3 Things you Should Never Say in Customer Service

There are certain things you should never say in customer service, and things you should say.  If you work in customer service, I highly suggest you study different, key phrases before jumping on the phone lines. One phrase can be the difference between a happy customer and an irate one.

Things to never say

  • “I don’t know”.  This is one of the most discouraging phrases you can hear when you’re on the phone with customer service.  I have had an experience where I was on the phone with a representative and she said “I don’t know.” I said, “Can you direct me to someone who does know the answer?” She responded “I’m not sure” and that was the end of the conversation. I ended up confused, annoyed and my issue was definitely not solved.
  • “I could transfer you to my manager but…”. Believe it or not, when I worked in my vacation rental call center, I heard customer service reps say “Ma’am/Sir, I can transfer you to my manager, but she’s going to tell you the same thing”.  What in the world would make you think that’s a professional thing to tell the customer? It’s not.  Sometimes, customers just want to hear the final answer from someone in power.  It’s not that hard to transfer them to your manager.  If you’re the manager, help your CSR’s out, if an irate customer wants to speak with you, speak with them.  Ignoring the customer will just upset them more.
  • “That’s our policy”.  Sometimes, you can’t do anything because it truly is your policy, but this is still one of the most obnoxious things to hear when dealing with customer service. It may be your policy, but there are always exceptions to the rules. It can’t hurt to ask your manager if you can make this customer an exception… or even see if there’s anything additional you can do to solve the issue at hand.

What phrases have you heard in customer service that you think should never be said?

 

Scroll to Top