7 Jun 2008

41 Comments

[...] Click here to see the Top 25 positive words & phrases [...]

Pingback by Champagne Moments - Call Centre Tips | Call Centre Helper — 7 Jul 2008 @ 2:30 pm

Gauranteed

Comment by John Sullivan — 27 Jul 2008 @ 4:37 am

Because you are a valued client/customer

Comment by Anonymous — 19 Sep 2008 @ 12:21 pm

That’s a fantastic choice

Comment by Ben — 19 Sep 2008 @ 3:17 pm

Great !
Fantastic !
Perfect !
Marvelous !
Pretty well !

Your satisfaction is a great compliment for us Mr./Ms _____

Assuring you our best services Mr.Ms.___________. Have a great day ahead!

Comment by anil dogara — 17 Oct 2008 @ 10:01 am

CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT

Comment by SYED RAFI ULLAH — 28 Oct 2008 @ 7:21 am

“Let’s have a look; I’ll not be a second”

“And that’ll all be with you on …”

But in response to above:

“I will surely ensure that…” sounds as if you’re getting tangled up…

and will either of you really be able to keep a straight face after “special customers like you”?

Comment by Not Convinced — 21 Nov 2008 @ 1:33 am

1) You can say that again

2) It is your right to know Sir

Comment by Alkali — 16 Feb 2009 @ 1:46 pm

To SYED RAFI ULLAH — 28 Oct 2008 @ 7:21 am;

Do you work in customer services? The customer is NOT always right.

Comment by KrisYork — 17 Feb 2009 @ 8:37 pm

Certainly.
With pleasure.
I’d be delightly to assist.
Would you mind waiting?

Comment by Kaj — 26 Feb 2009 @ 10:13 am

Words such as Great, Fantastic, Marvelous should be avoided as they produce an underlying psychology of exaggeration.

Comment by Colly Graham — 26 Feb 2009 @ 12:25 pm

Certainly, “sir/ma’am” I’d be happy to assist you with that today.

Also for proper a hold pattern you could use:

Do you mind holding 2-3 minutes while I research or process your request?

This way you are askign the caller permission to hold, you are giving them a reason for the hold, and your providing them an attainable timeframe for the hold.

Then when you return to the line:
“Sir/Ma’am, thank you for holding I appreciate your patience.”
This way you are acknowledging the imposition from the hold.

I am a trainer in a call center for a Mutual Fund Company and we are using a 3rd party business (Dalbar, Inc.) and they monitor and score our customer service skills.

Comment by Brian Pratt — 13 Mar 2009 @ 4:54 pm

I particular hate sir/madam/ma’am – please use their name, this, in my opinion creates a barrier that really doesn’t need to be there.

Agree with the comment about avoiding ‘great, fabulous, marvellous’ – just too much!

Speak to your customer like you would want to be spoken to and always tell them what you can do for them, not waht you can’t. Always try to offer as an alternative option where appropriate.

Many of our customers prefer to do/use……
What other customers have done/tried in your position is…..
Let’s look at this (very arm around and sorting it together)

Comment by Marie Rowney — 16 Apr 2009 @ 11:30 am

P.S.

I would steer away from definitely – unless you can really and absolutely, definitely do it……..

Comment by Marie Rowney — 16 Apr 2009 @ 11:31 am

P.S. again

commenting on Ben’s comment

“That’s one our most popular choices” – rather than fantastic

Comment by Marie Rowney — 16 Apr 2009 @ 11:34 am

We understand the value of your time.

Comment by Alex Brown — 27 Apr 2009 @ 6:51 pm

Can you please that?

Comment by Ela — 17 Jun 2009 @ 10:41 pm

Sorry for that. it should have read” Can you please repeat that?”

