You're Through to Michael, How Can I Help?

This is a role-play scenario to work on with your teacher.

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You will play someone who works in a call centre or support for your company. Your teacher will play customers who are calling you with problems.

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This is a great exercise for building confidence in telephone support and business English!

The Scenario

You are a Customer Service Representative for Banana Computers. Your job involves talking to members of the public who are contacting you for a number of reasons, including:

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  • Asking about their orders

  • Looking for technical support

  • Complaining about Banana Computers service

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We’ll concentrate on the language and common expressions used. Don’t worry too much about the details of what the customer (teacher!) is calling to talk about.
 

Useful Vocabulary

Answer the call

“Good morning/afternoon, you’re talking to Michael. How can I help?”

  • “Hi, I’m Michael. How can I assist you today?”

  • “You’re through to Michael at Banana Computers. What can I help you with today?”

Ask for more details - account information, order details

  • “Can you please give me your order number so I can check delivery status?”

  • “OK, thanks. Can I just ask you to confirm your address please?”

  • “You’re moving house? Great, I’d be happy to update our records if you can just give us your new details…”

Ask for more details - technical support

  • “OK, thank you. Can you describe what your computer does when this happens?”

  • “Great, thanks. And does this happen with any other software, or only with BananaWord?”

  • “Is your computer as shipped, or has it been upgraded?”

The angry customer

  • “I’m sorry you’ve had this experience. I’d be annoyed too. Let’s see if I can fix it now for you.”

  • “I can see from our records that you’ve called about this before. I’m very sorry it hasn’t been resolved, but I assure you I’ll do what I can today.”

  • “I’ve alerted Technical Support and asked them to call you back to discuss this in more detail. When would be a suitable time for them to telephone you?”

Finishing the call

  • “OK, I’ve put that change through for you now. Is there anything else I can help you with today?”

  • “Thanks for your call, please remember you can phone back any time if you need us. 

  • “If that’s everything I can help you with then thanks for your call, and have a nice day!”

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