Positive words have the power to convey kindness, uplift the tone of your advisors’ conversations, and really help to brighten your customer’s day.
Positive sentences can also help to strengthen your contact centre’s signature response and opening gambit, when used daily by all advisors.
Looking for some positive spiel to help brighten up your customer conversations? Here we have put together a list of positive words and phrases to help expand your advisors’ vocabulary.
These uplifting words should win medals, as adding any one of them into a conversation has the potential to transform average customer service into great customer service.
Looking for another word for wonderful? Here are 25 positive language examples to try today:
Definitely
Absolutely
Certainly
Exactly
Completely
Quickly
Fantastic
Great
Marvellous
Excellent
Enjoy
Splendid
Essential
Generous
Recommend
Friendly
Impressive
Interesting
Brilliant
Exciting
Terrific
Fascinating
Expert
Favourite
Ideal
Examples of Positive Words in Customer Service
Looking for positive phrases that use these words to include in your agent scripts?
We have put together some examples of phrases where you can see these positive words in action in customer service conversations:
#
Positive Word
Example Phrase
1
Definitely
“I will definitely make sure that it gets sorted…”
2
Absolutely
“I absolutely agree with you…”
3
Certainly
“I can certainly help you…”
4
Exactly
“That is exactly right…”
5
Completely
“I completely agree with you…”
6
Quickly
“I will quickly run through this with you…”
7
Fantastic
“That is a fantastic way to look at it…”
8
Great
“Great news!”
9
Marvellous
“Marvellous choice…”
10
Excellent
“That is an excellent suggestion…”
11
Enjoy
“I hope you enjoy your…”
12
Splendid
“Splendid! All that is left to do now…”
13
Essential
“Yes, it is essential that you do this today…”
14
Generous
“That is a very generous offer…”
15
Recommend
“I can highly recommend…”
16
Friendly
“Thanks, we try our best to provide a friendly service…”
17
Impressive
“That’s impressive, Mrs Smith…”
18
Interesting
“That is an interesting idea…”
19
Brilliant
“Brilliant! I’m glad I was able to sort that for you…”
20
Exciting
“Yes, it is an exciting and popular new service…”
21
Terrific
“I think that’s a terrific option…”
22
Fascinating
“That is fascinating…”
23
Expert
“You certainly are an expert on this…”
24
Favourite
“That is personally my favourite option…”
25
Ideal
“It would be ideal, considering your situation…”
The Top 25 Positive Phrases for Customer Service
Here we give 25 positive statement examples to use at specific parts of the call, with different options suggested for each.
1. “Welcome to [INSERT COMPANY NAME] Customer Service. My name is [INSERT NAME]. How can I help you?”
Establishes a welcoming and professional tone, introduces the advisor, and opens the conversation for the customer to state their needs.
2. “Good Morning/Afternoon! You’re through to [INSERT COMPANY NAME]. My name is [INSERT NAME]. How many I help you today?”
Greets the customer politely, sets a friendly atmosphere, and invites them to discuss their issue, making them feel valued from the start.
Positive Phrases When More Information Is Needed
Staying upbeat when needing more information from the customer is a valuable skill.
However, if an advisor struggles to do this, encourage them to ask basic questions of the customer, while scattering in some of the positive words discussed earlier.
For example, advisors could use the following positive phrases when more information is needed from the customer:
3. “So, what I understand so far is… it would be great if you could tell me a bit more about…”
Demonstrates active listening, summarizes the customer’s issue, and encourages them to provide additional details, ensuring clarity
4. “For me to… it would be brilliant if you could give me just a few more details on…”
Politely requests more information, showing respect and enthusiasm while clarifying what is needed to assist the customer effectively.
The top three positive phrases for acknowledging the customer are highlighted below:
5. ” I realize that this situation is difficult, but let’s try and find a solution”
Acknowledges the customer’s frustration and shifts focus to a collaborative effort to resolve the issue, fostering a sense of teamwork. There are loads of positive statements to use in difficult situations.
6. “I would feel the same in your situation, but we will sort this out…”
Empathizes with the customer, validating their feelings, and reassuring them that a solution will be found, which builds trust.
7. “I’m sorry you are having this problem. Let’s see if there is anything we can do to help the situation”
Offers an apology and expresses a willingness to help, which can diffuse tension and show genuine concern for the customer’s issue.
Positive Phrases for Reassuring the Customer
Once the advisor has a good understanding of the customer’s problem, and has acknowledged their concerns, it is now important to reassure them. Positive wordplay can be key here.
Take a look at the following examples of how positive statements can be used to reassure the customer:
8. “Thanks, it is great that you alerted us to this.”
Shows appreciation for the customer’s feedback and signals that their input is valuable and helpful in addressing issues.
9. “You are absolutely correct. Let’s look into this.”
Validates the customer’s point, reinforcing that their concerns are taken seriously, and commits to taking action.
10. “Definitely, I will make sure that this gets resolved for you.”
Provides a strong assurance of resolution, instilling confidence in the customer that their issue will be addressed.
Positive Phrases When Giving Instructions
When giving out over-the-phone instructions, it is an advisor’s role to make the process as easy as possible.
So, it is good practice to try and weave the following positive statements into conversations, to help the customer get from A to B with a smile on their face.
11. “All you need to do is to just…”
Simplifies the process for the customer, reducing anxiety by clearly outlining the next steps in an approachable manner.
