{"id":10479,"date":"2017-08-02T05:36:38","date_gmt":"2017-08-02T05:36:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.proprofs.com\/c\/?p=10479"},"modified":"2025-02-24T05:07:54","modified_gmt":"2025-02-24T05:07:54","slug":"customer-service-phrases-to-avoid-during-live-chat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.proprofschat.com\/blog\/customer-service-phrases-to-avoid-during-live-chat\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Things Never to Say to a Customer on Live Chat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

My first full-time job as a grown-up was into customer service<\/a>. And I\u2019ll never forget that first time I literally got an earful from my manager, and rightly so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was hired to work as a live chat operator for a computer hardware store, and like most other young people, I was super confident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, one fine day, a website visitor initiated a chat and asked if we carried a [specific brand of] computer graphic cards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am sorry,\u201d I wrote back confidently, \u201cwe don\u2019t sell those.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I knew everything (like I said, I was young, confident), and I was sure the store didn\u2019t sell that particular brand of graphics cards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A brief pause, and the visitor queried again: \u201cAre you sure? I think I got those from your store the last time I was there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNope,\u201d I responded back, sending her a link to the page that mentioned all the brands we did offer. \u201cAll we have is right over here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another brief pause and the visitor terminated the chat without another word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I walked in for work the next day, my manager called me in for a word. The visitor, as it turned out, was the Purchasing Manager for a big IT firm responsible for tens of thousands of dollars of computer hardware orders every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And as it was, he had made a call to my boss, unhappy about his chat with some operator the other day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those graphics cards? We did not sell them in-store, but we did offer them as they were a special order item!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had no idea, but as it turned out, THAT wasn\u2019t my mistake. The mistake that I had made was I offered a straight \u201cNo\u201d to a potential customer. If only I was smart enough call up my manager\u2014or for that matter, anyone who had been working there longer myself\u2014the customer\u2019s experience would have been very, very different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I learned an important lesson that day: in customer service, you simply don\u2019t say \u201cNo\u201d. Phrases like that can only make a customer experience bad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over time, I have learned a few more lessons and in this post, I am going to share the 10 things that you should never say to a customer on live chat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>1. \u201cThat\u2019s not possible \/ That\u2019impossible\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Roughly translated, this phrase amounts to a (rather rude) \u201cWe are not going do this for you,\u201d or \u201cI don\u2019t want to help you out.\u201d
Instead of making a statement, what works better in a scenario like this, is to thank the customer for the suggestion he has made. Make them feel you genuinely appreciate their inputs and that their suggestions will be forwarded to the relevant department to improve the product\/service further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThank you for the feedback, that does sound like a wonderful feature to have,\u201d or a \u201cMy apologies, but this feature isn\u2019t currently available with our products,\u201d sounds a whole lot better.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>2. \u201cI already said that \/ I just explained this to you\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Another rude way to tell the customer \u201cWere you even listening when I explained the whole thing to you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not all customers are created equal. There will be times when a hapless customer repeats the same query\/problem all over again. If you do want to have the customer refer to a piece of information relayed earlier, you can always say:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPlease refer to the details [about the issue] I posted above\u201d, or<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn order to resolve this issue, you need to\u2026 I mentioned it above\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another effective way to work on repetitive questions is to rephrase your answer without asking the customer to refer to your previous response. There\u2019s a chance the customer did not grasp it when you answered it the first time, so rephrasing might be the trick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read: 10 Best Live Chat Software for Your Business in 2024<\/a><\/strong><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>3. \u201cIt\u2019s Not Our Fault\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
If the customer is unhappy about something, and you would still like to retain them as a happy customer (well, who wouldn\u2019t), always keep in mind: the customer is always right!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It doesn\u2019t matter whose fault it was, to begin with. And while it\u2019s tempting, never pass the buck on, especially, back to the customer. You do need to provide him with the facts, but at the same time, take the ownership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You see, as a customer, they are under your protection. The first order of business is to empathize with them and walk in their shoes. It\u2019s your responsibility to make things right irrespective of whosoever was responsible for the problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this case, start with an apology. Even if weren\u2019t the cause of the customer\u2019s unhappiness, you can still be genuinely apologetic for the situation he is in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once you have apologized, get on to making things right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>4. \u201cYou\u2019ll have to \/ You must\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Phrases like these make you sound like you are giving out orders. As a chat operator, you need to demonstrate humility if you want to win over your customers. Try to act as an advisor, offering suggestions and instructions, not orders:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you can do this for me,\u201d \u201cI will need you to,\u201d \u201cYou will need to,\u201d \u201cOK, so here\u2019s what needs to be done\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>5. \u201cI don\u2019t know\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Honesty may be the best policy in most situations, but when it comes to live chat support<\/a>, you might want to stop being brutally honest. I am not asking you to be dishonest though, just that there are better ways to admit your ignorance! So you could instead say something like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m not sure, but let me figure that out for you.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou know what, that is a great question; let me find out for you.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m afraid I don\u2019t have the complete information on this. May I put you on hold for a few minutes while I confirm this with our technical department?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>6. \u201cThat\u2019s not my job\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Being rude again here, are we? Let\u2019s face it: one out of every ten customers will ask you something that\u2019s way out of your scope. Well, instead of telling them to find someone whose job it is to respond appropriately, go ahead and do it yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Find someone in the organization who can help them and transfer the chat over to them. Or assure them of someone contacting them as soon as possible. So let\u2019s see how to go about that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am sorry, but this question is beyond my expertise, but Johnathan from tech support should be able to help you with that. Would you like me to connect you with him?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the other hand, if the customer insists for something that they ought to be doing themselves, the only option is to help them do it. If you can\u2019t, direct them to an alternative solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>7. \u201cSorry, that\u2019s against our policy\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Policies can be useful, as they help your support team build better relationships with your customers. But policies should not be used as excuses. Good customer service is much more than just rules and policies \u2013 it’s a philosophy.
If whatever the customer is asking for cannot be done, don\u2019t try and the word \u201cpolicy\u201d as an excuse. Instead, offer them a logical explanation on why it is not possible for you to do something and try to convince them that it\u2019s in their own best interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s an example:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Customer: \u201cCould you remove this feature from my account?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead of telling them \u201cSorry, that\u2019s against our policy\u201d, say:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chat Support Representative: \u201cI am sorry, Andy, I am not authorized to make this change. In order to ensure our customers\u2019 security and privacy, the [feature] is allowed to be modified only by the account administrator<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s another real-world example that does a great job:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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These motel rules are a great example of building trust by explaining why. Build a human business. pic.twitter.com\/PpS9AAaupr<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014 Brendan Schwartz (@brendan) June 11, 2016<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n