Customer Service English: Handling Misunderstandings with Customers
Summary
TLDRThis video script focuses on equipping customer service representatives with essential English phrases to clarify issues, correct misunderstandings, and avoid further confusion, especially when English is not their first language. It covers key phrases for seeking clarification, restating to confirm understanding, acknowledging and empathizing with customers, and resolving issues. The goal is to provide viewers with practical language tools to manage customer misunderstandings effectively.
Takeaways
- 😀 Misunderstandings in customer service can lead to frustration and further issues if not handled properly.
- 🗣️ Key English phrases can help clarify issues, correct misunderstandings, and avoid confusion when dealing with customers.
- 🔍 To get clarification, start by stating your goal of understanding, such as 'I want to make sure I understand you're saying...'
- 🗣️ Use phrases like 'Just to make sure I understand, you're saying...' to restate what the customer has said and ensure understanding.
- 📝 If more information is needed, politely ask for elaboration with 'Could you elaborate a bit more so that I can assist you better?'
- 🔄 Use 'Could you please repeat that?' to ask for repetition of what was said, showing attentiveness.
- 🔍 'Could you please clarify what you mean by that?' is a way to ask for specificity when something is unclear.
- 🗣️ Restate and confirm understanding with phrases like 'If I understand correctly, you need...' to move towards resolving the issue.
- 🙏 Show empathy and acknowledge the customer's experience with 'Thank you for bringing this to my attention' or 'I appreciate your patience as we sort this out'.
- 🔚 Use 'Now that I think I understand the issue, let's see what we can do to resolve it' to transition from understanding to resolving the issue.
Q & A
What is the main focus of the video script?
-The main focus of the video script is to teach key English phrases that can help clarify issues, correct misunderstandings, and avoid further confusion in customer service situations.
Why is it more challenging to deal with misunderstandings when English isn't your first language?
-It's more challenging because language barriers can lead to misinterpretations and difficulties in expressing oneself clearly, which can exacerbate misunderstandings and frustrations.
What is the first step suggested in the script to handle a misunderstanding with a customer?
-The first step is to get clarification by using phrases like 'I want to make sure I understand you're saying that...' to ensure that you have correctly understood the customer's issue.
How can you restate what the customer has said to ensure you've understood correctly?
-You can restate by saying 'Just to make sure I understand, you're saying...' followed by your understanding of the customer's issue in your own words.
What is a polite way to ask for more information or further explanation from a customer?
-A polite way to ask for more information is to say 'Could you elaborate a bit more so that I can assist you better?'
How can you confirm that you have correctly understood the customer's issue?
-You can confirm by restating the issue and asking the customer to agree, using phrases like 'If I understand correctly, you need... Is that correct?'
What is the purpose of apologizing after resolving a misunderstanding?
-Apologizing acknowledges the occurrence of the misunderstanding, shows empathy, and helps to maintain a positive relationship with the customer.
How can you show empathy when a customer is frustrated or has been waiting?
-You can show empathy by saying 'I appreciate your patience as we sort this out' or 'I understand this has been frustrating.'
What is the suggested transition phrase to move from understanding the issue to resolving it?
-The suggested transition phrase is 'Now that I think I understand the issue, let's see what we can do to resolve it.'
How can you express gratitude to a customer for providing clarification?
-You can express gratitude by saying 'Thank you for clarifying' or 'Thank you for providing more details.'
What does the phrase 'on the same page' mean in the context of customer service?
-In the context of customer service, 'on the same page' means that both the customer service representative and the customer have a shared understanding of the issue at hand.
Outlines
🗣️ Clarifying Misunderstandings in Customer Service
This paragraph discusses the common challenges in customer service communication, particularly when English is not the customer's first language. It emphasizes the importance of using key English phrases to clarify issues, correct misunderstandings, and prevent further confusion. The video aims to equip viewers with language tools to manage misunderstandings effectively by the end. The speaker introduces various phrases for seeking clarification, such as 'I want to make sure I understand you're saying that...', 'Just to make sure I understand, you're saying...', and 'Could you elaborate a bit more so that I can assist you better?' These phrases are intended to help service representatives ensure they fully grasp the customer's issue before attempting to resolve it.