12. “A simple way/method to change it will be to…”
Offers an easy-to-understand solution, making the customer feel capable of resolving the issue themselves.
13. “As soon as you receive…”
Sets clear expectations for the customer about what happens next, helping to manage their expectations and keep them informed.
So, advisors should ideally be using positive statements like those below:
14. “Would you be happy for me to put you on hold for a minute or two, while I quickly retrieve your details?”
Politely asks for permission to put the customer on hold, demonstrating respect and consideration for their time.
15. “I will send over the link to the email address that we have on our system and, if you would like, I can go through the rest of the process with you.”
Offers to assist further, showing willingness to guide the customer through the process, which enhances the support experience.
Advisors are often told to try to stay positive when interacting with an angry customer. However, that is much easier said than done, especially if the advisor is having to deal with such a caller for a long period of time.
So, the focus should instead be on getting the frustrated customer to change their mood. The positive phrases below could help to do this:
19. “We always value customers who are keen to give us their feedback. I will be sure to pass on what you have told me to our managerial team…”
Shows appreciation for the feedback, even if it’s negative, and promises to escalate it, which can help to calm an angry customer.
20. “I recommend that you (INSERT ACTION), Mrs Smith, so that I can take further action without delay.”
Provides clear and respectful advice, offering a path forward that can defuse tension and show commitment to resolution.
So, the advisor has successfully helped the customer to solve their query, given them a quick summary of the call and explained the next steps. All that is left to do is finish with a positive call-closing statement.
We’ve found some great examples of these in our article: “The Best Call-Closing Statements”, with two of them being showcased below:
21. “Thanks for calling, and if you have any additional questions, please call us.”
Expresses gratitude and leaves the door open for future communication, reinforcing ongoing support and availability.
22. “Have a nice time in [INSERT PLACE NAME] on your holiday.”
Ends the call on a personal and positive note, showing genuine interest in the customer’s life, which can enhance their overall experience.
Positive Phrases for Making a Sale
While dealing with a customer complaint, it may also be part of an advisor’s job to “sell-up” other areas of the business.
Here are some useful phrases to help an advisor seal the deal – taken from our tips for selling over the phone article:
23. “We have a variety of…”
Introduces options in a positive way, making the customer aware of additional products or services that might interest them.
24. “It’s a wonderful service where instead of…, you can…”
Highlights benefits of a service or product, framing it positively to encourage the customer to see its value.
25. “This is the best plan/scheme for you…”
Offers a recommendation tailored to the customer’s needs, demonstrating confidence and helping them make a decision.
Printable – Top 25 Positive Words and Phrases
Do you want to download this to share with your team?
We received a great example from a contact centre in the Philippines of how they printed our lead image on their contact centre walls, as shown below:
Closer to home, we have also seen other contact centres do this. Neopost’s contact centre in Romford was one such contact centre, using some of our words on their contact centre walls, like so:
Phrases to Avoid
There are also situations where using positive language is contradictory to how you are trying to make the customer feel – and should be avoided.
There are some good examples here, typically heard on IVRs or when an advisor needs to put a customer on hold:
Would you LIKE to continue to hold?
Your call is IMPORTANT to us
Your call MATTERS to us
They sadly come across as disingenuous when the contact centre isn’t delivering the high standards of service customers expect.
★★★★★
The power of using great words is highlighted in this video from Sandra Thompson about the importance of being conscious about what you say to the customer:
Found this article useful? Why not also have a look at:
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!
anil dogara
17 Oct at 10:01
“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”?
Not Convinced
21 Nov at 01:33
Certainly.
With pleasure.
I’d be delightly to assist.
Would you mind waiting?
Kaj
26 Feb at 10:13
Words such as Great, Fantastic, Marvelous should be avoided as they produce an underlying psychology of exaggeration.
Colly Graham
26 Feb at 12:25
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)
Marie Rowney
16 Apr at 11:30
P.S.
I would steer away from definitely – unless you can really and absolutely, definitely do it……..
Marie Rowney
16 Apr at 11:31
P.S. again
commenting on Ben’s comment
“That’s one our most popular choices” – rather than fantastic
Marie Rowney
16 Apr at 11:34
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…;)
Adre
9 Aug at 09:02
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.
Danyelle
29 Sep at 17:11
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
Lyndsey
28 Oct at 19:25
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
Daryl Hall
25 Feb at 06:48
“Is ther anything else I can help you with?”
Though not appropriate at all times, this one sentence at the end of the call leaves the essential ‘last lasting impression’ among the customers. Further, many sales calls could be led to a second sale or discussion on a possible sale in future.
Also, while listening to a rude customer I have found it to be useful for me to draw some patterns on a paper. This has provided me with much needed patience to listen to the long, unpleasant conversation.
Biju Jose
23 Jan at 18:18
I would like to offer the following as a Contact Centre Manager with a great team……
We shouldn’t say “I know how you feel”. The fact is we don’t know how they feel, that doesn’t mean however that we aren’t compassionate (in the appropriate way) and sympathetic to their issue or complaint.
I think positive words can be a good and useful tool but I agree that they shouldn’t be over used, As a customer care manager it’s our responsibilty to train our team on appropriate words and when to use them.
