Omnivore Support

Don’t Use

Why

Try Instead

Sorry, I don’t know…

Sorry, I’m not sure….

I haven’t come across that before….

I’ve not seen that before

You’ve turned the retailer’s issue into an issue with you not having the necessary knowledge.

Great question. Let me find that out for you.
 

Let me check with the wider team so I get the right solution for you.

I want to make sure I give you the correct information. Would it be okay for me to get back to you on this?

Maybe…

Perhaps….

I’m pretty sure…

I think….

I guess….

Comes across as uncertain and suggests you’re not sure. 

Creates doubt.

If you’re not sure, why would the retailer trust the answer you’re giving them?

Remove from the answer. 

See suggestions below for positive words etc.

I don’t understand why you did….

I don’t understand what happened there.

Can make the retailer feel as if you’re not listening or that you’re suggesting there isn’t an issue.

Is this the issue / Is this what’s happening / Is this what you want?

Let me check I’ve understood you correctly….

Let me confirm if I’ve got this right….

I understand, but….

I hear you, but….

Sorry, but…

Anything you say after the but negates the start of the sentence.

Use “and” instead of “but” e.g.

I understand, and here’s what I’m going to do….

I hear you, and I see where you’re coming from.

Why would you want that?

Why are you doing that?

Sounds accusatory.

I’d love to understand more about that…

From what I understand, this is what you want / you are trying to achieve….

You’ve misunderstood….

No, that’s wrong…

No, that’s not how it works…

I think you misunderstood….

I don’t think you understand…

Gets the retailer off-side by suggesting they’re the issue and to blame.

I can see how my previous reply was confusing. Let’s look at this again….

My apologies! May I rephrase that for clarity?

Let’s go over this together to ensure we’re on the same page.

You should have done….

Sounds accusatory, blames the retailer and puts them on the defensive.

Here’s what we can do going forward….

That won’t work.

Definitive shutdown that offers no alternatives.

Let’s try a different approach.

Have you thought about trying….

Would solution …. work for you?

I can’t do….

I’m unable to….

Negative.

Should always be using positive language.

While I’m unable to do that, here’s what I can do….

I understand why you’d want that, let’s see how we can get it to work.

Unfortunately, I can’t….

Unfortunately, we don’t….

Unfortunately followed by anything is always negative.

As it turns out, I can do….

As it turns out, this is possible by….

I understand your frustration, here’s what I suggest….

Omnivore doesn’t currently have that functionality, but I can see how it would be useful. I’ve submitted your feedback as a product enhancement request for our product team to review.

You’re the only retailer I’ve seen this on.

You’re the first person to mention that’s an issue.

We have dozens of retailers using the app and they don’t have an issue.

Trivialises the issue, makes the retailer feel isolated.

Let’s have a look at this together and see if we can work out what’s happening.

I can definitely help with this….

Only use it if you’re actually going to provide the solution.

Don’t say that and then ask them for more information, examples etc.

Causes frustration.

I’m sure I’m going to be able to get this sorted for you, but I just need a little bit more information to ensure I get the correct solution for you.

I need to get a dev to look at that….

That doesn’t look right….

I’ve never seen it do that before….

Suggests there’s an issue or something’s not working which we’ll fix.

Sets the retailer’s expectation that we are going to fix something / the software isn’t working.

I want to be sure I get the right answer for you so I'm going to convert this to a ticket  / check with my colleagues. I'll follow up once I have more information if that's ok.

I’m sorry, we don’t offer phone support.

Retailer can feel as if you are refusing to help them at all, even though it’s really a conflict about what form the help takes.

I understand your frustration, but we don’t offer phone support at this time.

I want to help you get the answers you need, and we can definitely get that done by email, but I will need your help.

If you can provide the following information, that will help us track down what’s happening and figure out the best way forward.

<reiterate your specific questions>

I really appreciate your help, and I know it’s stressful when you’re stuck like this. As soon as you reply, I’ll be automatically notified so I can start investigating for you.