Our core values – Empathy

OUR CORE VALUES

Our core business values: integrity, excellent service and empathy are very important to us. Our values serve as a guide to our people in their everyday interactions with customers, colleagues, partners and other stakeholders.

Empathy embodies our understanding of a customers’ situation, our desire to be helpful and that our team can make the difference to the customers experience with Plastic Surgeon.

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS

Working within the service sector, the relationships we build with our clients are vital. Whether dealing with the sales manager of a large construction company or an elderly home owner, each client is important and we need to demonstrate our ability to build a rapport with them all.

Researchers define empathy as the ability to sense other people’s emotions and be able to imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling. Successfully building a rapport with our customers is important to providing an effective service and building sales. We must acknowledge customers concerns with empathy and understanding; the key to great service and effective communication.

EMOTIVE SITUATIONS

By the nature of our work, damage repair services often evoke emotive reactions from clients – they may be feeling let down, frustrated or annoyed by their situation. People often take out their frustration on the service provider and it is our job to demonstrate empathy towards clients and try to understand their situation without judgement.

At Plastic Surgeon, Operations Managers constantly remind their area teams to imagine themselves in their customers shoes, in order to meet their expectations.

As examples, we are often called in to make good damage by delivery companies who have scraped doors, floors or windows as they have delivered large items. Homeowners are often frustrated and will be looking for ways to vent their anger and so our teams often take the brunt of their feelings.

TAKE THE TIME TO LISTEN TO THE CLIENT

Team members are encouraged to use empathic statements to win over customers. Taking a few seconds to build a rapport by simply expressing genuine empathy is often the key to creating a good impression that will leave the customer feeling happy with our service and likely to recommend us in the future.

CUSTOMER FEEDBACK

We encourage customer feedback so that we are able to track customer satisfaction and pick up on any recurring  issues. We love to receive “Happy Letters” that we share  to encourage and inspire the whole team:

 

I just wanted to send you an email to say thank you to Chris G who came to us last week.

I work at home and he was extremely considerate, working around me to keep disruption to a minimum.

He was polite, good at his job and was a pleasure to have in our home, quite unlike other trades people we have dealt with in the course of our insurance claim.

I am very happy to recommend your services.

KEY POINTS TO DEMONSTRATING EMPATHY

• Listen carefully  – repeat what the customer is saying to show you understand their concern
• Smile – a smile will come across as a genuine sign of empathy, both on the phone or in person
• View the problem through their eyes. Reassure the customer that you understand what they want and will do your best to resolve it.