The Power of Empathy. Something I learned from being my own customer.

The thing I love most about business is the interactions I have with my customers.

Every day – as a social purpose business owner – I get another opportunity to make someone’s life a little easier, a little better, a little more happier. After all, isn’t that what business is really all about – contributing value to someone, in some way.

Empathy is described as the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another.

Simply put, to empathize with someone is to understand and feel what another feels.

Not that long ago, I was given an unexpected opportunity (and gift) to live the experience of my customer. To fully immerse myself into what a typical experience for them might be, and ultimately feel like.

Similar to many customers that I have met and served in my CanEast Mobility Scooter Rentals Inc. business, I too found myself with the misfortune of requiring mobility equipment. The knee scooter (so perfectly named) was my go-to mobility aid which allowed me to gain some mobility freedom and independence after I broke my ankle and fibula. My injury required me to be non-weight bearing for 9 weeks. I had shared a little about my experience in a previous blog titled, My injury became an unexpected Christmas gift, as this was how I began to view that experience. It didn’t take long, once I looked past the discomfort and inconvenience of my situation, to realize the silver lining in my predicament. I have come to believe that having a healthy perspective is a large contributor to living a joyful and grateful life.

One aspect of the ‘gift’ which I was given, was the opportunity to really understand my customer’s experience through my own lived experience.

The fact is, not being able to use your foot for 9 weeks is really hard. The fear of falling down (or up) stairs is very real, and constant. It never ceases to be. Someone can be fiercely independent, but in those moments of vulnerability, one must ask for and allow help. The hardened layers that are cemented through years of independence are chiselled and peeled back ever so gently, and raw vulnerability is exposed with all its beautiful imperfections.

I know this now. I thought I did before, but I didn’t. I couldn’t. I had only ever experienced it from the safety of the sidelines. A mere observer.

Of course, I knew that an injury of any kind would pose a challenge for people. But until I lived the experience myself, I had no idea what it really meant to be mobility challenged. The vulnerability that is often attached to an injury was eye-opening, to say the least.

For those 9 weeks, I was essentially my own customer. Sure, I didn’t have to pay for my own rental or go through the reservation process, but the irony was that I had to purchase a knee scooter for me to use, as all of my knee scooter inventory had been rented out. Another unforgettable and ironic moment was talking with a customer from my hospital bed and making arrangements to swing by her house to pick up her rented knee scooter as she had just received her Ortho update and was able to bear weight again, and as such no longer needed the knee scooter. I’ll never forget talking to her on the phone and explaining the situation, and telling her that we will swing by once I am discharged from the hospital, and my husband will collect it from her. So, I am discharged from the hospital after a 6-day stay, and swing by her house to collect the knee scooter. I waved to her from the front seat of the car while my husband collected the scooter. And so my 9-week journey of using a knee scooter began. True story. Honestly, it doesn’t get much more ironic than that.

My lived experience reinforced the important role a mobility device plays for anyone who is mobility challenged. I learned first hand the importance of respecting my mobility device and trusting that it will endure with my movements and keep me secure. I learned through experience the flexibility and limits of using a mobility device. I discovered first hand the freedom that comes with using a mobility device. I learned that people overtly react with a wide range of reactions when they witness someone ‘rolling on by’. I also learned first hand that the need for these mobility products was even greater than I had known or imagined.

My mobility business’s tagline is ‘Freedom to Explore‘.

I had the unfortunate fortune to live my own tagline. That is a rare and humbling gift for any business owner.

Before my own lived experience, my tagline was created from my observations of watching others in vulnerable and mobility challenged moments. My lived experience has completely and emphatically reinforced the meaning behind those chosen words.

I can now empathize with anyone calling me to rent a knee scooter. I get it now, on such a deeper and meaningful level. I get it.

I understand that this is not a given or even likely scenario for many business owners to actually live their customer experience. Sure, I had scooted around on the knee scooter before my injury to try them out, but I can honestly say, it wasn’t from the perspective of someone who is mobility challenged. But since I have used my own product as my own customer and lived a shared and relatable experience, all of my interactions with my customer – and at every touchpoint – in their journey with me is rooted in empathy. The absence of a lived experience does not diminish the importance to immerse yourself in the experience from your customer’s perspective. All businesses should aspire to do that.

I learned so much. I gained so much perspective, and on a much deeper level than I could have otherwise.

As much as I don’t like to see people injured, I am grateful that I am able to help them. And in some small but yet deeply empathetic and impactful way, relate to their experience.

I get it now. I get it.

I believe wholeheartedly that my customer experience is better now because of my unfortunate fortune.

With gratitude,

Nicole Osmond

Customer Success Coach

As a Customer Success Coach and 3 X business owner, I am living my passion and helping companies succeed by cultivating a customer committed mindset.

A Writer with Heart – I weave words together to stimulate, elevate, and motivate. My blog is my canvas to share my ‘experience nuggets’ with you! Thanks for stopping by! With gratitude, always – Nicole