Empathy must be
These days, customers' nerves are being put to the test - and not just at boarding gates or on train tracks, but also in the retail sector's economy of scarcity or in the - sometimes - service desert of the restaurant trade or in endless waiting lines. There's no way to sugarcoat it.
But, what should companies do now to solve these problems when in reality their hands are tied? The bicycle dealer can hardly produce the spare parts he has been waiting for for months himself in a 3D printer. And menus with only five dishes are not a bad intention on the part of the restaurant operator, but happen out of necessity. out of necessity.
The only solution at this point is empathy as a business principle. It is more important than ever to put oneself in the customer's individual situation and to seriously consider the customer's wishes. And if, in the end - as is unfortunately often the case at the moment - even if no immediate solution is possible, the customer at least receives a positive perspective. A credible and comprehensible one at that. What's more, once the supply chains are up and running again, supplies are secured and personnel are once again available customers will not have forgotten this empathetic experience. Guaranteed not. On the contrary: customers will expect increasingly empathetic interactions in the future.
E-book currently in German only