[Ep 75] Designing Better Client Experiences Even When the Service Itself Is Stressful

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Some services just suck, and that's the truth.
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Not every service is meant to feel pleasant.
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Some services are stressful by nature.
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They involve uncertainty, vulnerability, pressure, or high stakes.
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And the goal is not to deny that and try to make those services feel cheerful when they're not.
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The goal is to acknowledge that it is not fun.
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I do not want to be going through this.
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As a service provider, I don't want you to be going through this.
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But what we need is understanding and acknowledging that this service is inherently difficult.
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And there is still a big difference between an experience that feels cold, confusing, and overwhelming, and one that, yes, is unpleasant, but still feels clear, steady, and supportive.
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And that difference is not accidental, it is designed.
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Hello and welcome back to the Systemized Business Podcast.
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Here we talk about simple systems, confident delegation, and predictable execution to get founders out of the weeds and into leading their business with intentionality.
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I am BK.
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I'm an operations and business management strategist, and today in our third installment of our service design series, if you have not listened to the first two episodes, those are episodes 73 and 74, where we cover what we mean by designing your service and how we can systemize empathy in the pursuit of curating intentional service.
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Today we are talking about something I find especially interesting, and honestly, it is really, really important.
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How do you design a better client experience when the service itself is already stressful?
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Because not every service begins in a neutral emotional space.
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Sometimes people come in already anxious, already uncertain, already overwhelmed, carrying fear, urgency, self-doubt, even vulnerability.
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And in those moments, yes, we need expertise, but above all, we need clarity, support, guidance.
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People need to feel that the process itself is not making an already difficult experience even harder.
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So in this episode, I want to talk about why thoughtful service design matters even more in stressful services, what tends to make these experiences worse, what makes them better, and why this approach can be applied beyond healthcare to coaching, consulting, legal, finance, education, and even your business.
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And really any service where people may already feel vulnerable or under pressure.
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So let's get started.
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I think one of the most useful things we can understand as service providers and as business owners is that not all services begin from the same emotional baseline.
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Some services start from curiosity, some start from excitement, some aspiration, but others start from stress, anxiety, fear, bereavement.
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And the way we approach those changes everything.
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Because when somebody enters a service carrying anxiety and uncertainty, they are not just receiving information or support or technical expertise.
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They are also trying to regulate themselves while moving through your process.
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They may be trying to stay calm or trying to understand something that is unfamiliar to them.
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They might be trying to make difficult decisions.
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They might be feeling exposed, embarrassed, intimidated, or even afraid of things getting worse or doing something wrong.
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And that means the service experience lands differently for these people.
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And obviously, we can think of healthcare as an as an obvious example of this, but it is not the only one.
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Think about legal services during a conflict or a separation or a dispute.
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Think about legal services when somebody is under financial pressure, when they're facing loss or they're making a high-stakes decision.
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Even coaching can start off with some anxiety.
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Somebody comes in with burnout, with transition anxiety, with grief or identity change.
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Or how about an education where a child already feels behind or insecure or overwhelmed?
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Think about that new role, that new program.
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Somebody onboarding into that, that new team member, when someone is trying to prove themselves while also trying to figure things out.
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Every business service can carry a lot of emotion with it.
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A founder hiring for support might feel ashamed about the state of their business.
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A client asking for help might feel vulnerable, admitting that things are messy or unclear or they have not been working.
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So this conversation isn't just about one specific industry.
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It's about any service where people arrive carrying big emotions.
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And once we understand that, once we see that and recognize that, it can become a little bit harder to design only for efficiency.
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Because the emotional reality is also part of the service, whether we address it or not.
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And it has that potential of derailing that the efficiency that we have worked so hard for.
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That is why thoughtful, curated service design matters so much.
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When we talk about improving stressful service, we are not talking about faking positivity.
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We are not talking about taking something that is hard and making it artificially light.
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It's about reassuring people appropriately, not in a way that feels empty or disingenuous, or smiling our way through somebody else's fear or uncertainty.
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We don't want to overcompensate by trying to make this experience polished and pleasant when really what is needed is honesty, is transparency.
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Even in some cases, it means just slowing down.
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The goal is to help people to feel less disorientated inside what is already a difficult experience.
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And I think this matters because sometimes businesses confuse good experience with pleasant experience, and those are not always the same thing.
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A service can still involve difficult news, uncomfortable decisions, vulnerable conversations, or emotional weight, and still feel experienced as thoughtful.
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And this will be because the client feels informed, feels guided, feels respected.
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They often feel like somebody has thought carefully about what this process is like from the other side.
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And honestly, sometimes people don't need a cheerful experience.
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They don't need you to pretend that things are okay when things are not okay.
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They just need a clear experience.
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They just need something that acknowledges where they are and how difficult this might be.
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Sometimes all that takes to make a service feel humane is not just that it's warm, but it's the structure, it's the pacing, it's the orientation, it's knowing what will happen next.
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It's being told the truth with care and assurance and acknowledgement, not being left, not leaving the client behind in the uncertainty all by themselves.