‘The Customer is always right’. I would say not always but part of our skill as customer care advisors is resolving the situation to acheive a win win without pointing out to the customer directly that they may be incorrect. The is also which is more often than not, that the customer is actually right, it’s important in these instances to acknowledge the customers misgivings but not always directly admit liabilty. Particularly if you are a 3rd party/outsourced call centre. Whatever you say is reflected on the Brand/Client.
I’ve found this thread helpful and there’s some great points on here!
Thanks Everyone!
L
L
1 Mar at 22:25
To use empathy, you need to stay away from the word, “understand.” Many times I’ve heard customers yell because we don’t understand. We may have been in their shoes, but no two situations are the same.
The best way to help calm a customer down from an extreme emotional high (positive or negative), is to appropriately use empathy. Not sympathy.
Empathy is feeling plus contact.
Feeling = It certainly is frustrating when…
Content = your cable is not working and you are not able to see your favorite show.
Feeling = How exciting it is…
Content = when you are purchasing your new home!
(You can have content first and then feeling, try mixing it up a bit so you don’t sound like a machine)
Stop there! Don’t move onto resolution until the customer is ready. If you still feel emotions are high, let them vent and use another 1, 2, or maybe even 3 empathy statements.
What you have for a resolution will not be considered if the customer’s emotions are running high.
Hope this helps someone out there!
L. Marie
16 Mar at 23:06
I dont know if this has already been covered but ill ask the question anyway. I work for a breakdown organisation I basically take the breakdown information off the customer. When I ask the relevant questions and the customer replys I say, “yea, yea, yea, yea, no problem” I want the customer know that I am listening its my verbal nod. The problem is that when I listen to my calls it sounds awful. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what else I could say. Please dont suggest fantastic or wonderful they are not appropriate in our world. We are not Customer Service as such.
Thanks
jessica
12 Apr at 10:59
I may not be that long in the industry but hoping this will help…
after you’ve recognized the problem and empathized, set member’s expectation and goal…do not give false information nor lie just to escape from the irate member…
alright…going back on settings of goals…let me cite an example
“Alright Mr. _____, just to set your expectation…we may or may not resolve the issue over the phone and we may end up sending a tech to fully restore your service..yet, i guarantee that you and i are going to work together in resolving this issue while we are still on the phone..Let’s start with setting a goal to make sure we’re on the same page…blah blah..”
exhaust all that u can do over the phone…but…
weigh things..check if member is still willing to do the steps.. respect member’s time…don’t waste energy…if you are following a call flow, create ur own shortcut..be specific and give concise instruction…do not use flowering words much…
they don’t…
now…let’s think that issue is resolve..go back on ur goal…say “Wow…that’s so great Mr. _____..We did over the phone…we don’t have to send a tech…We did it together…this is indeed teamwork…Now that ut issue is resolved, i hope that made u happy…for that made me happy…”
Shelly
21 Apr at 12:14
Gosh….it’s great to see that what we say to our customers excites such a response from so many people, and I guess that is where the key is…individualism and our personal view of language, the world and how we are within that world.
It’s the same for our customers, who are all unique people with unique needs and unique understandings of the world – and that is, perhaps, what we all need to pick up on. “The customer is always right”, “the customer is not always right” – I guess it doesn’t matter as each customer has a right to their opinion whether they are right or wrong, and our job is to understand that opinion without discounting them or necessarily agreeing with them and use it within our response.
Our skills as frontline customer agents whether delivering service or sales, need to focus on truly listening, understanding and adapting to their uniqueness in oredr to then deliver (or not if appropriate) a relevant solution.
We adapt and change as people almost daily in our own lives to differing sets of people around us; loved ones, children, mates, colleagues, parents and we use a different approach, a different language to each of those sets – so perhaps we need to tap into the inherent skills we have and let them loose in a Customer Experience environment, trusting to the fact that as adults we generally enjoy the wonder of relationships, building them, managing them, developing them, whether for 2 minutes on the phone or for life with our loved ones. We enjoy adapting our language to suit – whether emotionally intense like “fantastic” or friendly or formal, polite or jovial…..we change to suit, to fit in, to make someone else feel comfortable – so perhaps we should be trusted on the frontline to deliver what we believe is right for that unique customer and not to ‘tar every customer with the same language brush’.
Ben White
5 Sep at 14:05
When a customer immediately asks for a supervisor, the best response is…. Sure I can help you with that, in order to ensure that I get you to the best person to be able to handle your call, can you please tell me what your issue is?… After hearing the issue or concern, if I am able to assist the caller, I let them know…. Ok, well actually I can help you take care of that today, I just need your name etc. so I can take a look at your account… I also mention…if however we do need to have a supervisor help us, I will be happy to discuss your issue/concern with them and make sure that we get that taken care of. Generally they will allow you to assist. Also, by saying “we” and “us” and “I” it helps the customer feel that you are taking ownership of the situation. This is a great article…. Great responses.
Anonymous
16 Feb at 07:43
Very interesting opinions here. I agree with the “feel, felt, found” approach. It seems to conver all grounds, UNDERSTANDING how your customer feels (which is so important), RELATING to how they feel (felt) and offering a solution (found).
Mel
Anonymous
7 Mar at 18:22
ONE CALL RESOLUTION
-you do not have to call back! We have an amazing site called *****.com that I believe to be more convenient than calling in, PLUS same shipping!
