This useful list was published by the professional website Call Centre Helper that focuses on call centres and phone sales.
“It's not my fault, these are company rules.”
An employee can never hide behind the “superior powers” of the company and use them as a pretext. For the customer, the employee and the company are one thing.
“You have to call somewhere else.”
The divison of roles is not your clients' business. If you don't deal with the issue, let your colleague call the client back.
“Calm down.”
This request not only never works, but it also makes the client even more angry, and it doesn't move you forward towards solving the problem.
“I don't know.”
A call centre agent should never say this. You can “look into it later” or “confirm” the situation, but you can't just say “I don't know”.
“This is no big deal”
If you downplay the problem the client is calling you about, and you are say it's no big deal, why does the issue even occur, and why don't you get rid of it for good?
“Can you tell me what you told my colleague before, and what he told you?”
Don't expect customers to give you reports on their previous communication with other representatives. It's your responsibility as a company to keep track of your communication with customers.
“I don't have time for that.”
If you're talking to a client, give them your maximum effort and attention. Don't say that there are more important things you could be doing.
-mm-