London office property specialists Londonoffices.com has compiled a top 10 list of the phrases used by call centre workers that are most likely to cause a customer meltdown, while urging the public to remain calm when feeling frustrated.

And it comes as no surprise that hitting the top ten come dreaded phrases such as ‘bear with me’, ‘would you like to leave a voice mail’ and the classic ‘she’s tied up’.

“Everyone has to occasionally call a customer service centre, and although the staff we speak to are calm and polite it doesn’t stop us from getting frustrated by how tedious the call can be”, said Chris Meredith, CEO, Londonoffices.com.

“It doesn’t matter how well your day is going, the moment you hear an automated message telling you how important your call is, only moments later to say that you’re still 30 minutes away from speaking to someone, you can’t help but burst a fuse.

“Even if the staff on the end of the line are helpful and friendly, if you are left on hold for half an hour listening to how you’re still eighth in the queue you’re certain to end up seeing red.

“Phrases like ‘can you please repeat that?’ or ‘sorry about the wait’ can be said as sincerely as possible, and yet somehow the process of having to wait for an eternity on the phone turns them into phrases that border on feeling mocking.

“Just remember that call centre staff understand your frustrations, and no matter how many times you get passed over to another department or put on hold that you should always try to remain patient and polite with them.”

The top 10 worst call centre phrases

Bear with me
She’s tied up
Would you like to leave a voicemail?
Our calls are recorded for training and monitoring purposes
You are 5th in queue. Sorry we are experiencing high volumes of callers at this time
Excuse me whilst I put you on hold
I’m sorry, could you please repeat that?
Your call is important to us
Sorry about the wait
That’s not something I can do

www.londonoffices.com