11 Phrases Every Customer Service Agent Should Know

Did you know that the average customer service agent in the United States can expect to handle up to 100 calls per day?* That leaves a lot of room for unexpected questions to come up and stump even the most experienced agents.

Even if you’re confident in your customer service team, or your own knowledge, it can be stressful and challenging to think on your feet all the time. This is especially true if you’re dealing with calls all day.

That’s why having a handy list of excellent customer service phrases in your back pocket is so useful. It lets you stay consistent with customer service excellence while adapting to specific customer needs on the fly. 

Check out our top 11 phrases that can instantly improve your customer service calls and boost both call center performance and customer loyalty. 

Key takeaways: 

• Customer service representatives often need to manage calls in rapid succession, and it can be challenging and stressful to know how to respond to unexpected customer concerns.  
  
• Keeping a list of the best customer service phrases helps boost agent confidence, reduce stress, and improve consistency, response times, problem-solving capability, and training.
  
• The most useful phrases reassure customers and demonstrate professionalism and active listening within your support team. They invite the caller to speak, ensure they feel heard, and are solution-focused.

Why Keep a List of Useful Customer Service Phrases?

Having a go-to list of handy customer service phrases isn’t about reducing support interactions to automatic, robotic conversations. In fact, it’s the opposite!

Doing so helps you deliver a better, more confident, and more helpful service because it:

• Ensures consistent communication. Using similar phrases across multiple calls means you can provide a consistently high level of service over time.
  
• Reduces stress and boosts confidence. If you know you have a handy list of customer service phrases to refer to during calls, you’ll feel prepared and ready no matter what unexpected issues come up.
  
• Improves agent response time. Having a practiced list of go-to responses makes it easier for you to answer questions quickly and hit the ground running with every single call.
  
• Makes it easier to solve problems effectively. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel for every call or waste time going back and forth about the same problems and solutions. If you know what to say, you’ll be able to solve all problems quickly and thoroughly.
  
• Helps with training and development. Giving new hires a useful list of phrases helps them get up to speed quickly and shows them what to aim for.
  
• Supports you in handling difficult conversations. It’s normal for agents to feel anxious when a customer is upset or angry. But if they have tried-and-tested, pre-written phrases they can refer to in these situations, it’ll be easier for them to stay calm and professional.

11 Key Phrases to Improve Customer Support Interactions

Keeping these 11 common phrases in your back pocket will improve your customer service game and make answering call after call much less stressful. You can use them as they are or as templates to tweak and make your own.

1. “How Can I Assist You Today?”

This phrase is a better alternative to simply saying hello or the name of the company when you answer. It instantly invites the customer to share and positions you as someone who can and wants to help. It sets you up for good customer service and a strong talk/listen ratio, where you ask thoughtful questions, give the customer lots of time and space to respond, and listen actively.

Example

“Good morning, this is John speaking. I see that you’re having issues with your connection. How can I assist you with that today?”

2. “I Understand How You Feel.”

This phrase shows empathy and validates the customer’s emotions without necessarily agreeing with them or admitting fault. It also gives you a chance to pause and consider the best step forward. It may be enough to de-escalate the situation as the customer feels reassured that you’re hearing them. 

Example

“I understand how you feel. Waiting three days for a fix is very frustrating.”

3. “Let Me Find That Information for You.”

This phrase shows that you’re taking a proactive approach to resolving the issue at hand and ensures that the customer doesn’t feel like they’re hanging on the line uselessly while you work. Letting the person know what you’re doing as they wait is very reassuring, and using call center software to find customer details quickly is a great way to improve call center performance overall.

Example

“No problem, let me find that information for you. It may take me a minute. Do you mind if I put you on hold?”

4. “I’m Sorry for the Inconvenience.”

This phrase may sound obvious, but it can be easy to forget to apologize when you’re in problem-solving mode and focused on improving your call center metrics. It acknowledges responsibility, which can diffuse the situation, but also demonstrates empathy for the caller so they feel heard and understood.