🔄 Resolving Misunderstandings and Confirming Understanding
The second paragraph focuses on how to restate customer issues to confirm understanding before resolving them. It suggests phrases like 'If I understand correctly, you need...' and 'Just to confirm, you're asking for...' to ensure that there is no ongoing misunderstanding. The speaker also introduces ways to acknowledge and show empathy after a misunderstanding has been resolved, using phrases such as 'I apologize for the misunderstanding' and 'Thank you for bringing this to my attention.' These expressions are meant to convey acknowledgment of the issue and appreciation for the customer's patience, which can help maintain a positive interaction despite the confusion.
🔧 Moving from Misunderstanding to Resolution
The final paragraph provides language tools for transitioning from resolving a misunderstanding to addressing the issue at hand. It introduces the phrase 'Now that...' as a way to indicate the move to the next step, such as 'Now that I think I understand the issue, let's see what we can do to resolve it.' The speaker also suggests more conversational alternatives like 'Now that we're on the same page, let's move on.' Additionally, the paragraph covers expressions of gratitude for customer clarification, such as 'Thank you for clarifying,' and simple confirmations like 'Got it,' which can be used in ongoing, complex interactions. The goal is to guide service representatives through the process of moving past misunderstandings and towards effective issue resolution.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Misunderstandings
💡Clarification
💡Restate
💡Empathy
💡Acknowledge
💡Frustration
💡Resolve
💡Language Tools
💡Customer Service
💡Polite Request
💡Transition Phrase
Highlights
Misunderstandings in customer service can lead to frustration and further confusion, especially when English is not the customer's first language.
The video focuses on English phrases that help clarify issues, correct misunderstandings, and avoid confusion in customer service interactions.
Viewers will learn language tools to manage misunderstandings effectively by the end of the video.
To resolve misunderstandings, it's important to start by seeking clarification to ensure mutual understanding.
Formal and informal ways to confirm understanding are discussed, such as rephrasing the customer's statement.
Using phrases like 'just to make sure I understand' helps in getting clarification.
The video suggests using 'could you elaborate' or 'could you add a bit more' to ask for more information politely.
Asking customers to repeat information can be done politely with 'could you please repeat that'.
To clarify specific points, the video recommends saying 'could you please clarify what you mean by that'.
Restating the customer's issue is a way to confirm understanding before moving to resolve the issue.
Phrases like 'if I understand correctly' and 'just to confirm' are useful for restating and confirming understanding.
The video emphasizes the importance of acknowledging and showing empathy after resolving a misunderstanding.
Apologizing for misunderstandings and showing appreciation for the customer's patience can help maintain a positive interaction.
Using phrases like 'I understand this has been frustrating' can empathize with the customer's feelings.
Transition phrases such as 'now that we're on the same page' help move the conversation from misunderstanding to resolution.
The video suggests thanking the customer for their clarification before proceeding to resolve the issue.
Understanding the issue and expressing it simply helps in transitioning to the resolution process.
Using conversational phrases like 'got it' can be effective in complex or long interactions where understanding has been established.
The video concludes by summarizing the language tools needed to clear up misunderstandings, restate and confirm, acknowledge and empathize, and resolve the issue.
