Put Yourself In Their Shoes

As we become more and more experienced in fielding phone calls for self storage customers, a potential pitfall is that we can become detached from the needs of the caller. This is not to say that detachment is always a bad thing. A little detachment is a good thing, as it helps keep us from being drawn completely into the callers dilemma. If you have too much detachment, it can become a hindrance. We do not want to lose empathy for the caller and their self storage needs. We have to remember that in many instances that a caller may need self storage because they are not in the strongest places in their lives.

Perhaps they are in the process of being evicted from their home, and not necessarily by their own fault. It could be that they are tenants in the property, and for whatever reason, they have to vacate suddenly. Maybe the caller needs self storage because of a disaster of some sort. The horrific hurricane that hit the south a few years ago comes to mind. However, it could be that the caller has had a house fire, or water damage, requiring them to need self storage for the remainder of their possessions. A caller could have had a death in the family, requiring self storage while the surviving relatives make arrangements to settle the estate of the deceased. It could also be that you are dealing with an impending separation and or divorce, requiring one or both spouses to need self storage. Now it is entirely possible that you are dealing with a person that is looking forward to being free of their future former spouse, but more often than not, you are dealing with a stressful situation with emotions running high. Another possible scenario that you may encounter is a caller that needs self storage because they are trying to escape an abusive relationship. Needless to say, more often than not, this will be a situation where the self storage caller will be under a great deal of stress and anxiety.

Magnifying any of the above scenarios is the possibility that the caller is not all that fond of talking on the phone to a complete stranger in the first place.

Now in some cases the need to be empathetic will be blatantly obvious. If the caller tells you that she needs self storage because she is trying to get away from their abusive so and so of a boyfriend, then it is a no-brainer that you are going to show a little sympathy on the phone.

However, it is also possible that the caller may not be all that forthcoming over the phone as far as why they need self storage. Is the caller being short with you on the phone because he is not a nice guy to start with? Or is it that his Aunts house caught fire last night and he has got a lot on his mind while he is trying to figure out where Auntie and her five cats are going to stay. Oh yeah, and she will need self storage for the rest of the items in the house that were not damaged.

The point is, you never know why the self storage caller is in the mood they are in when they are calling. We all know what happens when you assume why.

The original article is located at Put Yourself In Their Shoes

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