Brewing empathetic relationships.
We’ve all been there.
My morning routine consists of hitting the snooze button between 30–90 minutes every morning. I know they say that the early bird gets the worm, but I tend to think that if the sun isn’t up why the hell should I be?
Within that same timeframe I also do what every millennial has become used to doing:
Check notifications
Hope to god there isn’t anything important that will force me to actually get out of bed.
Scroll mindlessly through social media.
See a post that makes me lose faith in humanity and go back to bed.
Today’s post that made me cringe back asleep was one I don’t technically have direct experience with but see often in my IG feed: the basic-ass coffee order from a “secret menu” [which isn’t even a thing!]. If you’re not familiar with it let me ruin your day:
Admittedly, I’ve never been a barista but know enough victims of foodie influencers to know that this order is the stuff of their nightmares. Just looking at the complexity of these orders gave me secondhand anxiety. I kept scrolling to see people’s reactions and stumbled on to a gem:
“serving drink orders is their job so why are baristas so pissed about this?”
Here’s the thing — that’s a valid, albeit somewhat entitled point of view. If I pay good money for something, why shouldn’t I be able to have it my way?
It’s a problem we often see in the creative industry — clients want a website but they don’t want just any website; want the website they’ve made up in their heads. It has all the bells and whistles and it will help them revolutionize their business without them having to lift a finger. They know the vision and that’s all that matters. What is so wrong about that?
From all the things I’m consistently trying to improve empathy and patience are the two soft skills I never feel fully competent at. I’m an experienced “barista” and know all of the work that goes into your Unicorn Dragon Sparkly Chai Latte w/extra whip. I know how messing up just one small element in that complicated equation will completely screw up your drink order and honestly, I would rather not go through the hassle of even trying because your vision is too complex and you don’t really understand the hell I have to go through to bring this to life.
But that’s not what makes a good barista. It’s not what makes a good anything. Regardless of what our craft is, we are ultimately in a service-focused industry and while the customer isn’t always right, they certainly deserve the opportunity to place their order no matter how complex it might be. It’s hard work (for me, at least) but this is how I handle “crazy” requests:
Take a deep breath.
Eliminate any thoughts that will cause anxiety. Visualizing failure will make it so.
Take another deep breath.
Have a sit down with the client (or video chat, whatever) and just listen to their vision.
Ask questions with the intent to bring the vision to life, not shut it down.
Collaborate on the idea and guide the discussion to overcome any potential obstacles you see.
Have an honest conversation about the steps necessary to bring this vision to life. Again, frame it positively, not with the intention to dissuade the client.
I find that when I’m able to take this approach one of two things happen:
The person has a chance to discuss their vision and through a positive conversation with an expert comes to the conclusion that this will take more resources than anticipated. They’re still pumped and even relieved because they now have a goal to work towards.
You discuss the vision with the client and guide them to a process that fits within a framework you’re comfortable executing. The client is pumped because the vision is coming to life and you feel empowered in knowing this won’t become a problematic project.
So go ahead and order that obnoxious Starbucks drink — we won’t judge [too hard].
Getting overwhelmed by “crazy” client requests? Let’s chat, I can help.