15 Empathy Statements And Tips To Help You Improve Customer Service

When Contact Center agents handle customer complaints, problems, or difficult situations, empathy can play an important role in building trust and creating a more positive customer experience. Customers want to feel heard and understood, especially when they are frustrated, confused, disappointed, or looking for a solution.

• Empathy Statements for Customer Service
• Understand the Problem
• Identify the Customer's Emotions
• Use Personal Ownership
• Keep Empathy Natural and Authentic
• About Call Center Services International

Empathy involves recognizing another person's perspective and emotions and responding in a way that shows you are listening. In Customer Service, this can help agents acknowledge a customer's frustration while continuing to focus on understanding the issue and finding an appropriate solution.

Empathy is not simply about memorizing phrases. Agents should listen carefully and adapt their language to the actual situation. The following statements can provide useful examples when they are used naturally and sincerely.

Empathy Statements for Customer Service

1. “I can understand why that would be upsetting.”

2. “I can imagine how frustrating that must be.”

3. “It’s understandable that you’re upset about what happened.”

4. “I understand why you’d want that.”

5. “I can see how frustrating it is when…”

6. “I realize how complicated it can be to…”

7. “I can see why that would be upsetting.”

8. “I understand how confusing it can be when…”

9. “That sounds frustrating.”

10. “It’s clear that this has affected you.”

11. “What I’m hearing is that you feel you were treated unfairly.”

12. “I can see why that doesn’t make sense from your perspective.”

13. “What you’re saying makes sense.”

14. “I understand why you’re upset.”

These statements are starting points rather than scripts. The most effective response will depend on what the customer has actually said, the circumstances of the interaction, and what the agent can realistically do to help.

Understand the Problem

Before expressing empathy, make sure you understand what the customer is experiencing. Give the customer an opportunity to explain the situation and ask appropriate questions when additional information is needed.

Identify the Customer's Emotions

Before saying that you understand, listen for what the customer is actually communicating. Are they frustrated, confused, disappointed, worried, angry, or simply looking for clarification?

A customer may be frustrated because previous attempts to resolve the issue were unsuccessful. Another may be disappointed because a product or service did not meet expectations. Someone else may simply be confused by a process or need additional information.

Recognizing the situation allows the agent to respond more naturally instead of selecting a generic phrase that may not match what the customer is feeling.

Use Personal Ownership

Using personal language can make an interaction feel more direct and human. Statements such as “Let me look into that for you” or “I’ll help you understand what happened” communicate that the agent is actively engaged in the conversation.

However, personal ownership should not become an unrealistic promise. Agents should avoid guaranteeing an outcome they cannot control or telling customers they will personally remain involved until an issue is completely resolved if that is not how the operation works.

The goal is to demonstrate responsibility for the next appropriate step while remaining accurate about what the agent can actually do.

Keep Empathy Natural and Authentic

Empathy statements work best when they sound genuine. Excessive words such as “completely,” “absolutely,” “totally,” or “definitely” can sometimes make a response sound scripted or exaggerated if they do not match the situation.

Agents should be encouraged to use language that feels natural while maintaining a professional tone. The words themselves matter, but active listening, tone of voice, timing, and what the agent does next are equally important.

Empathy also does not require automatically agreeing with every statement a customer makes. An agent can acknowledge the customer's feelings without admitting fault, confirming an allegation, or promising a resolution before the facts are understood.

For example, instead of saying “You’re right, that makes no sense,” an agent might say “I can understand why that would be confusing from your perspective.” This validates the customer's experience without reaching a conclusion before reviewing the situation.

Managers can use examples like these during coaching and training sessions and encourage agents to develop language that fits their personalities, customer situations, and brand expectations. CCSI's agent training and development includes customer experience, communication, active listening, negotiation, and other interaction skills.

Historical note: First published in September 2022, this article has been reviewed and updated while preserving its original focus on practical empathy statements and four techniques for improving empathetic customer interactions: understanding the problem, identifying customer emotions, using personal language, and strengthening the way empathy is communicated. Several example phrases have been refined to sound more natural and to avoid unintentionally admitting fault or making promises before the customer's situation has been fully understood.

Originally published: September 27, 2022
Last reviewed and updated: July 26, 2026