Shadowing Practice: 20 English Customer Service Phrases - Learn English Speaking with Video

Hey, so customer service is a big part of many different jobs in many different industries.

Customer service is important not only if you are a customer service representative.

And every moment that you spend with your customers

or your clients is an opportunity for you to make them feel special and to create an amazing experience.

And your choice of language or your choice of words reflects how much you care about and value your customers.

So in today's lesson, we are learning 20 very useful phrases for customer service.

First off, let's have a look at some phrases for getting your conversation started with your customer or your client.

Now, two of the most common phrases that I'm sure you have heard

and probably used if you work in customer service are, how can I help you or is there anything I can help you with today?

How can I help you or is there anything I can help you with today?

Now, these two phrases are very common, as I said, and they're kind of the essential foundation of a conversation with a customer.

These questions can be asked in a shop or on the phone

if you are providing a service or if you are selling a product.

If you're talking to a customer and you work in retail, for instance, it's very common to ask, how can I help you today?

Or is there anything I can help you with today?

Another great phrase is, thank you so much for waiting.

Thank you so much for waiting or thank you for your patience.

Now this one is common

when your customer has been in line waiting to speak to you or when they have been on hold on the phone.

You always want to thank them for waiting, okay?

People don't like waiting for things.

Unfortunately, people are kind of impatient by nature.

When you start your conversation by thanking them for waiting or thanking them for their patience,

it just sets a positive tone for the rest of the conversation.

Another question you might ask early on in your conversation is, is there anything else I can help you with?

Is there anything else I can help you with today?

And this one is useful for when you have answered your customer or client's question.

And then you want to make sure that you've done the maximum you can.

You can ask, is there anything else I can do for you?

Or is there anything else I can help you with today?

Next, let's look at some phrases for when you have to apologize to a customer.

Now, there's lots of different reasons and situations in which you might have to apologize to a customer.

Perhaps you made a mistake.

Perhaps someone else made a mistake.

Perhaps your customer just had a bad experience.

So it's not necessarily that you've done something wrong

and you have to say sorry there are different situations in which apologizing is appropriate, professional, and expected.

And when it comes to apologizing, you want to make sure that you are putting yourself in the customer's shoes,

even if you are apologizing on behalf of your company or on behalf of someone else.

So instead of simply saying, I'm sorry, try putting yourself in your customer's shoes, trying to understand how they feel.

And you can use a combination of any of these phrases.

I apologize for, I apologize for something.

Now, instead of saying I apologize, if you're upset, you want to apologize for something that you actually believe happened.

And your choice of words is important.

And this is an example.

I or we apologize for something.

For instance, I apologize for the mistake or for the mix-up.

Now mix-up is just another way of saying mistake.

Something was mixed up, a mistake was made.

Okay I apologize for the mix-up or I apologize for the mistake.

As I mentioned your choice of words is important.

So instead of saying I apologize if there was a mistake

or if someone made a mistake you want to be careful here and you want to say, I apologize for something.

Okay.

Even if the mistake was not made by you

and you're not a hundred percent sure that a mistake was made by saying, I apologize for this happening.

It makes the customer feel like you believe them and that you think that their problem is important, that this mistake is important.

Whereas I apologize if a mistake was made, sounds like it gives the impression that you kind of doubt

that a mistake was made or maybe a mistake wasn't really made

but if so i'm sorry instead you want to sound more sure of your apology okay

so be careful with your prepositions here

so i apologize for the mistake you can also use we instead of i

if you're apologizing on behalf of your team your department

or your company i apologize

or we apologize for the oversight now oversight is is a mistake

that is made when someone forgets to do something or essentially overlooks something.

That's kind of a synonym, okay?

Something is supposed to be done and the person responsible just forgot to do it, okay?

That's an oversight.

I apologize for the confusion or for the misunderstanding.

I apologize for the confusion or the misunderstanding.

Now, this phrase focuses more on the fact that there was a miscommunication

or a misunderstanding instead of whose fault it was okay instead of i apologize

that my colleague didn't explain that properly or i apologize

that you didn't understand that's not the best choice of words

it's kind of putting the blame on someone else instead you just want to focus on the fact

that there was a misunderstanding and you want to apologize for

that and then go ahead and shift your focus to finding a solution.

And I apologize for the inconvenience.

