Dealing with People - Words to Avoid

Home
>
Customer Service
>
Dealing with People - Words to Avoid

Dealing with People - Words to Avoid

You probably realise how the wrong tone of voice and negative body language can cause problems when dealing with other people, particularly customers and staff. However, using the wrong words can also cause problems.

There are certain "trigger" words that cause people to become more difficult especially in emotionally charged situations and they should be avoided. These include:

* Have to - as in - "You'll have to speak to the sales department yourself"

*I can't or you can't - as in - "I can't do anything about that" or "You can't do that"

*I'll try - as in - "I'll try and speak to finance department today"

*But - as in - "I agree with what you're saying but??.."

*Sorry - as in - "I'm sorry 'bout that"

"What DO I say I hear you cry?"

Instead of the words "Have to" which are very controlling type words, why not try - "Are you willing to?" or just a straight - "Will you?."

Can't, can be replaced with - "I'm unable to because?."

"I'll try," which is pretty wishy-washy, can be replaced with something more honest - "This is what I can do" or "This is what I'm unable to do"

"But" is a word that contradicts what was said before it, replace it with - "And" or "However" (which is a soft 'but')

Instead of saying "but" you could leave it out altogether. For example; instead of - "I agree with what you're saying but I can't help you" use - "I agree with what you're saying. The reason I'm unable to help you is??"

At the end of the day the answer to a customer or one of your staff could be -"no"- however, choosing your words more carefully will have a more positive affect on how he or she reacts and ultimately responds to you.

"Sorry" is one of the words to avoid because it is so overused and it's lost its value. Think of the number of times you've complained or commented about something and you hear - "Sorry 'bout that." If you're going to use the "sorry" word then you need to use it as part of a whole sentence - "I'm sorry you've been receiving so many complaints Mary."

Sometimes it's appropriate to use the word 'apologise' instead of 'sorry.' "I apologise for not getting you that information sooner."

For smoother interactions, take care with the words you use.

Discover how you can generate more business by motivating your team! Alan Fairweather is the author of "How to get More Sales by Motivating Your Team" This book is packed with practical things you can do to get the best out of your people. Visit http://www.howtogetmoresales.com

In The News:

APAC Customer Services Expands in Panama
MarketWatch (press release)
BANNOCKBURN, IL, May 23, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- APAC Customer Services, Inc. (APAC) announced the opening of a new, state of the art contact center in Panama. The new site commenced operations on May 17th. The opening included a gala event and ...

Bottomline Technologies Named 2012 Quality Service Provider of the Year
MarketWatch (press release)
The Awards, sponsored by the Institute of Customer Service, highlight and reward organizations and individuals that have implemented successful customer service strategies. The participants in this prestigious event include many of the largest ...

and more »

Moneycontrol.com
Vodafone Wants to Replicate Amazon's Customer Service Success
Wall Street Journal (blog)
“Vodafone wants to be the Amazon of telecos,” not in terms of selling but rather top-class customer service, Mr. Colao told reporters at a lunchtime briefing. The UK-based company plans to refit 75% of its 2200 stores around the world by 2015 to give ...
Vodafone CEO details 'Supermobile' strategy to mimic AmazonFierceWireless

all 58 news articles »

Augusta T-Mobile customer service center not affected by restructuring
The Augusta Chronicle
By Gracie Shepherd T-Mobile announced a corporate restructuring plan this week that will result in 350 net job reduction, but it will not effect the Augusta customer service center. Approximately 900 positions are being eliminated as a result of these ...
T-Mobile in Springfield holding hiring eventKSPR

all 2 news articles »

Is Your Customer Service Multichannel?
Huffington Post
The Challenge: Just as businesses must provide customers with a wide variety of marketing channels to choose from, they must allow a choice of multiple service channels. As we've discussed previously, multichannel marketing enables delivery of messages ...

and more »

Rio Bank Enhances Customer Service and Teller Efficiency with Self-Service ...
MarketWatch (press release)
The Cummins Allison self-service coin counter has helped Rio Bank differentiate themselves from other banks in their market, deliver personalized customer service and streamline teller efficiency. Prior to the coin counter, tellers used a mostly manual ...

and more »

Customer Service Rep
WEAU-TV 13
The cost per job listing is a mere fraction of similar services, while reaching a substantial local audience. To list a job, please click the "Post a Job" icon. All job listings will remain on the Job Board for 30 days. WEAU 13 News will archive all ...

and more »

Coveo Survey of Customer Care Executives Finds Customers, Executives and ...
MarketWatch (press release)
In the survey of more than 120 customer service and support executives conducted April 17 at the 2012 Customer Care Leadership Forum in New York, only 15 percent reported that their customers, if asked, would say that they could get to information they ...
Companies Lack Contextual Customer Data1to1 Media (blog)

all 3 news articles »

SciQuest Names Customer Service and Operations Management Leader Teresa B ...
MarketWatch (press release)
Jamison brings more than 23 years of experience and proven success in customer service and training and operations management at leading healthcare IT organizations to SciQuest. As vice president of customer operations, she will lead SciQuest's ...

and more »

Marketron Focuses on Customer With Company Realignment
Sacramento Bee
By Marketron HAILEY, Idaho, May 23, 2012 -- /PRNewswire/ -- Marketron, the leading provider of software solutions and services for the media industry, today announced a reorganization of its leadership team to better serve and support its customers and ...
Marketron reorganizes senior-level management into sales and client serviceRadio-Info.com

all 16 news articles »

Google News