Mirror the customer to an extent
Point out the benefits for the company when a customer has to take a survey at the end of the call: This is the best plan for your requirements….
For special customers like you……
Great news! You will ONLY be charged….
and POWER WORS really do help, plus smiling when talking!
Maria M
7 May at 03:50
We at ABC company take needs of each customers seriously and ensure that we earn your goodwill. Understanding your concern I’m happy to let you know that I’ve gone ahead and waived the late fee in your account. it’ll be credited back to your available credit.
.
I greatly apologize for any inconvenience caused. Please accept our sincere apologies.
.
Kindly allow me a minute or two to review your account and get back to you.
.
Thank you for being a great customer. We value your relationship.
.
I would be more than happy to look into your account to see why your account is restricted and guide you for the responsible team with their contact number.
.
thank you for being pleasure to talk with. I appreciate your time and patience. have a wonderful day.
.
etc
Praveen Bangalore
27 May at 00:01
I agree that customers are not always right. However, we can’t handle each and every customer with a doubt. That would create a negative impact and customer would hung up. We need to believe what the customer says and we need to proceed with empathizing with the issue. If we don’t believe customers word and customer will certainly say that we are not helping them.
In some cases, we need to handle issues that fall under company policies. We need to be too smart to say no to the customers. We need extra soft skills to say no gently to the customers at this point.
In customer service, the points below would help to earn WOW customers:
I am a coach at a call center and we are trying to come up with different to present when we are unable to reverse a late fee for a customer. We are trying to come up with phrases that do not use the words “can’t” “unable” “won’t etc. We want to present this in positive way. Anyone have Ideas for me? I have created one to help relate to the customers and still present it in a positive way. I am looking for other ideas.
Here is what I currently use “I understand you are calling in today in regards to the late fee on your account , I have been in the same situation before so I understand how you exactly feel. At this time the late fee will remain on the account but what we can do is provide you with different methods to prevent this from occurring in the future (then provide options) (You have to use the right tone when relaying this to customers)
I am looking to hear others ideas in what they may use in the call centers
jordan
8 Jun at 03:00
Tiny–
If at all possible conf in the client. Don’t transfer. Customers when “polled” say that they build up more frustration from being transferred and having to repeat the problem then ANY other one thing.
What we do at our company is “Mr. Jones _empathy_ I unfortunately can not answer that question or resolve that concern, however I am not going to transfer you anywhere either. I am going to conf you with the department that can.” Before I do, what is your number just in case we get disconnected I personally will call you back.”
Once you have them Conf with the correct person. Simply excuse yourself from the call and move on to the next one.
Owner
19 Jul at 19:32
This is the BEST webpage I have come across.
So I am glad I came across this. Do you know how hard it was to find this “GEM:? Very hard!!
Thanks so much to EVERYONE…
CARMEN M LUCZAK
27 Jul at 01:33
Sample Lead-Ins to Put a Caller On Hold
• “Mr. Smith, can you please hold while I retrieve your file?” {pause for a response} “Thank you. I will be back in a minute.” {caller on hold} “Thank you for holding Mr. Smith. I can now help you…”
• “Ms. Jones, I will check to see if Mr. Johnson is available to take your call. Can you please for a minute?” {pause for a response} “Thank you. I will be right back.” {caller on hold} “I’m sorry for the inconvenience. Mr. Johnson is not available right now. May I have him call you back?”
jaNELE
11 Nov at 04:25
Hi thank you for all your comments…it helps a lot..Now Showing some loyalty statements to the customer let´s say that the customer is not upset and during the call you could handled a good call but at the end of the call you say a loyalty phrase such as “Mr.jones we appreciate a lot the time you have been with the company and we thank you for the opportunity you gave us to provide you our services, we hope we can serve you for many more years”…customer was thankful and he said -“I appreciate a lot you beautiful words but I have been about to leave the company because of xx issue with the service..I’m just waiting for contract expiration to go”…I would like to see some comments about loyalty phrases and any way to say them…and what to say if a customer say something like my customer said.
Waiting for answers..
Thank you all.
Frey R.
12 Nov at 00:34
Can anyone Help me with following “inbound Call Handling Phrases for Appointment Setting”, if there’s any mistake?
——————————-
QUESTIONS TO BE ASKED AT INBOUND
APPOINTMENT:
Thanks for Calling ABC Air Conditioning how may i help you ?
If someone says that he’s looking for an air conditioner.
Reply: OK sir, what we can do we can send our home comfort advisor at your doorstep, he will give you the estimate for that
and this appointment would be free of cost.
So can i have your name please?
and your contact number is?
Do you have any alternative number?
And your address?
is this a town house or a single one?
and you are looking for an Air Condition Right ? (Good)
How old is your house?
and the age of your existing air conditioner?
may I know the size of your house?
OK sir which date and time is convenient for you?
Let me check my database, please be online.
OK sir we can visit on Between . is that convenient for you?
——————————-
Muhammad Zahid
27 Dec at 19:06
When asked, “how are you doing?” never just say ‘good’ that is boring and almost expected. Instead, get creative with it, use these different words(with a smile of course)-
wonderful
excellent
terrific
splendid
marvelous
fantastic
phenomenal
fabulous
magnificent
with my little experience in the call center industry, the use of positive words are very important. the concern here however is, knowing when, where and how to use them.
for me, knowing your caller is very important.i.e if the caller is an intellect or an average person. for an intellect, the words above may be an exaggeration but to an average person it will be appropriate.
musah osumanu
31 Oct at 16:59
Hello, everyone.
