This document provides guidance on handling customer complaints over the phone. It outlines the key steps as listen, acknowledge, solve, and thank. It also provides sample language for apologizing to customers, explaining problems with orders, and saying goodbye at the end of calls. The document aims to teach phone skills for dealing effectively with customer issues and requests.

2. Lesson two
Tuesday 15th November 2011

3. Hello!
Good morning!


4. More complaints

5. Complaints
Listen
Acknowledge
Solve
Thank

6. Complaints
 Listen
 Can I speak to the owner?
 Acknowledge
 Apologise
 Solve
 Refunds
 Exchanges
 Thank

7. Apologies
 I’m very sorry about that.
 I’m terribly sorry about that.
 I fully understand the inconvenience this has caused.
 I’m sorry but I’m afraid I can’t help you.
 I’m sorry but you’ll have to talk to our manager about
that.

9. Complaints about things
 Bent  Dented  Out of date
 Broken  Discoloured  Rusty
 Chipped  Faded  Scratched
 Cracked  Illegible  Stained
 Crushed  Leaky  Twisted
 Deformed  Noisy  Wet

11. Complaints about people
 Aggressive  Incompetent  Rude
 Clumsy  Insolent  Unfriendly
 Dirty  Late  Unhelpful
 Dishonest  Messy  Unprofessional
 Impatient  Untidy  Untrained
 Impolite  Negligent  Untruthful
 Incapable  Offensive

13. Options
 Substitute  Send an expert
 Refund  Contact insurance
 Reduce price  Send back to manufacturer
 Give more goods  Call the manager
 Offer a complaint form

15. On the phone
Requests for information
Prices
Sizes / Features
Delivery
Payment
Complaints

16. Information
 Leaflets
 Samples
 Sales literature
 Agent’s visit

17. Discounts
 Introductory offer
 Initial order
 Quantity
 Cash
 Early payment

18. Prices
 Our product costs… euros / pounds / dollars.
 The price per kilo / item / unit / litre / yard / foot is
… euros / pounds / dollars.

19. On the phone
 Hello, you have called Vino Español, my name
is Mary, may I help you?
 Yes, hello, my name is Ana and I’m calling
from London. I’m looking for some wine.
 Yes, sure. Were you thinking of one in
particular? Red, white?
 It was white wine, with a blue bottle.

20. On the phone
 A blue bottle? That must be Viña Galtea
semiseco, right?
 Yes, yes it is. Can you send it to the UK?
 Sure, no problem. How many bottles would
you like?
 I’d like to have 12 bottles.
 OK, each bottle costs 5EUR, so that will be
60EUR, which is about 51GBP (pounds).

21. On the phone
 How would you like to pay for that? We
accept credit card, Paypal or bank transfer.
Credit card is OK.

22. On the phone
 OK, can you tell me your card number?
 Sure, it’s 1234 4321 1234 4321.
 And the name on the card?
 My name is Ana Michelle Ono.
 The expiry date, please?
 It’s January 2020.

23. On the phone
 OK, so we’ll charge 60EUR on your card
number 1234 4321 1234 4321with expiry date
January 2020.What is your address?
 I live in 5 Abbey Road, Westminster, London,
NW8 9AA.

24. On the phone
 Do you have any special delivery instructions?
 This is my work address, I’m only there from
9 till 6.
 You should receive your wine on Monday at
9am.
 OK, thank you.
 Thank you, have a nice day!
 You too, bye bye!

26. Calling back
 Good Morning, Abbey Road Studios, can I help you?
 Yes, could I speak to Ana Michelle Ono, please?
 A) Yes madam, I’ll put you through.
 B) Sorry, she’s not available at the moment, can I take a
message?
 Sure, will you tell her Mary Martin from Vino Español
called her?
 Yes madam, I’ll pass the message on to her.

27. Calling back
 Hello Ms Ono, good  How about you?
morning. How are
 Not so bad.
things?
 Can’t complain.
 Fine
 Could be better.
 Great
 Marvellous!  Oh, really!
 Good.

29. Order will be late
 Now, what can I do for you, Ms Martin?
 I’m calling about your order. There’s a bit of a
problem with your order, it will arrive on Tuesday
instead of Monday.
 Oh, it’s OK, I don’t need it until Friday.

30. More information
 Could I have your mobile phone number, please?
 Could I have your fax number, please?
 Could I have your email address, please?

32. Problems!
 Oh, I’m sorry. I must have dialled the wrong number!
 I’m sorry. Could you say that again?
 I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that. Could you repeat it?
 Could you spell that word for me, please?
 What was the name again? I didn’t catch it.

33. Problems!
 I’m sorry but it’s a very bad line. Could you phone
back in two minutes?
 I’m sorry but it’s a very bad line. Could you speak a
little louder, please?
 I’m sorry but I can’t make out what you’re saying.
Would you like to call later?
 I’m sorry but we seem to have been cut off last time.
If it happens again I’ll call you back.

35. Apologies again
 I’m very sorry about that.
 I’m sorry but you’ll have to talk to our manager about
that.
 I’ll put you through.
 I’ll give you her number.
 I’m very sorry about the delay / the mistake / the mix-
up / the damage
 Please accept our apologies for this.

37. Saying goodbye
 Anything else I can do for you?
 Is there anything else I can do for you Ms Ono / sir /
madam?
 That’s all, thank you.
 No, thank you very much.
 You’re welcome, and thanks for the order.

38. Saying goodbye
 Thank you for calling.
 We’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
 Have a nice day.
 You too, goodbye.
 Goodbye.

40. Thank you!

41. Reference
Communication for Business, by Birgit Abegg and Michael Benford.