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The Simple Solution to Solve Customer Stress
Have you ever had that sigh-of-relief moment with a business?
You’re in a high-stress state and then someone just comes in and makes everything better?
One time, a few years back, I had to get some work done on my car. This was already a stressful situation right off the bat, am I right? No one likes to get their car fixed or deal with the cost or time involved.
So I was stressed out already. Then the repair shop called me to say there was a mile-long list of repairs that had to be done. And, by the way, that those repairs would take several hours. Meaning I’d be car-less for a whole day. This also just so happened to be on a day when I had an important meeting later that day, so I needed my car.
You can see how each little part of this situation ramped up my anxiety and stress levels more and more. I said – in a less-than-polite way – that we’d do the repairs, but I absolutely had to schedule them for anther day, because I needed my car.
The mechanic calmly replied, “We can still do it today. You’ll have it back before that time and if not, I’ll give you a loaner car so you can get to your meeting.” Phew. Just in those two sentences, I could feel my stress melting away. I could feel my body relax.
Just like that, my level-ten freak out was nipped in the bud and I could move on. It was as easy as planting that positive seed that I could still get the repairs done, plus the guarantee that I’d be taken care of – even if I couldn’t have my car.
THAT’S how it feels when a company actually uses positive language.
That sigh of relief. The call could have easily escalated to yelling and demands, but instead went straight to the solution. I felt like I could let go of the issue, like someone was there to take care of it for me.
Have you ever been there? It’s a powerful experience, right? The great news is, these easy, seemingly small steps can be replicated in any business interaction. And yes, they’ll result in less anger, less stress, and more connection generated between everyone involved.
In fact, those are two steps of my three-step transformational communication strategy. Step 1: Validate. Step 2: Plant a seed of happiness. Step 3: Use an action statement.
Have you ever had this experience? What company was able to help pull you out of panic mode, and how did they do it? (I bet they used at least one of those steps, even if you might not have noticed it.)
Even using one of these steps can save you time and, let’s be honest, energy. You can totally bypass the freak out. I encourage you to try at least one step in your next conversation. See what a shift it makes.
Want to learn more about my communication strategies? Visit maryshores.com.