Transcripts
in customer service misunderstandings
can happen easily and for many different
reasons and often cause unnecessary
frustration for customers which can then
lead to more misunderstandings and more
frustrations which is not good it's even
more difficult when English isn't your
first language in this video we're going
to focus on key English phrases that can
help you clarify issues correct
misunderstandings and avoid further
confusion when dealing with customers by
the end of this video you're going to
have the language tools that you need to
manage
misunderstandings clearly and
effectively so I hope you're ready let's
get into
it when we're dealing with customers and
there's a misunderstanding whole
thing misunderstanding we may want to
try to get clarification so let's start
with some of the language that we may
need that we may use to get
clarification to resolve a
misunderstanding you might say I want to
make sure I understand you're saying
that when you say this you're stating
your goal first in other words why am I
saying you're saying that right
well because I have the goal of wanting
to make sure I understand so you start
with that now that could be seen as a
little bit formal a slightly less formal
more conversational way to say that
might be just to make sure I understand
you're saying now we're going to be
looking at in a moment some ways to
restate what the customer has said and
that's very similar but this is just to
make sure that we've understood what the
customer said so just to make sure I
understand and then you say your
understanding right what you understood
basically in your words you explain it
so you could say you're saying that you
could say I think the issue is you can
basically start that any way you like
but I want to make sure and just to make
sure are great ways to State your
purpose okay now if you want to simplify
that and make it even more
conversational you could say okay so
what you're saying is now you want to be
careful with this this could be
sometimes seen as too casual but if you
want to just quickly check your
understanding this is a good way to do
it now if you need more information or
further explanation you might say could
you elaborate a bit more so that I can
assist you better better now elaborate
is a you know slightly more formal
sounding word but it can be a good way
to ask for more detail so I think I
understand but I need more explanation
or further information right so
elaborate you could instead if you want
say add could you add a bit more so that
I can assist you better now that so that
I can assist you or so I can assist you
better part I would say is optional
right that one makes it even more formal
you can use that or leave it off that is
up to you now notice this could you this
is a very polite way a very gentle way
to ask for things if you just say add
more
elaborate it could be seen as a little
direct and almost like a command but
could you oh it's very indirect and
gentle sounding and sounds very polite
could you give me a bit more detail that
is the same thing but in a slightly more
conversational sort of tone it feels a
little bit more familiar I personally
like that one better could you give me a
bit more detail could you please repeat
that is similar except now I'm not
asking for more detail more information
I maybe didn't hear you or I missed one
part of what you said or I just want to
hear it again could you please repeat
that is a great way to basically say
once again please say it again but but
could you please repeat it is of course
much more polite right could you please
clarify what you mean by that again this
sounds similar but it's a little
different could you please clarify
clarify means make it more clear but I'm
asking about something specific clarify
what you mean by that by what well what
you just said maybe you said 10
different things and I want to
understand the last thing if I want to
say which thing I'll say could you
please clarify what you meant by B so
you said a b c and d and I want you to
clarify what you meant by b and then
they'll hopefully say it again or even
better say it in a different way so that
you can really understand okay so now we
have some language for trying to resolve
a misunderstanding to get clarification
before you then go on to resolve an
issue now this is similar but slightly
different what if we just want to
restate in order to confirm so here I'm
pretty sure I understand I don't think
we have a misunderstanding but I want to
just say it and then have you say yes
that's right so this is where I want to
restate and confirm so that we can move
on to solving the issue so if I
understand correctly you need you're
looking for you're hoping to right
you're struggling with so if I
understand correctly and a similar
phrase to what we've already looked at
just to confirm you're asking for right
before we talked about just to make sure
I understand so there we're we're
dealing with understanding perhaps a
misunderstanding here I'm not dealing
with that I want to
confirm I think I understand but I just
want you to say yes that's right just to
confirm very useful just to confirm
you're saying you're asking for you need
right and then just say what it is
restate it say what the problem is say
what you understand now you could cut
off the just part you can use to by
itself or just to and either is okay so
you could say for example to clarify
you're interested in you're looking for
you're trying to right you can say just
to clarify you're interested in you're
looking for also okay right you could
say to recap you're looking for you're
interested in you need to now this is
different when I say to confirm all I'm
saying is this is what I understand the
issue is and you say yes that's right to
clarify I want to say this is what I'm
pretty sure you said and you say yes
that's right so that's very similar if I
say to
recap that's a little different now I'm
going to go back and go over everything