Comment by Ela — 17 Jun 2009 @ 10:53 pm

thank u

Comment by Anonymous — 21 Jun 2009 @ 1:41 pm

need advice

in a situation where the customer is facing dificulties due to company’s fault and no solution .what am i to do?how am i suppose talk my self out of it as call agent

Comment by prasanjith — 12 Jul 2009 @ 4:55 pm

Sounds very familiar…

What we need to do is basically listen to the customer, apologies for the great inconveniences, use all positive words & finally assure the customer that YOU will personally take this matter up (give your name & employee no.) & tell the customer you will call him back before the days end to update on his case status. Then you do just that & do call the customer back even if you do not have an immediate resolution as any human being, the customer will eventually cool down & reliaze that you are sincere in helping them out. Remember…a contact center is a huge sponge…we absorb all other departments short comings…the key is are we feeding back this crucial information to the relevant department else we might be running out of those positive words…;)

Comment by Adre — 9 Aug 2009 @ 9:02 am

Unless I’ve missed it (and I am sorry if I have).
But no one here has mentioned the old ‘Feel Felt Found’ approach, it’s an old one, but a great one. It works well in sales scripts, but can be used in a variety of ways…

Mr/s customer, I know how you FEEL….
Many of our happiest customers FELT the same way…
However, what they FOUND, after XXX is….

Or with an unhappy incoming call..

Mr Customer I understand how you FEEL…
Something similar happened to me and I FELT the same way…
What I FOUND and I hope this will be the same for you is…
And then you can get on to your proposed solution.

Comment by Chris Wood — 24 Sep 2009 @ 2:22 pm

Interestingly, I have studied for 8 years the Psychology of Influence & Persuasion in relation to Sales and Sales related roles.

I just wanted to give a bit of background into why the words mentioned above [Definately, Absolutely etc] do have a place in a telephone conversation.

This is a little known persuasion secret by all but the major corps and their marketing agencies.

“Surprisingly, if you start a sentance with a word ending in LY then what follows is regarded as truth and is very hard to object to.”

EG:

Interestingly this is what other customers have…
Naturally my goal is to make sure…
Amazingly we were able to…

Just look at some of the statements used by big PLC’s

Exceedingly good cakes
Probably the best lager in the world
[Actimel are running an ad right now but i can't remember the wording]

Hope that help

Gary May – President of the Association of Sales Professionals

Comment by Gary May — 25 Sep 2009 @ 4:07 pm

This is a very popular item.
Reinforce benefits of product, by using word phrases such as that. “that color is very pretty” “we have had alot of positive feedback on that item”

On a not about an upset customer:
Feel, Felt, Found process is a very helpful on, as well as the note about getting information and make sure you are the one to follow up with the customer. There is nothing more exasperation from a customers point of view, then having to repeat the whole story again and again. Take inituative in the call and make sure the customer knows your name to refer back to.

Comment by Danyelle — 29 Sep 2009 @ 5:11 pm

I have found some truly amazing things on this site and so glad Google brought it up as first choice.
I do have some feedback that may help some people from a course I went on with my company recently (Which I loved)

Just think of a few words and what they mean to you… The easiest way to do this is in a quiet room and with your eyes shut

If I mention the word WAIT to you… What file does the little man in your head go and pull out? What do you associate with wait? (Mine is waiting in a queue)
It doesn’t matter how friendly or polite you are, we need to re phrase the words we use..

If you can just wait on the line whilst I check that information for you..
I have that information here for you now, I will just get it for you

When you hear the word SORRY….

Sorry to keep you holding / waiting… (Must be something to be sorry about)
Thank you for staying on the line

DARK

HOLIDAY

PLEASURE …. Amazing how many of you will smile when you think of what this word means!

Well it’s been a please reading and sharing

Comment by Lyndsey — 28 Oct 2009 @ 7:25 pm

I do not agree in this saying “CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT”. Will they be always right if they are using unnecessary languages, swearing & cursing?

Comment by A — 9 Dec 2009 @ 3:33 am

Customer NOT ALWAYS Right
But Customer ALWAY IMPORTANT.

Comment by adhmie — 29 Dec 2009 @ 5:25 pm

Yes,there are sometimes when the cust does´nt have reason but just remember they are paying 4 a service and they feel frustated when there are problems so the best way to speak with a cust is do your best … and not just using the phrase ill do my best… so just do it…stop and put yourself in their shoes..be respectful and friendly but not such a machine.. as u really want to help…SOMETHIN´IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER IS PEOPLE IS 4 U WORK FOR…IF U DO SOMETHIN´DO IT AS BETTER AS U CAN

ELI..
COMCAST…

Comment by Elizabeth — 23 Jan 2010 @ 2:27 am

JE IM SORRY WHAT U WORK FOR..