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And that is a different lens on what good service looks like.
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So let's talk about what tends to make stressful services feel worse.
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And it's like we've said before, it's not just the service itself, it's everything around it.
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The vague communication, the rushed explanations, the silence that has no context, unclear steps, or poor preparation.
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Or it could be too much information all at once, or not enough information at all when it really matters, when transitions feel abrupt, that emotional moments are being held, handled too clinically, too casually, not really acknowledged at all.
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And this is where businesses can unintentionally add distress to an already difficult situation because we are so focused on the technical side of the service that we underestimate what the process feels like from the client's point of view.
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And when somebody is already under stress, their tolerance for ambiguity is much, much lower.
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Their ability to absorb information can be reduced, and their emotional bandwidth is already stretched.
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And if the client feels lost, unprepared, or emotionally unsupported while moving through this process, then the experience is going to suffer.
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And what I mean by unsupported in this sense is not that we have to become somebody's therapist.
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This is not what we're talking about.
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This is about designing a process that reduces this the un the avoidable stress.
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And that's a totally different thing.
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It doesn't have to be grand gestures or overdelivery.
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It could just mean slowing down in your explanations because uncertainty is exhausting.
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So let me share with you an example from something I recently experienced.
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And I think some of the best examples come from the health services.
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So after a routine check, I was having something was flagged as abnormal that needed to be further investigated.
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So I was sent to a specialist who, you know, told us that I'd have to have further tests, I had to have had biopsy.
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So he he had booked that in advance before we came to see him.
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So there, so there I went as soon as I was done, we hurried with him, you know, talking to him, we went off, did the bus biopsy and we waited.
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So, you know, it was a it was a long it's a long story, but you know, to cut it short, it was concluded after all was said and done that the best course of action would have to have a surgery done.
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So just to paint this picture a little bit clearer for you, I met with this specialist in person that one time.
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And that one time he's telling me, oh, this is not clear, we need to do a biopsy, we rush to do the biopsy.
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And then so the next time we spoke was on the phone, as he's giving me the results of the biopsy, and then that we the surgery needs to be done.
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And he gives me a date, and it was kind of soon, actually.
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And this so this was done over the phone.
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Now, let me be clear: the the service I was getting was excellent.
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You know, I uh felt that I could trust these doctors, everything was explained to me.
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I was given the opportunity to ask questions, but even though even though that was, I had nothing to complain about.
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But of course, my stress was intensified, right?
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So my processing of information slowed down completely, completely.
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Even though things were explained to me, I I just I just couldn't wrap my head around it.
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And so my head had not quite caught up with all that was going on.
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And so then I sent my doctor, the the specialist, I sent them a message.
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So I drafted my thoughts, my fears, my my everything that was going on into my head, and I put it in an in an email.
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And I outlined exactly what I was feeling.
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I asked, I requested another conversation to explain to me again what it what exactly was wrong, how it was going to be fixed, and for me to just just, you know, for my head to catch up, right?
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So basically what I needed was to talk to him face to face, to have him hear me, to have me hear him, and to really engage on a human level, not just that patient doctor problem solution kind of conversation.
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So the day before the scheduled surgery, we we went in to go and see him and had that conversation.
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We even laughed a little bit, and that conversation ticked all the boxes, the orientation, the pacing, the clear next steps, the gentle reassurance.
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He even offered to slow down a bit, postpone the surgery so I could, you know, calm, calm down.
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And that made all the difference.
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When I tell you that that made all the difference, I cannot even explain because I left that conversation ready now for the next step, ready for the surgery the next day.
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So when people are literally putting their lives or their money or their businesses or their legacies in your hands, when people know what is likely to happen, what the process involves, what a timeline roughly looks like, what may feel normal, what what they should do if they have questions, then they feel less lost.
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They feel maybe yes, they feel nervous, but that anxiety is reduced.
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So it's the transparency that matters because people generally cope better when they understand what is happening.
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Even if the news is not ideal or the process going forward is still difficult.
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The fact that they know what to expect, they know that you are really actually in their corner, then they can face it better and with more optimism.
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And I think about some of the services, and not only in business, in government, in hospitality, in health, would they be so much better if they were just kind?
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The way you were received, the way you were served or transferred from one person to another, just a little bit of thought would go a really, really long way.
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Because clarity is often kind.
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It's kinder than vagueness.
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Orientation matters because people need to know where they are in the process.
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What stage are we in?
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What happens after this?
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What should I prepare?
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What is expected of me?
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What is not expected of me yet?
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These are things that ground people.
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It's the similar to the example that I gave, it's the pacing that matters.
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When somebody is stressed or overwhelmed with the information that is coming at them, they feel rushed when transitions happen unexpectedly.
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Or when the transition is expected, but because of the heightened stress, that process can feel faster than normal to them.
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So sometimes slowing down the explanation, breaking information into smaller pieces, or repeating clear points for more clear more clearly can completely change how supported somebody feels.
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Reassurance and real reassurance, not just empty, don't worry about it, language, we've got this, or false certainty.
