This Business English Pod lesson is the second of a two-part series on telephone skills and dealing with customers on the phone.

When you’re helping a caller on the phone, unexpected things can happen. You might need to get some additional information from another source or have the caller to speak to someone else. Or, there may be some interference with the telephone connection that makes it hard to hear someone. It’s good to be prepared so that you can handle the call efficiently, without irritating the customer.

In this lesson, we’ll look at some of these unexpected situations. We’ll discuss ways to tell a caller what’s happening during the call and how to politely question and clarify if you don’t hear or understand something. We’ll cover language for signaling that a call is about to end, and how to politely finish the call.

In the last episode, we met Leroy and Paul. Leroy is a customer care agent for a credit card company. Paul is a customer whose card is about to expire. He hasn’t received a replacement card yet and Leroy is helping him.

Listening Questions

1. Why does Leroy need a minute to pull up Paul’s records?
2. What is Paul’s correct street address?
3. Why didn’t Paul receive his replacement card?

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This is the first in a two-part Business English lesson on dealing with telephone inquiries.

It’s natural to feel a little nervous when answering questions on the phone, especially when you’re using a different language. You can’t see the other person, so you can’t interpret facial expressions and body language. You also need to listen more carefully, so you can help the caller quickly and efficiently.

Today, we’ll look at some common strategies that can make handling telephone inquiries a little easier. We’ll start with ways to answer the phone and identify yourself. We’ll also explain language you can use to verify a caller’s name, confirm something a caller says, and clarify the inquiry by restating it.

Now, let’s listen to a conversation between Leroy, a customer service rep at a credit card company, and Paul, a customer. Paul has some concerns about his account and Leroy is helping him.

Listening Questions

1. What is Paul’s main concern?
2. How is Paul’s last name spelled?
3. What are the last 3 digits, or numbers, of Paul’s bank ID number?

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This is the first of a two-part Business English Pod series on dealing with an angry caller on the phone.

We’ve all dealt with angry people before. But dealing with an angry person on the phone, in a business setting, can be tricky. Sometimes you don’t know the person, so his or her situation may be completely new to you. You can’t see the person, so you can’t read facial expressions or body language. Sometimes the person yells or talks so quickly that you can’t understand exactly what they mean. And sometimes they might be rude, which can make you angry yourself.

Successfully handling an angry caller is an important skill. Often, these callers are customers and you don’t want to lose their business. Satisfied customers will return and recommend your company to others. Angry customers will do the opposite.

So in today’s lesson, we’ll cover ways to calm down angry callers, using a calm tone of voice, and let them know you’re listening. We’ll also look at language for acknowledging an angry customer’s feelings and frustrations by showing empathy. Finally, we’ll talk about ways to clarify problems so you can solve them quickly.

Let’s hear how Diana, a Customer Care agent for a credit card company, handles Jay, an angry customer whose credit card has been locked, or disabled.

Listening Questions

1. What city is Jay visiting?
2. What did Jay buy his wife for her birthday?
3. When was Jay’s credit card locked?

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In this Business English Pod lesson we’re going to look at discussing problems over the phone. For the example today, we’ll focus on chasing up an outstanding invoice, or a bill that hasn’t been paid on time.

In business, it’s not unusual to have a customer who’s late with a payment. Sometimes an invoice just hasn’t been received; other times the customer might not have the funds to cover the bill. Eventually, you need to call, discuss the problem, and try and work out a solution.

In today’s podcast, we’ll practice phrases for introducing the problem, clearly stating the details in a polite but firm manner, making an offer and proposing a solution.

The dialog features Marcy, who works for Computer Solutions. Marcy’s company provided software and training for Jack Fountain’s department at ATI Communications. Months have passed since Marcy submitted her first invoice, but no payment has been made. Now she’s calling to find out why. First, she speaks with Donna in the Accounts Payable department.

Listening Questions:

1) Where does Jack think Marcy’s invoice might be?
2) What are the payment terms that Jack agreed to?
3) What solution does Jack suggest?

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