Example

“I’m so sorry for the inconvenience this has caused you. You’re right to be reaching out. This is not the level of service we aim to provide.”

5. “I’ll Make Sure This Gets Resolved as Quickly as Possible.”

This phrase shows the caller you’re taking charge of the situation and are personally working to address it. It also reassures them that their issue is a priority and that they won’t be waiting much longer for assistance. When a customer knows that someone is working to address their problem, it’s often enough to diffuse the situation and buy the agent more time to find a good solution.

Example

“I understand your frustration at being passed between departments. I’ll make sure your issue gets resolved as quickly as possible. Ideally, on this call.”

6. “Thank You for Your Patience.”

Another easy-to-forget phrase that can go a long way in terms of impressing the caller and reassuring them that you’re handling their issue competently. Saying this shows that you’re aware of the inconvenience that a long wait time can cause and conveys a high level of professionalism. Use it with a real-time dashboard tool to keep customer waiting times to a minimum.

Example

“Hello, thank you for your patience while I checked that for you. I can confirm that we’ll have a solution within the next two hours.”

7. “Is There Anything Else I Can Help You With?”

This phrase is a great way to close an interaction as it shows your continued willingness to help. It also invites the customer to share any other issue they may be having and leaves the conversation open for them to ask follow-up questions if needed.

Example

“Thank you so much for getting in touch today. Is there anything else I can help you with, or will that be all for now?”

8. “Let Me Confirm the Details to Ensure Accuracy.”

This phrase buys you more time on a call if you need to check some information or find notes about a customer while also demonstrating your professionalism and attention to detail. It serves the dual purpose of giving you time to verify important details while also impressing a potentially upset customer with your thoroughness.

Example

“OK, thank you for sharing that. Let me confirm the details to ensure accuracy and make sure I’m looking at the right page before we move forward with an alternative solution.”

9. “I Appreciate Your Feedback.”

This is a great way to respond to customer feedback, suggestions, or complaints and could even appease someone who’s angry or confrontational. Say it sincerely to show that you’re really listening to their words and that their input is important so you can continue to grow as a professional.

Example

“I appreciate your feedback. Honest perspectives from our customers really help us improve. I’ll be sure to share this with my manager, and we’ll integrate it moving forward.”

10. “You’ll Receive a Follow-Up From Us Soon.”

This is very reassuring for the customer, even if you’re unable to solve their issue in a single call. They’ll come away from the conversation feeling that you’re on top of the situation and that they haven’t been forgotten. (Of course, only say this if you definitely can and will follow up!) Consider engaging call center automation tools to schedule follow-ups and ensure nothing gets missed.

Example

“I can confirm that I’ve made that change. You’ll receive a follow-up from us within the next 48 hours to check everything is still going smoothly. Does that work for you?”

11. “I Can Offer You [Solution] to Resolve This Issue.”

This phrase is a winner as it gets straight to the point and offers the person a clear resolution. Be sure to acknowledge and define the customer’s issue first. Then, move ahead to the solution as rapidly as possible. You’ll appear professional, capable, and solution-oriented.

Example

“I appreciate how frustrating it is that your parcel hasn’t arrived even though you paid for overnight delivery. I can offer you a refund on the shipping costs and 10% off your next order.”

The Power of Building a Handy Customer Service ‘Cheat Sheet’

Having a list of tried-and-tested customer service phrases on hand is useful for all agents. That includes new team members who might not be used to handling tricky conversations and veteran employees who are always looking to improve the quality of their company’s customer experience. 

And if you really want to take your organization’s customer experience to the next level, consider adopting a CX platform like CloudTalk. With powerful Customer Details, Call Notes, Call Tagging, and Skills-Based Routing features, you can make sure agents have all the information they need to solve customer’s issues quickly and thoroughly every time.

Sources

*LiveAgent, 2024