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English Customer Service Phrases

Posted On: February 14, 2015

This post lists some phrases, sentences, questions or strategies you can use in various parts of customer service or support calls to make your interactions more conversational rather than transactional. 


General Communication Tips: 

• Must show empathy
• Listen (don’t just hear, listen)
• Smile, SMILE and …. SMILE! – Yes, a listener CAN make out if you are smiling or not!

Transition Phrases 

• “Absolutely, I can help you with your needs.” 
• “How can I help you today?” 
• Verbal nod (they can’t see you) – “Oh wow. I am on it. I am here for you.” 
• Your response needs to acknowledge their pain 
• I’ll be glad to help you today…. 

To create the right responses, you must:
LISTEN, listen to their tones and pauses for their feelings.


The basic formula is:
Listen to the person when they are talking. Note something they are saying or a word they are using.


When it’s your turn to talk do this:

Acknowledge what they have said, possibly using a word they used. For example, “You have not been able to login to your account for a week now, even though you have repeatedly submitted a password change….

Note how you can help, possibly with tips about how you have helped someone else with this before or recently: 

I’m sorry that you are experiencing this. I am glad you called in because in our recent upgrade, this has happened to many customers….especially customers who have been using our system for more than two years.

End with a question:

Have you also been using our system for more than two years?

In general, when interacting with US Americans, to give them the impression they are in control of the conversation, or even to help them continue the conversation to give you more information, make sure as you end whatever you are saying, try to use questions with a question tone. This will give your conversational partner a cue to keep talking. However, do be careful to just ask one question as you turn the conversation over. If there is more than one question asked, it’s most likely the case you will only get one of your questions answered. 

If you’d like help with your conversational skills, get in touch with us. Jennifer Kumar helps your India-based US-facing team members to communicate better with their American counterparts.   

Related Posts:Use this formula for a polite way to say no or redirect the conversation  

Original post: 2/15, Updated 5/2020