I work as a customer service representative for a bank.
I want to excell my performance in assisting our clients.
I am not good at suggesting things to someone. I want to learn something from everyone.
If you could teach me some words and sentences to use while assisting our clients, that would be great.
That’s for chat support.
Thank you all. Have a nice day.
Vernon
29 Jan at 19:40
Welcome to xxx chat support. My name is Vernon. How may I assist you today?
Hello, xxx. A very good morning to you!
It’s a pleasure to have you onchat today.
May I place your chat on hold for a minute to check this for you?
Thank you for your time and patience.
Your satisfaction is our first and the top priority. Have I completely resolved/answered all your queries/questions today?
You are most welcome. It’s my pleasure assisting our clients.
we appreciate your business with us.
Xxx ,if you’re happy with my efforts to assist you, end this chat session and take a brief survey based on my assistance.
Please feel free to contact us anytime round the clock.
Have a pleasant day.
These are the sentences we use for most of the clients. We may change these depending on the client’s response and query.
Vernon
29 Jan at 19:59
Treat every single Customer, as if he/she signs your paycheck, coz they really do………….!!
Srinivas
17 Jun at 03:25
I hope it will be helpful.. just want to share something..
When you are talking to your customer, of course there are five forbidden phrases:
1. Don’t say the word…”I DONT KNOW”
2.) Dont say the word “we can’t do that.”
3.) Dont say NO to your client.
4.) If you are getting in a situation that you can’t really handle, dont’t say negative responses to the customer. It should be always POSITIVE and DIRECT TO THE point and well organized.
5.) Don’t say ” JUST A SECOND” .. you have to say something positive again just to make sure that your customer will not really offend.
RyeowookKim_TiffanyHwang
3 Jul at 17:49
Handling every call is like riding on a bike we need to be balance..PATIENCE is ALWAYS A VIRTUE!
JERRY
31 Jul at 03:00
There are some interesting points here – and the use of positive language does have a really vital point to play in customer communications.
However I can’t help feeling that some of the phrasing and words recommended here aren’t appropriate for everyday conversations.
In particular the use of the word ‘surely’ simply wouldn’t sit right with most callers – who wouldn’t use (or be used to hearing) the word ‘surely’ in the context of ‘You will surely be able to enjoy…’.
There are other words and phrases that would sound more natural and less bossy. For example ‘I’m hoping you’ll really enjoy…’.
Never tell the customer what they should be thinking or feeling – just point them in the right direction to get there…
Suzanna Hyatt
16 Sep at 12:02
– i understand how frustrating that might be
– i understand how inconvenient that must be
– i know that could be frustrating
– i understand how you feel
CC3
3 Oct at 12:24
-It is unfortunate that.
-I truly empathize that.
-I sympathize with your situation/disappointment..
Anonymous
5 Oct at 21:47
Empathy acknowledgement, ownership.
Sam
13 Apr at 17:11
@Ram what works for me when I resolved the issue
“I hope in a way I was able to help you out with the concern.”
(if cx asks do I need to click on yes?)
“Any feedback will do.”
“I was happy that I was able to assist you for today….”
Emmy A.
18 May at 12:20
@Lyndsey: warn the customer.
Acknowledge the problem: I understand the frustration that you face right now, I am trying my very best to help you out. (add if customer is shouting) You do not need to be angry.
(Do not overly apologize) I do apologize is better than I’m sorry
We do not tolerate profanity, I will be terminating the call.
This is a second warning, I will be terminating the call if you will still use profane language.
This is the last warning. Thank you for calling.
Emmy A.
21 May at 12:15
This was an enjoyable read. Its all about positive words!
Mark R
26 May at 15:07
being a newbie, i’m getting my spiel here 🙂 God bless
Pia Wurtzbach
2 Jun at 08:59
thank you for this spiels it helped me much
princess
13 Jun at 21:18
These tips are really great, I always highlight the important of language to the team I manage. I manage a call centre that deals mainly with customer queries. We often over look how powerful words are and how they can completely change positive communication with a person to a negative exchange when words are chosen wrongly. I found the following resources really helpful when doing some refresher customer service training with staff I know have these 5 do not say words displayed around the office. goo.gl/dzSM9b
Eva Birch
24 Jan at 20:57
The Customer Is NOT Always Right, But The Customer Is All We’ve Got!
Rick ferguson
5 Jun at 21:28
Combined ideas, knowledge, curiosity and experiences result to an amazing web page that everyone must read on.
Congratulations to the creator of this.
Thanks to all accommodating contributors.
And lucky to us who were able to read this for free!
Anibor
11 Jun at 08:06
I totaly agree with the post. We can always translate the negative phrases to positive. For example,
Why not? → Sounds good.
No problem → Definitely!
Can’t complain → Everything’s going well, thanks.
I’m exhausted → I need a rest.
I’m going to forget → I’ll make sure I set a reminder.
It will not be delivered on time → It will be delayed.
Constructive criticism → Constructive Feedback.
Please hold → One moment, please
By using this idea of positive responses we can have a cumulative impact on the customer.
Because you are a valued client/customer
That’s a fantastic choice
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!
“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”?
Certainly.
