Customer Experience News & Trends

Why you shouldn’t ask customers “How are you today?”

“How are you today?” Sounds polite, but you probably shouldn’t say it to customers. Here’s why.

It’s often a superficial question – one we ask co-workers who we pass in the hallway and don’t expect a true response (“Fine” or “Good. How about you?” usually follows.”)

With customers, agents want to ask questions with true concern, suggest experts at LeadershipIQ. So opening a conversation with, “How are you?” probably doesn’t fit the bill — especially if customers are upset with the company. Then they might respond, “I’m awful,” and agents have to immediately rebound.

Here are better ways to open conversations:

  • “Thank you for calling us.”
  • “How can I help you today?”
  • “What can I do for you?”

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