25 Positive Words, Phrases and Empathy Statements

In a customer service environment, the language that we use can have a huge impact on how the customer perceives the service. In a sales environment this is even more critical. Here Pinaz Hansotia has pulled together the top 25 positive words, phrases and empathy statements that we can use to improve customer service.
(source: callcentrehelper)

Good things DO come in small packages

These little words should win medals, as adding any one of them into your conversation has the potential to transform average customer service into great customer service.

Positive Words

1. Definitely
2. Absolutely
3. Certainly
4. Fantastic

Example Use

•    I definitely will make sure that it gets sorted…
•    I absolutely agree…
•    I can certainly help you…
•    That is a fantastic alternative…
Some extras to use; Especially, Exactly, Marvellous, Delightful, Reassure

If you want to learn more about the power of word choice, follow our links below:

• Best words to use for building rapport
• Positive Words to Increase Customer Satisfaction
• The top 25 words to use on your CV
• The right words and phrases to use on a sales call

Everyday phrases

As a call centre representative, it is your job to make the customer feel at ease from the minute you say “hello”. Good use of these phrases will help to reassure your customer that you are the life-saving, sympathetic ear that they hoped for.
5. “Rest assured Mr……”
6. “I do understand the inconvenience you have faced……”
7. “I will be more than glad/ happy to assist you….”
8. “I will ensure that…”
9. “What I will do for you right away is……”
10. “I assure you I will try my best…..”
11. “I’m sorry for the inconvenience that you have faced, what I can do for you is ….”

For some phrases do’s and don’ts, follow our links below:

•    The five phrases a call centre manager SHOULD use
•    Five phrases a Call Centre Manager should never use

Empathy statements

When using the phone, empathy statements allow you to establish a connection with the person that you are communicating with. These statements create trust and mutual understanding, which can bring great benefits to customer service interactions.
12. “I would feel the same in your situation, but we will sort this out….”
13. “I know how frustrating it can be – let’s see how I can help you….”
For more information, please view our article with examples and guided commentary of empathy statements.

Handling upset customers

Handling calls from angry customers can be difficult, because if you get it wrong, you will lose the customer’s loyalty. So, it is important that call centre agents know how to show empathy, which can be done by incorporating the phrases below into the customer interaction.
14. “We always value customers who are keen to give us their feedback. I will be sure to pass on what you have told me to our managerial team…”
15. “I have experienced a similar problem recently, so I understand what you are saying. Let me see what I can do to help you out….”
For deeper insights, check out our article on the right words and phrases to say to an angry customer.

Advise… don’t patronise

It can be difficult to tell a customer what they need to do without coming across as patronising, especially when dealing with technical complaints. Yet, incorporating these phrases into your vocabulary can help you to overcome this and create a more positive customer experience.
16. “I would suggest / I recommend…..”
17. “To avoid a similar inconvenience in future I request you to….”

From A to B with a smile

When giving out over-the-phone instructions, it is your job to make the process as easy as possible. Try weaving the following phrases into your conversation to help your customer get from A to B with a smile on their face.
18. “All you need to do is to just….”
19. “A simple way / method to change it will be to…..”
20. “As soon as you receive…”

Smooth Selling

Whilst dealing with a customer complaint, it may also be part of your job to sell up other areas of the business. Here are some useful phrases to help you seal the deal.
21. “We have a variety of …..’
22. “It’s a wonderful service where instead of _______, you can ____________ …..’
23. “This is the best plan/scheme for your requirements…..’
Further information on this subject can be found in our article “Top Tips for Selling Over the Phone“.

Positive Scripting

Positive scripting is the process of designing a script to ensure that you do not frustrate or anger your customers. So, all of the above words and phrases would work well in this format.
However, you should make sure that your customers know what not to say and give them positive alternatives in the script, just like in the two examples below.
Instead of, “I don’t know/I’m not sure”, say… 24. “Let me find out for you….”
Instead of, “If you check our website…”, say… 25. “I can email you a link to the webpage, so…”
For further details on this topic, visit our article on “How to Create a Positive Scripting Experience in Your Contact Centre”
To find out more phrases which you should avoid, read our piece on “11 Things a Call Centre Agent Should Never Say (But Many Do)”

Suggestions sent in by our readers

Feel Felt Found
The old ‘Feel Felt Found’ approach – it’s an old one, but a great one. It works well in sales scripts, but can be used in a variety of ways…

• Mr/s customer, I know how you FEEL….
• Many of our happiest customers FELT the same way…
• However, what they FOUND, after XXX is….

Or with an unhappy incoming call..

• Mr Customer I understand how you FEEL…
• Something similar happened to me and I FELT the same way…
• What I FOUND and I hope this will be the same for you is…
• And then you can get on to your proposed solution.

– Thanks to Chris Wood for sending this in
The -LY Ending

This is a little known persuasion secret by all but the major corps and their marketing agencies.
Surprisingly, if you start a sentance with a word ending in LY then what follows is regarded as truth and is very hard to object to.
For example…
Interestingly this is what other customers have…
Naturally my goal is to make sure…
Amazingly we were able to…
Just look at some of the statements used by big PLC’s
Exceedingly good cakes
Probably the best lager in the world
– Thanks to Gary May 
Fantastic, Great and Marvelous

Words such as Fantastic, Great, Marvelous are positive words and are definately appropriate during a telephone conversation. They help the agent to sound upbeat and interested in helping the customer.

Agent; Could I please take your telephone number Mr Jones?
Customer; I can give you my mobile number if that’s ok?
Agent; That would be fantastic, thank you.

Such positive words bring great energy to a call, and yes , ok, they may be over the top, but you’ll never hear a customer complain about how the agent was too positive or upbeat.
– Thanks to Melanie
A personal touch
I have found that the personal touch is really good. If you can get the agents to really believe in the company and its values, then every call will sound sincere. The last
thing a customer wants to hear (and trust me, they can tell) is a robotic agent who is just saying what they have to.
If you can get your agents to realise that the customer is a person, not a problem, they will enjoy each call more, and this will show in an increase in performance.
– Thanks to Grace
Don’t forget tone and expression
One of the most important thing to remember while on a call is that the person on the other side can actually see you. Your expression while thanking ,encouraging or even apologising to the customer should be the same as if talking face to face.
Your tone and expression should be genuine as fake words come out fake.
Remember a customer would always be interested to talk to some one who shows warmth and compassion. It has always worked for me and the genuine comments received at the end of the call gives me a ‘High’ which reflects in next so many calls.