Even when you’re a highly skilled customer support professional who’s capable of holding friendly, nuanced, and helpful conversations with your customers, some conversations can get pretty tricky. Show
What’s the best way to tell someone they can’t have a refund or that you can’t let them log in to an account they claim to own? To make those difficult conversations easier, we’ve put together these templates that you can use for inspiration to craft the perfect responses. Use these 12 customer service response templates and examples to craft your own replies to these tricky support requests. 1. "I want a phone call, now!"A customer is demanding a phone call to solve their issue, but you don’t offer phone support and/or aren’t able to call them. They may be threatening to escalate above you or cancel altogether. Recommended approachIn a time of stress like this, your customer can feel like you are refusing to help them at all, even though it’s really a conflict about where the help will come from. Your answer should
Example responseHi Jane, I understand your frustration. For some customers, a lack of phone support is a deal breaker, and that’s completely understandable, but it’s not something we offer at this time¹. I want to help you get you the answers you need, and we can definitely get that done by email, but I will need your help². If you can provide the following information, that will help us track down what’s happening and figure out the best way forward³. <reiterate your specific questions> I really appreciate your help, and I know it’s stressful when you’ve got work to do and you’re stuck like this. As soon as you reply, I’ll be automatically notified so I can start investigating for you⁴.
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2. "When are you going to add [feature]?"A customer is asking for a product feature you know will not be added. Recommended approachIt’s a compliment when your customers come to you for help because they like your work and they want it to solve more problems for them. So turning them down can be tricky, but better they know the truth than be strung along, hoping for something that will not arrive. Your answer should
Example responseHi Tom, Thanks for the suggestion; I appreciate you explaining how it would help you out. While that feature isn’t currently in our development roadmap¹, we are working on big improvements that will be helpful for the majority of our customers², and you’ll see those rolling out soon. While we can’t build exactly what you’re after, I do have a suggestion that might get you most of what you need. <your suggested workaround>³ Thanks again for taking the time to talk to us! We always appreciate feedback and suggestions.
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Recommended Reading3. "I want a refund!"When you can’t (or have decided not to) offer the customer a refund. Recommended approachAsking for a refund is often a sign that the customer feels like they haven’t gotten value from your product. If you can acknowledge and address that issue, the refund may become less important to them. Your answer should
Example responseHi Li Wei, I’m sorry to hear you’re not happy with our product. While I’m unable to offer a refund¹ (please see our terms and conditions here²), I can <offer a billing extension/store credit/other alternative>³. As we arrange that, though, I would love to understand your situation better and see if there’s any other way we can help. Could you give me a little more detail about what you needed to get done? It looks like <your best understanding of what they are trying to do, and where they got stuck>, is that right? If you have a few moments to elaborate on that, I can talk to the team here, and we can give you our best advice.
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4. "Tweet me back."When your customer is on a social channel, but you need to move them over to another channel to answer effectively. Recommended approachYou should respect the customer's choice wherever you can, but if you need to move them, explain why and reassure them that you will resolve their question. Your answer should
Example response@hannah Sorry for the trouble, let’s get this sorted out. We'll need to loop in our engineers¹, so I’ve started an email thread for you with all the relevant information² you’ve shared. It should be in your account email inbox now. I'll see you over there³!
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Recommended Reading5. "Bring back the file export feature!"A customer is upset that a feature or product has been removed. Recommended approachYou know how it feels when you lose access to something you value, so make sure to express that empathy, but also give your customer context. Your answer should
Example responseHi Marcin, Thanks for letting us know about your situation. I can understand that it’s frustrating to lose a feature that you’ve come to rely on like that. While it’s not something we plan to replace¹, I can give you a bit more detail about why we made the change and how it will hopefully benefit you in the long term. The short answer is that this was a complex feature to maintain. It wasn’t being used by the majority of our customers, which meant we were spending a lot of development time and resources on something that wasn’t making our product better for most people. By making the hard decision to drop it, we’ve been able to move those resources into new areas like <x> and <y>², and you’ll now see those improvements launched and available in your account much sooner than we otherwise could have achieved. I realize that doesn’t solve your immediate issue, though. Some of our other customers have found that <alternative> is a good substitute for that functionality. If you’d like to share more detail on how you were using it, I’d be happy to give you my best advice.
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6. "I need access to this account!"A customer wants access to an account, but can’t (or won’t) pass security. Recommended approachCustomer service teams are increasingly the target of social engineering attacks. Being secure while also providing service is a tricky line to walk. Your answer should
Example responseHello Rafi, I understand you just want to get into your account and back to work, and I am here to help you. However, as I’m sure you can understand, we have to be careful to protect the details that you and all of our customers trust us to store¹. You can read up on our security policy and practices here: <url>. Here’s what you can do to regain access to your account: <reiterate your steps in bulleted list> If any of those steps are unclear, let me know, and I’m happy to explain further. I know it’s stressful, but for the protection of all of our customers (and to comply with information security laws²) I’m unable to give you access otherwise. Thank you for your understanding.
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Recommended Reading7. "Your plugin is failing, bigly!"A customer needs support for a third-party tool or system about which you can’t answer detailed questions. Recommended approachCustomers don’t always know the right person to contact when they run into issues. Make the process as smooth as possible for them, even if you have to send them elsewhere. Your answer should
Example responseHey Priya, I’d love to help you with this, but I’m afraid we don’t have access to that information on our side¹. I can help you with questions relating to <our product>, but in this case, the <other system> support team will be best positioned to investigate and help you move forward. To save you some time, I’ve looked up their support options, and you can send your question in here: <contact link>. It may be helpful to include this information in your request²: <your clearer explanation of the issue>. If their team needs any further information from our side, just let us know, and we can pass that on. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help directly, but thanks again for using <our service>, and best of luck getting this issue resolved quickly.
