Call Center Training: Customer Service-What NOT to SAY (with PHRASES that you can USE instead!)

[Music]
hey everyone welcome to this channel
this is learning English with Floyd I am
so glad that you're joining me back here
today if you're new here I welcome you
this is where I teach English lessons
for you
and my latest Series has to do with
working in a call center whether you've
been working there for years or perhaps
this is a new job for you it's really
important the language that you use
particularly when you are working with
English speakers who are fluent
the way you say something can come off
as something else particularly in this
area of customer service
when you first learn English you learn
certain phrases and you learn some of
the ways we speak as native English
speakers but when you work in the call
center and you're providing customer
service it's a whole nother ballgame
what do I mean by that that means that
you really have to pay attention to how
you say things and not only that but
certain phrases can potentially come off
in a very different way
if you're new here be sure to check out
some of my other videos where I talk
about different ways to speak with
customers particularly if they're upset
or if this is your first time you want
to go through some tips you can check
out as well some of my other videos
if you like this video if you want to
check it out more again you can also
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ready to get started
let's begin
you might have a customer who calls in
for a very specific issue which you
don't handle
let's say someone is calling because
they have an issue with being
overcharged on an account
but that's not in your department what
are you saying
do you just say sorry wrong Department
I'll transfer you
or sorry I can't handle that no don't do
that I mean yes you're speaking English
correctly but it really comes off as
Direct in a sense that you don't want to
help them that's not your problem again
if we're providing excellent customer
service there are better ways to say
that in this case if they need for
example the accounting department then
you can say it sounds like you need the
accounting department
here let me look up that number for you
or it sounds like you need the
accounting department
here let me transfer your call you are
right away solving a problem that you
see you're not wasting their time and
they're not wasting theirs
what if you get a call and the person is
asking you to do something or look up
some information but you don't really
know yet because you're new at this job
maybe you would want to say right away
and think that it's okay to say I'm new
here
sorry I'm new here let me let me find
out
no don't do that
when you say to them that you're new
right away they will not feel confident
that you are going to be able to help
them even if you can
just imagine you are the one calling in
and somebody says they're new here
maybe it will want you to hang up and
try to call somebody else you're not
really going to see them as a reliable
person
so if you are the person that you are in
a new position then you want to tell
them in a way that you are problem
solving that issue instead of saying I
don't know or I'm not sure then you can
definitely say this
that's not something I know off the top
of my head
but I will certainly figure that out for
you
which by the way if you're more
interested in certain idioms that you
can use you can also check out my video
that I have here's a question that is
perfectly grammatically correct in
English
what do you need
you ask this in informal occasions to
friends colleagues what do you need
sounds fine if the person can actually
see your body language but in the case
of customer service through phone calls
if you ask someone what do you need it
actually has a very negative connotation
what do I mean by that that means it
might come off as you actually don't
want to help them
you're don't have it you don't have
enough time you don't want to say what
do you need even though yes technically
it might be your job to help
there are ways to say that in a friendly
professional way
a very common phrase to use is how may I
help you today
how may I help you today way more
professional than just saying what do
you need another way to ask that as well
is how may I assist you today
how may I have Assist you today if I had
that kind of customer service you bet I
would feel comfortable talking to the
person on the other line versus what do
you need
I might just hang up
a very common issue with working in a
call center particularly if English is
not your first language is that you have
to pause
for example you are thinking how to
translate something you're looking up
information it's a lot of work having to
work in the language that is not your
first language there's a lot of time for
fillers
regular English it is completely fine to
say
um or uh let me think uh right that's
what native speakers do
but if you're working in a call center
providing customer service
then that actually makes you sound
unprofessional
that's the last thing you want to do you
don't want to sound unprofessional by
saying
um uh let me look this up
and you don't want to give a negative
impression
so what can you say instead
well believe it or not pausing is fine
if it's specific moments of a little bit
of Silence while you're looking up
information
it's completely fine it is showing that
you're actively listening you're working
to solve an issue or you're looking up
information
but if you have to say something you can
narrate what you're doing
or instead of
um uh sometimes I use the word all right
or let's see all right let's see I'm
looking at your account and it shows
instead of saying uh okay let me see
um uh right so all right let's see let
me take a look
or very specific pausing that doesn't
take too long to make it awkward is
completely fine these um or us not only
make you sound unprofessional but it
could sound coming from the phone line
that you might be distracted just
imagine someone is saying that to you
over the phone you might think they are
focused on something else as well
they're distracted they're not a hundred
percent present for you
so you never want to give that Vibe when
you're on the phone the next word that
you don't want to use is sometimes use
even as a filler word for native
speakers I hear it all the time and I'll
be the first to admit I use this often
when I'm speaking it's the word honestly
for example be like honestly speaking
I'm not sure which one would be the
better option
honestly it sounds like you might have
to call this number instead
honestly this honestly that why are we
saying it
native speakers sometimes treat it like
uh a filler word or they really are
trying to make a point that they're
honest about something but in customer
service and when you're on the phone
don't use the word honestly it really
does make the caller question you as a
representative
you don't want them questioning you you
just want to make sure that you keep
sounding professional so again going
back to the previous
pause or use other ways to fill in the
pause without saying honestly the last
one I have for you today I will be
honest
and I really am being honest
I use no problem
if somebody says thank you for helping
me
it's okay in an informal setting
face to face to say hey no problem
but on the phone you're providing
customer service you don't even want to
mention the word problem you want to
stay away from that because it might
question like
was it a problem in the first place
what's going on
instead of saying hey no problem say
you're welcome thank you for your call
other ways to replace the no problem is
saying of course
of course or my pleasure
my pleasure
steer away from the no problem phrase
these were just a few of the tips that
you can incorporate as you continue to
build your skills speaking English to
callers on the phone
you want to check out some of my other
videos related to this they're all
listed under my playlist business
English or speaking English feel free to
check them out and always always always
feel free to comment below with
questions
and thank you thank you so much for
checking out this channel this video let
me know what your thoughts are down
below in the comments section
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see ya