When speaking with customers, keep your language as positive and supportive as possible — Especially when asking questions.
In the November issue of Customer Communicator, the training and motivation newsletter for frontline reps, the authors stress the importance of speaking without blame.
Phrasing that sounds like you are pointing a finger or making an accusation can make customers defensive and turn positive conversations negative. Tone and word choice are also critical in keeping conversations positive.
These two examples from the newsletter show how to go from blame to cooperation:
“What did you do to make that happen?” can be replaced with “Can you tell me how that happened?”
“What did you do before it broke?” can be replaced with “What happened right before the issue started?”
Removing the blame and neutralizing the question will lead to a smoother conversation and better resolution for the customer.
Advice and examples for communicating with customers appears regularly in Customer Communicator newsletter.