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8. "I can’t believe it still hasn’t arrived!"You’ve told the customer what will happen, but they’re angry about waiting after two days (for example). Recommended approachFrom your side, everything is working exactly as it should, yet the customer is still upset. Try to reframe it in your head as a customer who is so keen for your product that the wait is upsetting them, instead of a customer who is unreasonably angry about reality! Then be empathetic and take the customer’s side, even when nothing can be changed. Your answer should
Example responseHi Iminathi, I can totally appreciate how frustrating it is to be waiting for your delivery¹. I wish there were a way for us to get it to you sooner (when will those Star Trek transports be invented). It might help to start with some background on what happens² on our end once you place an order. When you ordered, the shipping process started on that same day automatically. Your package was picked up from our warehouse on <date>, and it’s now with <shipping company>, so it is well on the way to you. You should receive delivery on <date>, according to their last update. To help you know what to expect, during the ordering process we show an estimated delivery date; perhaps that wasn't visible enough for you³? I’d love your feedback on that so we can improve for the future. In this case, it looks like we’re going to beat that estimate by about three days. Once your parcel arrives, if there are any issues at all⁴, please hit reply and we can get right back to you.
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9. "I’m not doing your job for you."Your customer has a tricky problem, but they refuse to provide you with the troubleshooting information you need to help them. Recommended approachA customer who is not experienced in technical troubleshooting may not have an understanding of the iterative, trial-and-error approach that can sometimes be required. You need to be a little more explicit about what the process will be and why it’s worth their time to help you help them. Your answer should
Example responseHi Joao, I can understand that it is frustrating to contact us about a problem and have me ask you to do some work¹! I’d be frustrated too in your position. It’s true that I really do need your help to figure this out, but I should have explained earlier how I’ll use the information I asked for to get this problem sorted as quickly as possible. Once you send me the following²: <required information>, my next step will be to replicate that same setup on our side³. Then, I’ll be able to tell if it’s something broken on our side and work with our developers on it. If not, then it’s possible there’s something specific to your setup that we will need to dig into together. Narrowing the problem down in that way will make it much faster for our team here to help you because we won’t have to waste your time⁴ while we’re testing systems that don’t apply to your case. I’ve set a notice on this conversation so that once you reply, it will come right back to me and I can keep this moving for you. I look forward to hearing from you, and thanks again for your help.
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10. "I need a discount!"When a customer does not want to pay the stated price. Recommended approachWhile your price may be non-negotiable, you can still demonstrate value and help your customers get more for their money. Your answer should
Example responseHi Arjun, We really appreciate your business with us! While we don't offer discounts, I do want to make sure you're getting the most you can for your money¹. You mentioned that <competitor> is cheaper², but there are a couple of key differences you might not know about. <Explore key differentiators> I’ve just had a look at your account, and one thing I noticed is that you're not using <feature> right now. A lot of our customers find that is a really useful tool³ for them to achieve <a common goal>. That makes our product really cost effective for them. Check out this case study from <customer>⁴ for example: <URL>. Of course, I can understand that you may have an immediate need to reduce your ongoing costs. If that’s the case then I have a couple of options for you⁵:
If we can help you understand these options better, or if you’d like help getting more out of your account, hit reply and let us know! We’re here to help whenever you need it.
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Recommended Reading11. "Your shipping costs are ridiculous!"A person wants to buy from you but is upset about the additional cost of shipping. Recommended approachYou likely have limited ability to change shipping options in the short term, but you can add context, offer clarity on how costs are calculated, and offer any viable options for reducing the cost. Your answer should
Example responseHi Harper, Thanks so much for considering buying from us! You’re right, shipping does add a significant cost in your case¹. The additional price you see is the same amount we’re quoted by the delivery company we use. That total is based on the size of the items in your order and your address². I do realize some larger companies are able to absorb or reduce some of those costs, and other companies inflate the item cost in order to reduce the apparent shipping cost. At <company> we prefer to be transparent about the real costs involved, and every customer gets the best deal we can offer³. We’re always looking for cheaper ways to ship while making sure items arrive on time and undamaged. If we can ever find a better price for shipping to your location, we certainly will. In the meantime, I can suggest a couple of options that might help⁴. If you order three or more <products> at once, that larger package allows us to use a combined shipping option that would work out to <$X> per <product> (saving you <$Y> vs three separate purchases). Or if you can wait for our spring sale, the <product> you are after will be discounted by <X%>, and that might make the shipping worthwhile for you. I hope you can find an option that works for you, and if you have any other comments or questions, just let me know.
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Recommended Reading12. "You’re just not understanding me."When a customer and the person helping them are failing to communicate effectively, so no progress is being made. Recommended approachWhen a conversation with a customer is just not getting anywhere, it can be frustrating for everyone involved. Deliberately swapping out the customer service professional for another colleague can break the pattern and create momentum toward a successful resolution. Your answer should
Example responseHi Oksana, Thanks for your response. It feels like we’re a little bit stuck here, and that must be frustrating for you¹. To help get us back on track, I’m going to bring in my colleague, Shaun, and ask him to review our conversation so far² and make some suggestions. Shaun has plenty of experience in this area, and with his fresh perspective I’m confident we can get this resolved for you³. I’ll make sure Shaun is up to speed, and then you should hear from him in the next hour or so⁴. Thanks again for working with me, Monica
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Use these templates to craft your own great responsesThere is no single “best” answer in customer service, so don’t treat our example answers as scripts — or even as finished saved replies. Instead, use them as a foundation that you can adapt to your situation, in your own voice and tone. |