empathy phrases in the right scenarios can diffuse tension, build trust, and improve customer satisfaction. Below we have listed down some common examples where empathy words or statements if used properly can be highly effective along with how support agents can professionally handle those situations.
Suppose a customer is dealing with a recurring technical issue, such as a software glitch or a malfunctioning device. He becomes frustrated, gets in touch with a customer service agent of that specific brand over a live chat and shares his problem. In this situation, the agent should express genuine empathy to assure the customer that he fully understands the customer’s situation and is doing everything possible to resolve the issue.
How to Handle: A good approach would be for the agent to say, “I understand how frustrating it must be to experience the same issue multiple times. I’m here to make sure things get resolved ASAP.”
Following this, the agent should explain the next steps clearly, with a focus on fast resolution to rebuild the customer’s trust.
At times, a loyal customer who has consistently made his payments on time may miss a recurring payment due to his illness. Due to his current bad health condition, he may face challenges in managing his finances as usual. In such situations, showing empathy and offering flexibility is very important to maintain a positive relationship with the customer. Remember, people always remember those who stand by them during difficult times, and the same goes for your customers.
How to Handle: You both can talk over a phone call or may be through live chat. First, understand that the customer is going through a tough time due to his illness. It’s important to express understanding and validate his situation. He is under stress of missing the payment during an already challenging period. Your goal should be to decrease some of that stress by offering support.
Provide an exception or flexible payment option based on his current circumstances. For example, you might offer a grace period for the missed payment or waive any late fees.
A customer reports losing money due to a transaction error and gives a call to the call center of that specific bank. Here the customer support agent first should acknowledge the customer’s sense of loss or frustration and make him feel that the company genuinely cares about his concern.
How to Handle: Let’s look at a sample empathy statement for a call center agent and explore how they can use it effectively.
The call center agent might use empathy statements like “I can imagine how stressful it must be to deal with a financial loss. Let’s take immediate steps to fix this.”
Showing an active willingness to help, makes the customer feel like the issue has been treated as a top priority.
A customer expected that a product or service would perform in a specific way, influenced by marketing materials or prior experiences. However, the actual performance fell short of his expectations.
So, for obvious reasons, he is feeling disheartened or misled. He emailed the concerned brand and shared his feedback,
How to Handle: The concerned customer service department should address the customer’s concerns with a thoughtful and empathetic response. For instance, they can respond to his email by using empathetic statements like, “We understand how frustrating it can be when a product or service doesn’t live up to your expectations. Your satisfaction is important to us. Let’s arrange a call to discuss how we can resolve this issue and make sure you’re satisfied with the outcome.”
This is a good example of how you can use empathy phrases in customer service that create opportunities to find solutions leading to better outcomes and increased customer satisfaction.
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In addition to offering real-time assistance, REVE Chat enables brands to create predefined ‘Canned Responses’ for live chat sessions. This feature allows live chat agents to prepare and store empathetic customer service statements for various situations, making it easy to deliver consistent and thoughtful responses during interactions.
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To help illustrate how to handle situations empathetically, let’s go through a scenario in a call center.
Situation: A customer calls the call center of an internet service provider to file a complaint because his internet connection has been down for two days. He has a work-from-home job. His deadlines are getting missed because of that and the whole situation has made him frustrated.
Here’s the conversation that can happen:
Customer: Hello, my internet connection has been down for the past two days. I haven’t been able to work properly. Can you fix it for me?
Agent: Thank you for contacting us today. My name is [Agent’s Name], and I’ll be helping you with this issue. I understand you’re having trouble with your internet connection.
Agent: It must be very frustrating, especially since it’s affecting your work. I’m really sorry for the inconvenience. Let me check into this immediately and work on getting you back online as soon as possible.
Customer: Thanks. When can I expect things to be back to normal?
Agent: Mr [Customer’s Name], I have understood the problem. You can expect a resolution by EOD.
Customer: Thanks.
Agent: Is there anything else I can assist you with?
Customer: No, thank you.
Agent: Alright, have a great day ahead!
Here, the customer service agent effectively showed empathy by first acknowledging the customer’s feelings and then offering a clear plan to resolve the issue. The agent’s polite, understanding tone, combined with his proactive approach to solving the issue as a top priority, relaxed the customer and set realistic expectations.
Showing empathy in customer service is important because it allows the customer support agents to understand and acknowledge the customer’s feelings and problems, creating a connection and building trust. By showing empathy, customer service agents can defuse tense situations, make customers feel valued, and demonstrate that their concerns are being taken seriously.
Handling an angry customer with empathy requires patience, active listening, and a calm approach. Here are some tips to follow for managing the situation effectively:
It is a technique in which support representatives use a predefined set of positive language and phrases to manage customer interactions in a better way. The goal is to guide conversations in a constructive way, focusing on solutions rather than problems. This method ensures consistency, professionalism, and maintains an upbeat tone during communications, regardless of the inquiry or the customer’s attitude.
Here’s one example for you-“Your experience is important to us, and I am sorry for any inconvenience you’ve faced. I hope we have resolved this to your satisfaction.”
It’s easy to just say “Sorry,” but there are more genuine ways of using empathy words to express empathy and show you truly understand how the other person feels. Here are some examples:
Customer support agents can use these empathy phrases during interactions via live chat, phone calls, emails, and face-to-face meetings.
Being empathetic to customers over phone calls involves active listening, being calm, understanding their emotions, and responding in a supportive way. Here are some tips:
Absolutely! Some of the best empathy statements can be used in emails, chats, and other text-based communications with customers. For example:
Authenticity is always important even though you are using predefined responses in your customer service communication. Here are some tips to follow:
While using empathy statements for customers, support agents should avoid:
Most of the customers’ decisions are largely emotional rather than logical. That’s what makes empathy a great tool to help show customers that you are on their side. With the right use of empathy statements for customer service, your clients will feel a strong bond with you and your company. And that’s how there is an increase in customer lifetime value (CLTV) and loyalty towards your business.
Believe it or not, you cannot always provide the right solution at the right time, but you can always deliver a human connection. The empathy phrases suggested above can handle customers effectively across various situations. What’s your thought on this? Let us know in the comment section below.
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