so you said a b c and d to recap you're
looking for a b C and D is that
everything yes okay now let's move on
okay so very similar in a lot of ways
but with a slightly different goal so
now you know how to restate and confirm
what about acknowledging and showing
empathy how can we do that so let's say
we've had a misunderstanding and now
we're working to we're working to move
on to the next step because we've solved
it right we've resolved the
misunderstanding here you might still
apologize oh I apologize for the
misunderstanding I apologize basically
saying listen I'm sorry that happened
maybe that's right when it happened or
maybe after you've actually figured out
where the misunderstanding was then you
can move on just to sort of say hey I'm
acknowledging that it happened I'm sorry
now you might State what it is oh I see
where the confusion came from you were
looking at an old version of something I
see where the confusion came from I
apologize for the
misunderstanding then again we move on
to the solution so these are just ways
to acknowledge now if there is this
issue and you want to just quickly show
empathy and acknowledge that the issue
is there you might say something like
thank you for bringing this to my
attention or I appreciate your patience
as we sort this out thank you for
bringing this to my attention is
essentially saying well it's good that
you said something now we can fix it for
you now we can resolve it this is a way
to make sure they don't feel that you're
annoyed by them having a problem I
appreciate your patience is slightly
different I appreciate that you're
willing to work with me on this to maybe
wait on hold if we need to do that right
I appreciate your patience as we sort
this out so this is something we're
doing together right and if you want to
basically say when someone is a little
angry or frustrated I understand this
has been frustrating there you're just
Again empathizing by
acknowledging that they don't feel very
happy okay so now we have some ways to
acknowledge things and empathize when
the customer is waiting or when they
feel frustrated or when they simply
bring an issue up now finally we need to
resolve the issue so how can we do that
one very useful little phrase that we
can use is now that think of this as a
transition phrase now that this has
happened the next thing can happen
extremely useful now that I think I
understand the issue let's see what we
can do to resolve it now that's a little
formal sounding just a little bit formal
but it helps to say well this has been
fixed what the the misunderstanding in
we can now go on to the solution right
it's it's a great way to basically State
we're moving on from step one to step
two we're moving on from one thing to
another right now this is a little
formal so if you wanted to let's say
make it more conversational you could
say now that we're on the same page
let's move on on the same page means we
have a shared understanding we seemed to
have a misunderstanding before it was
due to this reason but now that we're on
the same page let's move on let's do
this let's solve this let's figure this
out I think I can help you right so
again we're using now that as a little
transition phrase okay what if we want
to just thank them for we've asked for
clarification we've asked for more
details we want to thank them for that
before moving on simply say thank you
thank you for
clarifying thank you for clarifying let
me put you on a brief hold while I check
that for you okay so we had a
misunderstanding a slight one I wasn't
sure I asked for more details I asked
for clarification you provided that as
the customer thank you thank you for
doing that now let's do this it's very
simple right okay now what if I want to
say that I understand the issue I want
to say kind of what the issue was or
where it came from and then I want to
move on right this is a little bit more
involved than saying now that I
understand the issue better now or if
you want to make it less confident I
think I understand the issue better now
okay then I think we were just looking
at different pages maybe you were
looking at one page and I was looking at
another and it caused a misunderstanding
so now I've said basically the cause you
want to be careful here not to blame
you're doing the wrong thing I think we
were just looking at different pages
okay we've resolved that let's move on
to the next step or let's move to the
next step now if we want to say
something very quick and simple maybe
we're in a long process and there are
many many many little steps and pieces
in that process and we want to just say
I understand instead of saying I
understand the issue better now which is
a little formal we might simply say got
it got it let me correct that for you
right we're going through a form
together I wrote something down
incorrectly you noticed it you said no
it's actually this I say okay got it let
me correct that for you this is could be
seen as very conversational but again
probably more natural when we're really
working together for a long period of
time or on something complex if you
every time say I understand thank you
very much for explaining that that could
make the customer feel a little
uncomfortable all right so we have
covered the language that you need to
clear up misunderstanding standings to
restate and confirm to acknowledge and
empathize and to finally actually
resolve the issue once we have cleared
up the misunderstanding that is it for
this video if you have any questions
about any of the language that we've
covered or if you want to try your own
examples put those in the comments if
you haven't already done so and you
enjoyed the video make sure to hit the
like button and subscribe to see future
videos and of course check out my full
English courses including customer
service English in the links in the
description I will see you in the next
one
[Music]
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