No one wants to receive an orchestrated answer to their query about help, especially when it is unrelated to their needs. While giving thoughtless canned answers can result in an awful customer experience, generic customer service phrases provide a better option. Such phrases if used at the right time can be used in de-escalating challenging circumstances. After all, clients are most likely interested in taking a trustworthy solution to their problem. In customer care, several situations result in addressing semi-related problems or producing identical outcomes. Therefore, equipping yourself with proven, appropriate phrases will help you communicate efficiently and reliably in these difficult situations, enabling your capability of providing customers with good to great customer service in a service-oriented industry such as call centers.
Let’s consider the 5 best support phrases to ensure a smoother experience, that is used by companies like AT&T with a large and satisfied customer base. It is no wonder that AT&T customer service ranks #1 in customer satisfaction.
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Thank you for bringing this to our attention
Start every conversation by thanking customers for contacting you, no matter whatever their state of mind is. Their contact gives you a chance to learn and figure out a problem you were not aware of before. They deserve to be appreciated for taking out the time to share their experience and feedback regarding your product or service. Additionally, praising an irritated or potentially dissatisfied client helps in defusing the situation and will place them in the right mood to be more open and receptive to what you’re saying.
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I’m not sure but let me find out
It’s not safe enough to inform a client that you don’t know, and recommend that they ask someone else. Nothing is more disturbing than trying to call different people one by one, none of whom have the solution. Sending your clients a way to someone is an easy way to push them away. But if you want to have high-quality customer service, you need to be the one who calls other people and gets the solution for them. The whole aim is about reducing customer effort that contributes to increasing satisfaction.
There are cases were providing the customer’s answer is not feasible. However, using this sort of phrase is a friendly way of telling them that they have made a hard request and at the same time, if you are confident there will be no alternative, it’s best not to lead the client on. On the other hand, simply saying no may be too abrupt or offensive, especially if the customer is serious and has articulated the question in a friendly manner. By using this expression, you offer a kind but firm response. The client will understand that you’d like to help, but in this case, it’s not possible.
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I apologize for the inconvenience
If a customer is upset, expressing empathy to the consumer is important to let them know that you understand their problems. Apologizing to an angry customer and admitting the errors is a much better way than giving out your reasons. Your main goal is about retaining current customers and turning them into lifelong supporters of the brand. Sometimes faults could be out of your company’s reach and even if you’re not the one responsible for the malfunction, you should always be apologetic for how the client thinks. The next move is to figure out how things can be made right.
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I’ll be glad to assist you
The best way to make your clients feel more important and valuable is to bring constructive meaning to your words. Positive terms are easy to incorporate, and they make the clients take things positively. Better interactions, in effect, tend to retain those customers. Not all consumers will tell you they are not pleased or satisfied, but they’ll simply duck out using your services or stop buying your products. Because they either don’t want to be a nuisance, or they don’t see any point in making the effort. Furthermore, positivity encourages them to share issues that may arise in the future as it is a better situation where customers discuss their problems with you, rather than just dumping your company away.
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I will update you by (specific time)
Most of the time consumers are impatient and are continuously monitoring their order status. One way to tackle these requests is to keep the client updated as often as possible. Or, you can also pledge to let the customer know when they should be expecting to hear back. However, if you can’t guarantee the customer’s question will be answered, you can still ensure an update. It provides you with the ability to create credibility, in addition to keeping the customer updated about the status of their order. In other words, you should prove that you care for your clients, and that you want to keep them happy.
Conclusion
Using the above-mentioned phrases will continue to strengthen your relationship with the customers and will demonstrate by words and actions that you respect their partnership sincerely. It would also help to quell difficult situations and keep them coming back for more.