I apologize for the inconvenience.

This is a good one to use

if your customer has been waiting a long time or they've experienced any inconvenience that they shouldn't have.

Next, some useful phrases for solving a problem that your customer might have.

First up, let's find a solution for you.

Let's find a solution for you.

This is a nice phrase because it sounds collaborative.

It sounds like you and the customer

or client could be working together to find a solution

or you and your colleagues and your team could be working together to find a solution for your customer.

So this is a nice one for after you have listened to the issue, you've listened to the problem, you've taken the time to gather all the information you need,

make sure you understand the facts, and then you want to come up with a positive response and say, all right, let's find a solution for you.

Another option, I will look into that right away.

I will look into that right away.

Now look into is a nice phrasal verb to know.

Look into just means to investigate something further or get some more information about something.

Next, here's what we can do to resolve this issue.

Here's what we can do to resolve this issue.

Okay, so if your customer has faced a problem or an issue and you have a solution to present to them,

this is a great phrase to start the presentation of your solution or the steps that you might need to take.

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Thank you for bringing this up or thank you for letting me know.

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Thank you for bringing this up or thank you for letting me know.

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This is a really nice one for when a customer or client has come to you with an issue, with a problem or with a concern.

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You can start your response by thanking them for telling you first of all.

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A lot of customers nowadays do not come to you with their concerns.

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Instead they stay quiet, they say everything is okay, act like everything is okay, and then go online and leave a bad review.

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And a lot of people or businesses are surprised because they never had the opportunity to provide a solution.

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All right.

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So this is a lovely one.

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Next, let's look at some phrases for showing or expressing empathy.

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Now, empathy is the ability to understand how someone else is feeling.

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You put yourself in someone else's position and understand what they are experiencing or what they are going through.

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Now it's important to empathize with your customers and with your clients because this shows that you value them,

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you care about them, and it also helps to calm them down if they are upset about something.

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Once you are able to empathize with your customers, it puts them in the right mindset to solve any problems.

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When you show empathy to your customers, it helps to get them into the right mindset to be open to solving a problem.

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So a good phrase for expressing empathy would be, I completely understand how adjective this must be for you.

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I completely understand how frustrating this must be for you.

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I completely understand how difficult this must be for you.

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A lot of times when you have a customer who's upset, they want to be heard and understood.

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That is a very first step to delivering good customer service is to listen

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and to understand the issue that your customer is coming to you with.

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All right.

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Another option is I understand this situation has been difficult

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and I will do everything I can to help you or I will do everything I can to solve it.

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Now, this is a good one for a customer who has been facing an ongoing issue or an ongoing challenge.

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and maybe you are not the first person that they've spoken to.

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So they're becoming more and more frustrated and you want to empathize with them

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and actually try to take the steps to solve the problem.

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Another nice one is, I will do my best to help you with this.

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I will do my best to help you with this.

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Or if you want to be a little more formal, you could use the word assist instead of help.

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I'll do my best to assist you with this.

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Or I understand your concern.

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I understand your concern.

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Let's see what we can do for you.

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I understand your concern.

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Let's see what we can do.

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Next is I would be happy to verb that for you.

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I would be happy to check that for you.

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I would be happy to do that for you.

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I would be happy to arrange that for you.

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And finally, I appreciate your patience.

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I appreciate your patience.

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This is a very simple but effective phrase because

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when you acknowledge the fact that someone has had to be patient and has actually been patient, it really does mean a lot.

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It helps your customer to realize that you actually care about them, that they are valuable to you, and it puts them in a more positive state of mind.

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They're going to be more receptive to you and receptive to what you are saying to them.

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Now with all of these phrases you can use them in combination with each other.

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You can also adjust how formal you are.

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Depending on where you live, where you work, the culture of your company, the culture of your location, you will have to adjust your level of formality.

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Also keep in mind that when you are speaking on behalf of your company or your team, you can use the pronoun we.

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And if you are speaking on behalf of yourself, of course, you can use I.

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Now be careful with this one because sometimes when you're speaking to someone face to face, it's a one to one conversation and you keep saying we,

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we, we, and there's no one else there.

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It can seem a little bit impersonal and kind of like you're deflecting and you're putting the attention, you know, on a group of people who isn't even there.

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So just be careful with this one.