Comment by Elizabeth — 23 Jan 2010 @ 2:29 am

AND U WILL ENJOY WHAT U DO IF U FEEL HELPFUL TO SOMEONE..THE WORLD IS FOR PEOPLE WHO SERVE OTHERS THEY CAN LEAVE PRINTS IN LIVES…

Comment by Elizabeth — 23 Jan 2010 @ 2:30 am

Daryl:Thank you for calling___________,my name is Daryl,I’m your customer service representative for today,how may I help you?
Customer: I have problem with my Internet Service, my internet connection is very slow. I’m paying much for this service and yet I’m not satisfied with it.
Daryl: (Empathy)I do understand that its been very inconvenient in your situation right now that your Internet service is giving you a slow internet connection. If I’m on your situation, I would feel the same way too. Don’t worry Mr.Customer, (Willingness to help the customer)I can definitely handle this problem for you.

Emphathy is the most essential part of a call. It cools down a customer frustration.

FROM: Daryl Hall
CONVERGYS

Comment by Daryl Hall — 25 Feb 2010 @ 6:48 am

Its my pleasure

Comment by Anonymous — 3 Mar 2010 @ 8:51 pm

I agree with the comment above that some words such as ‘great’, ‘brilliant’ etc, can sound completely over the top, leading to a loss of confidence in your sincerity.

Comment by Mark Carter — 12 Mar 2010 @ 11:35 am

What if customer asks a question we don’t have answer for. Let’s suppose our supervisor isn’t present on the floor too?

Please advise.

Comment by Majid — 24 Mar 2010 @ 10:09 am

[ What if customer asks a question we don’t have answer for. Let’s suppose our supervisor isn’t present on the floor too? ]

>RE:
You may consider using a line to the effect of: “Due the (technical nature / sensitivity / nature) of the information I am unable to provide the information you are requesting, but I do know who can. With your permission I could give your contact information to my (supervisor / manager) and when he/she returns to the office (tomorrow / in an hour / Monday) he/she will give you a call as soon as convienient to answer your question.”

Typically, unless urgent, the caller will decline due to the sense of hassle and will be pacified. If the customer agrees, you must make sure you get the info to the appropriate superior and that they understand what information you and the customer discussed. Give your name and rep ID (only as allowed by company policy) to bestow a feeling of trust and commitment on your part to ease the callers agreement to wait for an answer.

Comment by Jacqaeous — 24 Mar 2010 @ 7:10 pm

How can I handle an angry and frustrated customer and swears a lot?

Comment by ArveenDMartian — 6 Apr 2010 @ 3:36 pm

Angry and frustrated customers should be heard out, empathy statement ;and follow script as normal while ignoring the cussing, unless offending you where you can suggest that he calls back after calming down, where he could control his language, *1st wrning and 2nd warning- if he doesnt agree to call back, Sir, mr./ms.I understand that you are upset, yet I will have to end this call if you continue to use that language.

Comment by CHRISTINA — 2 May 2010 @ 11:55 am

Some excellent comments, thanks guys helped out alot!!

Comment by Lizzy — 16 Jun 2010 @ 3:17 am

Do you work in customer services? The customer is NOT always right.

Actually the customer is always right as they are the ones with the problem. The misconception is that they often are incorrect about the best solution and that’s where you come in to assure them.

Comment by Scott — 28 Jun 2010 @ 4:56 am

Words such as Fantastic, Great, Marvelous are positive words and are definately appropriate during a telephone conversation. They help the agent to sound upbeat and interested in helping the customer.
Agent; Could I please take your telephone number Mr Jones?
Customer; I can give you my mobile number if that’s ok?
Agent; That would be fantastic, thank you.
Such positive words bring great energy to a call, and yes , ok, they may be over the top, but you’ll never hear a customer complain about how the agent was too positive or upbeat.

Comment by Melanie — 5 Jul 2010 @ 11:48 am

Just wanted to make a note on the back of several references to the use of sir/madam (even ma’am at one point which sounds like a sheep). These terms are so impersonal and do not treat the customer as an individual. Plus sir is someone who has been knighted by the queen and a madam is someone who runs a brothel!!

Comment by chris — 23 Aug 2010 @ 3:20 pm

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