With pleasure.
I’d be delightly to assist.
Would you mind waiting?
Words such as Great, Fantastic, Marvelous should be avoided as they produce an underlying psychology of exaggeration.
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)
P.S.
I would steer away from definitely – unless you can really and absolutely, definitely do it……..
P.S. again
commenting on Ben’s comment
“That’s one our most popular choices” – rather than fantastic
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…;)
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.
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
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
“Is ther anything else I can help you with?”
Though not appropriate at all times, this one sentence at the end of the call leaves the essential ‘last lasting impression’ among the customers. Further, many sales calls could be led to a second sale or discussion on a possible sale in future.
Also, while listening to a rude customer I have found it to be useful for me to draw some patterns on a paper. This has provided me with much needed patience to listen to the long, unpleasant conversation.
I would like to offer the following as a Contact Centre Manager with a great team……
We shouldn’t say “I know how you feel”. The fact is we don’t know how they feel, that doesn’t mean however that we aren’t compassionate (in the appropriate way) and sympathetic to their issue or complaint.
I think positive words can be a good and useful tool but I agree that they shouldn’t be over used, As a customer care manager it’s our responsibilty to train our team on appropriate words and when to use them.
‘The Customer is always right’. I would say not always but part of our skill as customer care advisors is resolving the situation to acheive a win win without pointing out to the customer directly that they may be incorrect. The is also which is more often than not, that the customer is actually right, it’s important in these instances to acknowledge the customers misgivings but not always directly admit liabilty. Particularly if you are a 3rd party/outsourced call centre. Whatever you say is reflected on the Brand/Client.
I’ve found this thread helpful and there’s some great points on here!
Thanks Everyone!
L
To use empathy, you need to stay away from the word, “understand.” Many times I’ve heard customers yell because we don’t understand. We may have been in their shoes, but no two situations are the same.
The best way to help calm a customer down from an extreme emotional high (positive or negative), is to appropriately use empathy. Not sympathy.
Empathy is feeling plus contact.
Feeling = It certainly is frustrating when…
Content = your cable is not working and you are not able to see your favorite show.
Feeling = How exciting it is…
Content = when you are purchasing your new home!
(You can have content first and then feeling, try mixing it up a bit so you don’t sound like a machine)
Stop there! Don’t move onto resolution until the customer is ready. If you still feel emotions are high, let them vent and use another 1, 2, or maybe even 3 empathy statements.
What you have for a resolution will not be considered if the customer’s emotions are running high.
Hope this helps someone out there!
I dont know if this has already been covered but ill ask the question anyway. I work for a breakdown organisation I basically take the breakdown information off the customer. When I ask the relevant questions and the customer replys I say, “yea, yea, yea, yea, no problem” I want the customer know that I am listening its my verbal nod. The problem is that when I listen to my calls it sounds awful. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what else I could say. Please dont suggest fantastic or wonderful they are not appropriate in our world. We are not Customer Service as such.
Thanks
I may not be that long in the industry but hoping this will help…
after you’ve recognized the problem and empathized, set member’s expectation and goal…do not give false information nor lie just to escape from the irate member…
alright…going back on settings of goals…let me cite an example
“Alright Mr. _____, just to set your expectation…we may or may not resolve the issue over the phone and we may end up sending a tech to fully restore your service..yet, i guarantee that you and i are going to work together in resolving this issue while we are still on the phone..Let’s start with setting a goal to make sure we’re on the same page…blah blah..”
exhaust all that u can do over the phone…but…
weigh things..check if member is still willing to do the steps.. respect member’s time…don’t waste energy…if you are following a call flow, create ur own shortcut..be specific and give concise instruction…do not use flowering words much…
they don’t…
now…let’s think that issue is resolve..go back on ur goal…say “Wow…that’s so great Mr. _____..We did over the phone…we don’t have to send a tech…We did it together…this is indeed teamwork…Now that ut issue is resolved, i hope that made u happy…for that made me happy…”
Gosh….it’s great to see that what we say to our customers excites such a response from so many people, and I guess that is where the key is…individualism and our personal view of language, the world and how we are within that world.
It’s the same for our customers, who are all unique people with unique needs and unique understandings of the world – and that is, perhaps, what we all need to pick up on. “The customer is always right”, “the customer is not always right” – I guess it doesn’t matter as each customer has a right to their opinion whether they are right or wrong, and our job is to understand that opinion without discounting them or necessarily agreeing with them and use it within our response.
Our skills as frontline customer agents whether delivering service or sales, need to focus on truly listening, understanding and adapting to their uniqueness in oredr to then deliver (or not if appropriate) a relevant solution.
We adapt and change as people almost daily in our own lives to differing sets of people around us; loved ones, children, mates, colleagues, parents and we use a different approach, a different language to each of those sets – so perhaps we need to tap into the inherent skills we have and let them loose in a Customer Experience environment, trusting to the fact that as adults we generally enjoy the wonder of relationships, building them, managing them, developing them, whether for 2 minutes on the phone or for life with our loved ones. We enjoy adapting our language to suit – whether emotionally intense like “fantastic” or friendly or formal, polite or jovial…..we change to suit, to fit in, to make someone else feel comfortable – so perhaps we should be trusted on the frontline to deliver what we believe is right for that unique customer and not to ‘tar every customer with the same language brush’.