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Now it's also a good idea to use contractions and shorter sentences

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or shorter versions of these sentences when you are speaking to someone.

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You can use more formal and longer versions of these sentences

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if you happen to be writing an email to a customer, for instance.

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Remember that spoken English and written English are not the same, so you want to make sure that you are adjusting the phrase to best fit the situation.

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Now, whether you work in customer service

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or you need to improve your customer service skills in general for the position

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that you have or that you are looking for, this is a topic that I teach in detail in the Essential English for Business course.

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That is a self-study online course to teach you the fundamentals of professional English communication.

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You can learn more about the Essential English for Business course down below in the description box.

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As well, you can grab your free ebook English Conversations Made Simple also linked down below.

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If you have any questions on this topic please do drop those in the comments for me

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and let me know what your experiences have been with working in customer service in English.

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Customer service is a very very very important part of many many jobs nowadays

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and developing strong customer service skills are very very valuable.

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So I hope that you enjoyed today's lesson.

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Thank you for watching, learning, and spending time here with me today.

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I'll see you very soon in another one.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “20 English Customer Service Phrases”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: customer, apologize, phrase, mistake, instead. This video has 174 sentences and 2305 words to shadow. The speech runs for 13:35. The speaker talks at a natural 170 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 87% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.

Key vocabulary in this video

The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
apologize verb	/əˈpɑləˌd͡ʒaɪz/	To make an apology or excuse; to acknowledge some fault or offense, with expression of regret for it, by way of amends
misunderstand verb	/mɪs.ʌn.də(ɹ)ˈstænd/	To understand incorrectly, while believing one has understood correctly.
empathy noun	/ˈɛmpəθi/	Identification with or understanding of the thoughts, feelings, or emotional state of another person.
patience noun	/ˈpeɪ̯.ʃəns/	The quality of being patient.
empathize verb	/ˈɛmpəˌθaɪz/	to feel empathy for another person
inconvenience noun	/ɪnkənˈvinjəns/	The quality of being inconvenient.
oversight noun	/ˈəʊvəˌsaɪt/	An omission; something that is left out, missed, or forgotten.
adjust verb	/əˈd͡ʒʌst/	To modify.
frustrate verb	/ˈfɹʌsˌtɹeɪt/	To disappoint or defeat; to vex by depriving of something expected or desired.
receptive adjective	/ɹəˈsɛptɪv/	Capable of receiving something.
verb noun	/vɝb/	A word that indicates an action, event, or state of being.
mindset noun	/ˈmaɪn(d)ˌsɛt/	A way of thinking; an attitude or opinion, especially a habitual one.
colleague noun	/ˈkɒliːɡ/	A fellow member of a profession, staff, academic faculty or other organization; an associate, a workmate.
nowadays adverb	/ˈnaʊ.ə.deɪz/	At the present time; in the current era.
resolve verb	/ɹɪˈzɑlv/	To find a solution to (a problem).

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
mix up verb		To mix or blend thoroughly and completely.
come up with verb		To manage to produce, deliver, or present (something) by inventing, creating, thinking of, or obtaining it.
go ahead verb	/ˌɡoʊ əˈhɛd/	To proceed with; to begin.
go through verb		To travel from one end of something to the other.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

Is there anything else I can help you with today?
You can ask, is there anything else I can do for you?
First up, let's find a solution for you.
Let's find a solution for you.
Here's what we can do to resolve this issue.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on	has been waiting · has been facing
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	have heard · has been · have answered
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	can be asked · was mixed · was not made

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 27 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, you've, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: empathy /ˈɛmpəθi/, empathize /ˈɛmpəˌθaɪz/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: patience /ˈpeɪ̯.ʃəns/, confusion /kənˈfjuːʒən/, contraction /kənˈtɹækʃ(ə)n/, preposition /ˌpɹɛpəˈzɪʃən/, impatient /ɪmˈpeɪʃənt/
Long words — get the stress right: apologize /əˈpɑləˌd͡ʒaɪz/, misunderstand /mɪs.ʌn.də(ɹ)ˈstænd/, inconvenience /ɪnkənˈvinjəns/, formality /fɔːrˈmælɪti/, impersonal /ɪmˈpɝsənəl/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like apologize, misunderstand, empathy.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: 20 English Customer Service Phrases - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?