Let Me Rephrase That
by Dera DeRoche-Jolet

Perry Mason would look the witness squarely in the eye and fire off a barrage of questions. The prosecuting attorney would inevitably jump to his feet and object to one of them. "Sustained" said the Judge. "Let me rephrase the question, your Honor" said Perry.

Is there a better way of saying something? Often there is. Say it the right way and you’ll improve business and increase your customer’s satisfaction. It all depends on how we use our words. Alarm dealers who can use and choose their words well will have a distinct advantage over their competitors.

As children we had a saying: "Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me." It’s a good self defense. As adults, we know words do hurt and can have a very powerful effect on those we are speaking to. Emotions can emerge that range from love to hate.

You’ve probably used the wrong words in your business. You’ve probably even heard them yourself as a customer. You became angry. Your customer became angry. You didn’t mean to get them so upset. It’s just that there is something behind the words. You then wind up saying something you didn’t mean to say with an attitude you didn’t mean to present.

The following phrases are sure to get the wrong emotionally reaction from your customers. How many of the following have you said?

I don’t know. Those words convey to your customer that either, you don’t know your business as well as you should or that they are not important enough for you to take the time to find an answer to their question. Either way you lose. A better phrase would be, "That’s a good question. Let me check it out and get back to you."
Wait a minute: I’ll be right back. Do you really want to tell your customers that their time is not important? Instead, show them that you are sensitive to their needs: "This may take me two minutes (or however long it will really take). Are you able to hold/wait while I check?"

You’ll have to . . . Doesn’t that sound a little harsh to you? Nobody really likes to be told what to do. Soften the request by saying something like, "You’ll need to," or "The next time that happens, here’s what you can do."

We can’t do that. Is it really a good idea to tell your customer that you can’t help him? They might think since you can’t help them, your competition might be able to. Do you really want your customers going over to your competition? Next time, say to your customer, "That’s a tough one. Let me see what I can do." Then go find a solution.

No. By using no at the beginning of your sentence you will appear negative. If you think for a few minutes before you speak, you can turn every answer into a positive response. Instead of saying " no," try "We aren’t able to (put in the problem), but we can (now put in your solution to the problem).

Do you understand? Nobody likes to be talked down to and be treated like a child, not even a child. It comes across as "I think you’re stupid." Should we really be giving our customers the impression that we think they are stupid? That’s the message we send by using that phrase. You’ll get more business from a customer that feels good about doing business with you. A customer who feels stupid when dealing with you, won’t be a customer for long.

Those are just a few of the words and phrases that are sure to get your customers upset. Once you say them, you can’t take them back. Take some time to think of ones that upset you as a customer so you won’t make the same mistake. By viewing simple everyday sayings in the light of your own experience as a customer, you"ll learn what not to say.

We’ve all said something in all sincerity and innocence both in our professional and private lives that sounded okay to us, but caused the other person to explode in anger. While you may not mean to get the other person angry, you do. As you become more aware of these phrases that provoke people in the wrong way, you’ll avoid them. You’ll also never have to eat your own words.