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Real reassurance might sound more like here is what we know right now.
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Here is what is for sure right now, here is what we're working on right now.
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Here is what we're gonna focus on right now.
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Once that is done, then we're gonna do this next.
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That kind of reassurance is stabilizing because it gives some it gives people something to hold on to in the moment.
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And then when they're ready to move on, you they can be they can be reassured that okay, we're ready to move on to the next step.
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And of course, following that, following up also matters.
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Difficult moments don't end the very second the meeting or the call or the appointment ends.
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Sometimes the person leaves that interaction, hangs up from that phone call.
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Only then do they realize that they forgot to ask something.
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Only then do they feel the emotion, the full emotional weight of what was discussed.
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Or only then are they trying to make sense of the information.
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Just because somebody was nodding along with you as you went through your spiel of information that you need to give them does not necessarily mean that they their head has caught up with what is happening.
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So imagine what a world of difference it would make to have a thoughtful follow-up that could help close that gap.
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One thing it can do is to remind that person that they are not expected to carry this whole process alone.
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Somebody is walking with them through it.
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And this deeply matters for services that are inherently stressful.
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This is why I think we need to expand our understanding of what care in business looks like, or even just put care in business in the first place.
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Care can be clarity, it can be preparation, it can be a better, slower explanation, it can look like calm transitions between one person to another.
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Care can look like offering to slow down until the person is a hundred percent with you and is ready to move ahead.
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And you might not be working in these high-stakes, high stressful industries.
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But if your clients ever feel uncertain, ever feel overwhelmed or under pressure, or they have to make a significant decision, moving through change or even feeling exposed, then this applies to you too.
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A coach might be supporting somebody through burnout, reinvention, or a difficult season in life or in their business.
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A consultant may be helping a founder confront problems that they have been avoiding and now are really unavoidable.
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A financial professional can be guiding someone through decisions that they feel deeply anxious about.
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Or a lawyer who might be working with somebody in conflict or upheaval.
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Applies this applies even to you.
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Even a service that looks straightforward on paper can carry a lot of emotional charge depending on what it means to the person receiving it.
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And that is that is the key.
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Your client might be dealing with more than your process, they might be dealing with what your process means to them.
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Because what feels routine to you is not routine to them.
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Not at all.
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It might be administratively simple, but emotionally significant to them.
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And if you understand that, if you give your service thought from that angle, then you could potentially change the way your service is received.
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Because you then are asking yourself a very important question.
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Where in my service do clients feel the most vulnerable?
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Not where in the process is most complicated behind the scenes, or which part is operationally difficult for you, but where do they feel most vulnerable?
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Or where can they potentially feel most vulnerable?
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Where are they likely to feel anxious, unsure, exposed, intimidated, pressured, or emotionally overloaded?
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Maybe it's in the inquiry stage.
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For some services, the inquiry stage involves admitting certain things, that there is a problem, and this can be perceived as embarrassing.
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How can you lessen that stress?
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Or maybe it's waiting before delivery begins.
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Maybe it's that first session, that first review, that first difficult conversation that put the client in a vulnerable position, that moment of feedback, or the handing over, or the offboarding.
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Find that moment, then look at it closely.
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What might the client feel here?
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What might they be unsure about?
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What could make them feel more orientated?
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What could reduce the stress that comes with this part of the process?
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What communication do they need?
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Do they need to slow down?
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Do I need to simplify this process a little bit more?
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Where do I redesign my service?
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We are not overhauling everything, not everything at once, but we are trying to spot places in our service processes that carry emotional weight.
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So if I were to leave you with one core idea from this episode, it would be this.
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You may not be able to remove the discomfort from the service, but you can reduce the confusion, this uncertainty, and the feeling of being alone in it.
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Because clients don't remember all that we did.
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They remember how the process felt.
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When the process made a difficult feeling more manageable, less overwhelming, that's what they keep with them.
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That's what they refer to other people.
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That's what gets them coming back.
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So for this week, I'll leave you with one question.
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Where in your service do clients feel the most vulnerable?
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And what would make that moment feel clearer, steadier, more supportive?
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Sometimes the most powerful improvements are not about adding more.
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They're about reducing that friction in those moments that matter the most.
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All it might take is one more email that acknowledges that feeling, or one call, or one message.
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It doesn't have to be a big thing.
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All right, so if this episode has you thinking differently about your own client experience, take some time this week to identify those highest anxiety moments in your service and look at those a little bit more closely.
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What would help somebody feel less unsure, overwhelmed, or alone?
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Even if you don't think that your service has any stress to it, just asking yourself these questions might make you realize that there might be embedded stress that your clients go through that you might not have been aware of.
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If today's episode gave you something to think about, I'd love to continue the conversation with you on LinkedIn.
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That's where I share more thoughts on systems, workflows, SOPs, client experiences, delegation, and building a business that feels easier to lead.
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Come and connect with me there.
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And when you do, send me a message.
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Let me know which episode you listened to.
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I genuinely would love to know your thoughts around this.
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Thank you for being here, and I'll talk to you again soon.
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Bye for now.