Have you ever taken toddlers to a fast food restaurant? I have. 

In fact, sometimes I’d have to take two at one time. It was always fun (not really) trying to keep them at arm’s length from each other, answering their questions or whisper-hissing “STOP IT!” to them all while a teenager behind the counter wanted to know what drinks I wanted with my order. 

If you’ve ever been in this situation you know it’s difficult to order food, pay for the food and even carry it to your table while still trying to wrangle even one toddler, much less two. Having small children can create a barrier for parents to take their kids to a restaurant, even a family friendly restaurant. Do you know who recognized and minimized that barrier? Chick-fil-A. 

They created an additional, free service called Mom’s Valet. Any parent with kids in tow can simply come through the drive-thru and request Mom’s Valet. Chick-fil-A then takes their order and sets up the whole table inside for them. The parent and kids can then come right in, sit down and immediately start eating. Happy kids. Happy parents. All because Chick-fil-A removed that barrier.

Want to know the really crazy thing about the Mom’s Valet service? Not one customer ever asked for that service to be created. The idea didn’t come from a customer focus group. It came from one store owner-operator in Florida who had observed how parents struggled when they brought toddlers into the restaurant. He called upon a secret superpower that top brands use and encourage in their team members: Empathy.

This one store owner-operator observed parents in his restaurant with toddlers in tow. He recognized the struggle they went through when trying to order, pay for and carry food. He empathized with their struggle and figured out what was in his power to help alleviate that struggle. 

The top brands recognize that “Empathizing with customers” is a key behavior in delivering an outstanding experience. But just because the top brands have figured out how to do this doesn’t mean that you can’t. You can. And, while it does take some work, it’s actually pretty simple.

Serving with empathy starts with answering these questions:

• Who are my customers?
• What do they care about?
• How can I care about what they care about?
• What do they need?
• How can I help them get what they need?

You need to care about what your customer cares about, and your customer needs to believe that you care.

You need to deliver an experience that shows your customers that you understand their needs. And the only way you’re going to truly understand their needs is to see the world through their eyes, walking a mile in their shoes, understanding what they feel throughout their day.

But before I move forward, I want to dispel a myth about empathy. Empathy is not just some “woo woo,” touchy-feely concept. Nor is it a weakness. In fact, empathy is a sign of tremendous strength. Empathy requires leaders to confront, and be aware of, their feelings and have meaningful interactions with those who need guidance. I’m going to go ahead and call that the opposite of weakness.

And keep in mind that, when we talk about customers you have more customers than you think. Of course your client is your customer. But your customers also include everyone you interact with. So no matter your role, you have customers. You have your external customers and you have numerous internal customers.

If your customers ever tell you what they care about or what they need, consider yourself lucky. Most of them won’t bother to tell you. Many of them couldn’t tell you even if you asked them. They can likely only tell you about their challenges and struggles.

And it’s your job to care about their challenges and struggles. It’s your job to help them believe you care about their challenges and struggles. It’s your job to create an experience for them that alleviates their challenges and struggles.

To get there, you have to really understand your customer. You have to talk to them. You have to ask them what it’s like to be them each day. More importantly, you have to observe them and observe what it’s like to be them. You have to look at what you can do to help solve their problems and make their lives better.

When you instill empathy into the experience you deliver to others you transform your focus from selling (“what’s in it for me?”) to serving (“what’s in it for them?”). You realize that your customers are real people.


Do you know what real people want the most? They want to feel valued. 

When your customers believe you care, they’ll feel valued. When they feel valued, they’ll trust you. When they trust you, they’ll be loyal to you. When they’re loyal to you, your brand will flourish because you used the secret superpower of empathy. Congrats!