When a customer immediately asks for a supervisor, the best response is…. Sure I can help you with that, in order to ensure that I get you to the best person to be able to handle your call, can you please tell me what your issue is?… After hearing the issue or concern, if I am able to assist the caller, I let them know…. Ok, well actually I can help you take care of that today, I just need your name etc. so I can take a look at your account… I also mention…if however we do need to have a supervisor help us, I will be happy to discuss your issue/concern with them and make sure that we get that taken care of. Generally they will allow you to assist. Also, by saying “we” and “us” and “I” it helps the customer feel that you are taking ownership of the situation. This is a great article…. Great responses.
Very interesting opinions here. I agree with the “feel, felt, found” approach. It seems to conver all grounds, UNDERSTANDING how your customer feels (which is so important), RELATING to how they feel (felt) and offering a solution (found).
Mel
ONE CALL RESOLUTION
-you do not have to call back! We have an amazing site called *****.com that I believe to be more convenient than calling in, PLUS same shipping!
Mirror the customer to an extent
Point out the benefits for the company when a customer has to take a survey at the end of the call: This is the best plan for your requirements….
For special customers like you……
Great news! You will ONLY be charged….
and POWER WORS really do help, plus smiling when talking!
We at ABC company take needs of each customers seriously and ensure that we earn your goodwill. Understanding your concern I’m happy to let you know that I’ve gone ahead and waived the late fee in your account. it’ll be credited back to your available credit.
.
I greatly apologize for any inconvenience caused. Please accept our sincere apologies.
.
Kindly allow me a minute or two to review your account and get back to you.
.
Thank you for being a great customer. We value your relationship.
.
I would be more than happy to look into your account to see why your account is restricted and guide you for the responsible team with their contact number.
.
thank you for being pleasure to talk with. I appreciate your time and patience. have a wonderful day.
.
etc
I agree that customers are not always right. However, we can’t handle each and every customer with a doubt. That would create a negative impact and customer would hung up. We need to believe what the customer says and we need to proceed with empathizing with the issue. If we don’t believe customers word and customer will certainly say that we are not helping them.
In some cases, we need to handle issues that fall under company policies. We need to be too smart to say no to the customers. We need extra soft skills to say no gently to the customers at this point.
In customer service, the points below would help to earn WOW customers:
Understand(Both issue and emotion)
Empathize
Personalize
Ownership
Resolve
Exceed customer’s expectation
Educate
I am a coach at a call center and we are trying to come up with different to present when we are unable to reverse a late fee for a customer. We are trying to come up with phrases that do not use the words “can’t” “unable” “won’t etc. We want to present this in positive way. Anyone have Ideas for me? I have created one to help relate to the customers and still present it in a positive way. I am looking for other ideas.
Here is what I currently use “I understand you are calling in today in regards to the late fee on your account , I have been in the same situation before so I understand how you exactly feel. At this time the late fee will remain on the account but what we can do is provide you with different methods to prevent this from occurring in the future (then provide options) (You have to use the right tone when relaying this to customers)
I am looking to hear others ideas in what they may use in the call centers
Tiny–
If at all possible conf in the client. Don’t transfer. Customers when “polled” say that they build up more frustration from being transferred and having to repeat the problem then ANY other one thing.
What we do at our company is “Mr. Jones _empathy_ I unfortunately can not answer that question or resolve that concern, however I am not going to transfer you anywhere either. I am going to conf you with the department that can.” Before I do, what is your number just in case we get disconnected I personally will call you back.”
Once you have them Conf with the correct person. Simply excuse yourself from the call and move on to the next one.
This is the BEST webpage I have come across.
So I am glad I came across this. Do you know how hard it was to find this “GEM:? Very hard!!
Thanks so much to EVERYONE…
Sample Lead-Ins to Put a Caller On Hold
• “Mr. Smith, can you please hold while I retrieve your file?” {pause for a response} “Thank you. I will be back in a minute.” {caller on hold} “Thank you for holding Mr. Smith. I can now help you…”
• “Ms. Jones, I will check to see if Mr. Johnson is available to take your call. Can you please for a minute?” {pause for a response} “Thank you. I will be right back.” {caller on hold} “I’m sorry for the inconvenience. Mr. Johnson is not available right now. May I have him call you back?”
Hi thank you for all your comments…it helps a lot..Now Showing some loyalty statements to the customer let´s say that the customer is not upset and during the call you could handled a good call but at the end of the call you say a loyalty phrase such as “Mr.jones we appreciate a lot the time you have been with the company and we thank you for the opportunity you gave us to provide you our services, we hope we can serve you for many more years”…customer was thankful and he said -“I appreciate a lot you beautiful words but I have been about to leave the company because of xx issue with the service..I’m just waiting for contract expiration to go”…I would like to see some comments about loyalty phrases and any way to say them…and what to say if a customer say something like my customer said.
Waiting for answers..
Thank you all.
Can anyone Help me with following “inbound Call Handling Phrases for Appointment Setting”, if there’s any mistake?
——————————-
QUESTIONS TO BE ASKED AT INBOUND
APPOINTMENT:
Thanks for Calling ABC Air Conditioning how may i help you ?
If someone says that he’s looking for an air conditioner.
Reply: OK sir, what we can do we can send our home comfort advisor at your doorstep, he will give you the estimate for that
and this appointment would be free of cost.
So can i have your name please?
and your contact number is?
Do you have any alternative number?
And your address?
is this a town house or a single one?
and you are looking for an Air Condition Right ? (Good)
How old is your house?
and the age of your existing air conditioner?
may I know the size of your house?
OK sir which date and time is convenient for you?
Let me check my database, please be online.
OK sir we can visit on Between . is that convenient for you?
——————————-
When asked, “how are you doing?” never just say ‘good’ that is boring and almost expected. Instead, get creative with it, use these different words(with a smile of course)-
wonderful
excellent
terrific
splendid
marvelous
fantastic
phenomenal
fabulous
magnificent
1. Definitely
2. Surely
3. Absolutely
4. Certainly
5. Fantastic
with my little experience in the call center industry, the use of positive words are very important. the concern here however is, knowing when, where and how to use them.
for me, knowing your caller is very important.i.e if the caller is an intellect or an average person. for an intellect, the words above may be an exaggeration but to an average person it will be appropriate.
Hello, everyone.
I work as a customer service representative for a bank.
I want to excell my performance in assisting our clients.
I am not good at suggesting things to someone. I want to learn something from everyone.
If you could teach me some words and sentences to use while assisting our clients, that would be great.
That’s for chat support.
Thank you all. Have a nice day.
Welcome to xxx chat support. My name is Vernon. How may I assist you today?
Hello, xxx. A very good morning to you!
It’s a pleasure to have you onchat today.
May I place your chat on hold for a minute to check this for you?
Thank you for your time and patience.
Your satisfaction is our first and the top priority. Have I completely resolved/answered all your queries/questions today?
You are most welcome. It’s my pleasure assisting our clients.
we appreciate your business with us.
Xxx ,if you’re happy with my efforts to assist you, end this chat session and take a brief survey based on my assistance.
Please feel free to contact us anytime round the clock.
Have a pleasant day.
These are the sentences we use for most of the clients. We may change these depending on the client’s response and query.
Treat every single Customer, as if he/she signs your paycheck, coz they really do………….!!
I hope it will be helpful.. just want to share something..
When you are talking to your customer, of course there are five forbidden phrases:
1. Don’t say the word…”I DONT KNOW”
2.) Dont say the word “we can’t do that.”
3.) Dont say NO to your client.
4.) If you are getting in a situation that you can’t really handle, dont’t say negative responses to the customer. It should be always POSITIVE and DIRECT TO THE point and well organized.
5.) Don’t say ” JUST A SECOND” .. you have to say something positive again just to make sure that your customer will not really offend.
Handling every call is like riding on a bike we need to be balance..PATIENCE is ALWAYS A VIRTUE!
There are some interesting points here – and the use of positive language does have a really vital point to play in customer communications.
However I can’t help feeling that some of the phrasing and words recommended here aren’t appropriate for everyday conversations.
In particular the use of the word ‘surely’ simply wouldn’t sit right with most callers – who wouldn’t use (or be used to hearing) the word ‘surely’ in the context of ‘You will surely be able to enjoy…’.
There are other words and phrases that would sound more natural and less bossy. For example ‘I’m hoping you’ll really enjoy…’.
Never tell the customer what they should be thinking or feeling – just point them in the right direction to get there…
– i understand how frustrating that might be
– i understand how inconvenient that must be
– i know that could be frustrating
– i understand how you feel
-It is unfortunate that.
-I truly empathize that.
-I sympathize with your situation/disappointment..
Empathy acknowledgement, ownership.
@Ram what works for me when I resolved the issue
“I hope in a way I was able to help you out with the concern.”
(if cx asks do I need to click on yes?)
“Any feedback will do.”
“I was happy that I was able to assist you for today….”
@Lyndsey: warn the customer.
Acknowledge the problem: I understand the frustration that you face right now, I am trying my very best to help you out. (add if customer is shouting) You do not need to be angry.
(Do not overly apologize) I do apologize is better than I’m sorry
We do not tolerate profanity, I will be terminating the call.
This is a second warning, I will be terminating the call if you will still use profane language.
This is the last warning. Thank you for calling.
This was an enjoyable read. Its all about positive words!
being a newbie, i’m getting my spiel here 🙂 God bless
thank you for this spiels it helped me much
These tips are really great, I always highlight the important of language to the team I manage. I manage a call centre that deals mainly with customer queries. We often over look how powerful words are and how they can completely change positive communication with a person to a negative exchange when words are chosen wrongly. I found the following resources really helpful when doing some refresher customer service training with staff I know have these 5 do not say words displayed around the office. goo.gl/dzSM9b
The Customer Is NOT Always Right, But The Customer Is All We’ve Got!
Combined ideas, knowledge, curiosity and experiences result to an amazing web page that everyone must read on.
Congratulations to the creator of this.
Thanks to all accommodating contributors.
And lucky to us who were able to read this for free!
I totaly agree with the post. We can always translate the negative phrases to positive. For example,
Why not? → Sounds good.
No problem → Definitely!
Can’t complain → Everything’s going well, thanks.
I’m exhausted → I need a rest.
I’m going to forget → I’ll make sure I set a reminder.
It will not be delivered on time → It will be delayed.
Constructive criticism → Constructive Feedback.
Please hold → One moment, please
By using this idea of positive responses we can have a cumulative impact on the customer.
Nice set of words to translate negative phrases