Finding Out the Reason for a Customer Contact.

Lesson 2 focuses on the next crucial step: finding out exactly why the customer is contacting you. You listen to short calls, read chat messages and see email openings where customers explain different needs, such as placing an order, changing a booking or reporting a problem. You pick out useful question patterns for open questions and follow-up questions, and you learn simple echo questions to check information. You practise summarising the customer’s main point in one clear sentence so they feel understood. The lesson also gives you phrases for dealing with unclear or mixed messages, and for checking how urgent the request is. You finish by creating your own mini scripts for common customer situations in your job, so you can guide real conversations more confidently.

1. Listening for the main reason for contact.

In this first block, I would like you to step into your new role at UrbanHome, an online homeware store. It is nine o’clock in the morning, and you answer the first call of the day. Your main job in the opening minutes is not to solve everything. Your main job is to understand clearly why the customer is contacting you. You will hear a short call where the agent asks an open question and the customer explains their problem. Do not worry about every single word. Focus on one simple question in your head: why is this person calling today. After you listen, you will see part of the transcript on the screen. I will help you notice the useful phrases the customer uses, like “I am calling because” or “I would like to”. Then you will write one or two simple sentences in your own words to explain the main reason for the call. Think of it like taking a quick note for a colleague who needs to know what the call is about.

Scenario: First call of the day.

You are working on the phone line for UrbanHome Customer Service.

Your colleague Anna answers a call. Listen for the main reason the customer is calling.

Call transcript (shortened).

> Agent (Anna): Good morning, UrbanHome customer service, this is Anna speaking. How can I help you today?

>

> Customer (Mr Patel): Hello Anna. I placed an order last week for a coffee machine, but it still has not arrived. I am calling because I want to check what is happening with the delivery.

>

> Agent: I see. Thank you for calling today. Let me just check that for you.

In the audio above, you heard the full version of this call. On the screen you can see the key part.

Notice the phrases the customer uses to give the reason for the contact:

• "I placed an order last week… but it still has not arrived."
• "I am calling because I want to check what is happening with the delivery."

The reason for contact is not the greeting, and not the small talk. It is the sentence that answers the question:

> What can I help you with today?

When you speak to a real customer, it is useful to write one short sentence to yourself that summarises their main point. For example:

• Customer calling to ask about late delivery of coffee machine.
• Customer wants an update on order delivery status.

You do not need perfect grammar. You just need to be clear and specific enough that you and a colleague can understand the situation quickly.

In the task below, listen again and then write one or two sentences that explain why Mr Patel is contacting UrbanHome.

Practice & Feedback

Listen to the short call carefully. Then, in one or two sentences, write in your own words why Mr Patel is contacting UrbanHome.

Imagine you are writing a quick note for a colleague who will work on this case. They did not hear the call, so they need a clear, simple explanation. Include:

• what product or service the call is about,
• what the main problem or request is,
• any important detail about time, if you remember it.

Use very simple English. You can start with something like "The customer is calling because…" or "He wants to…". Do not worry if you did not understand every word, but try to be as specific as possible.

2. Asking clear open questions.

Now that you have focused on listening for the reason, let us move to **your** part of the job: asking good open questions. The way you start can make the whole interaction easier. If you simply ask, “Is there a problem with your order?”, the customer may say only yes or no. But if you ask, “What can I help you with today?”, they usually give you more useful information. In this block, we will compare different question types and see which ones really invite the customer to explain their need. You will see examples for phone, email and live chat, because the situation is similar but the style is a little different. I want you to notice the patterns: *Could you tell me…*, *Can you explain…*, *What would you like to…*. After that, you will practise writing your own open questions for different customer situations, so that you can guide real conversations confidently from the beginning.

Open questions vs closed questions.

Once you greet the customer, you need a good question to invite them to explain the situation.

• Closed questions usually have answers like yes or no.
• Open questions invite the customer to give more detail.

In customer service, open questions are very useful at the start of an interaction.

Examples by channel.

All of these questions:

• start with what / how / could you / can you, not with do you… or is it…;
• use polite language such as could you and please;
• give space for the customer to speak.

Compare these questions:

• "Is there a problem with your order?" → The customer can just say "Yes."
• "Could you tell me what the problem is with your order?" → The customer will probably explain.

From the chunk bank of this lesson, notice these useful patterns:

• "What can I help you with today?"
• "Could you tell me what the problem is?"
• "Can you tell me a bit more about that?"

In the activity below, you will write open questions for different customer needs. Focus on being clear, polite and open.

Practice & Feedback

Read the four short customer situations below. For each situation, write one good open question that you could use at the start of the interaction.

Use the patterns from the table above, for example "How can I…", "What can I…", "Could you tell me…", "Can you tell me a bit more about…". Make sure your questions:

• fit the situation,
• sound polite,
• invite the customer to give more than yes or no.

Write your questions as if you are speaking on the phone or in live chat. You do not need to repeat the greeting, just write the question. Try to vary your phrases, not just copy the same question four times.

3. Using follow-up and echo questions.

Once you have asked a good open question and the customer has explained the main reason, your work is not finished. Often, their first explanation is not clear enough for you to solve the problem. Maybe there are no dates, no product names, or no exact error message. This is when you use **follow-up questions** and **echo questions**. A follow-up question adds new information, for example, “When did it start?” or “Which order number is that?”. An echo question repeats the key information to check that you understood correctly, like, “So you would like to change your booking, is that right?”. In this block, we will continue the UrbanHome coffee machine call and see how the agent uses both types of question. Then you will practise writing follow-up and echo questions for other customers, so you can confidently get all the details you need without sounding rude or impatient.

Going deeper: follow-up and echo questions.

Look at the next part of the call with Mr Patel about his late coffee machine.

Call transcript: getting more details.

> Agent (Anna): So you ordered a coffee machine and it has not arrived yet, is that right?

>

> Customer: Yes, that is right.

>

> Agent: Thank you. Could you tell me the order number, please?

>

> Customer: Yes, it is UH three six nine five.

>

> Agent: Thank you. And when did you place the order?

>

> Customer: Last Tuesday, in the evening.

>

> Agent: Just to check, you ordered it last Tuesday evening and today there is still no tracking update, did I get that right?

>

> Customer: Yes, exactly.

Here Anna uses two important tools:

Follow-up questions – to get missing information:

• "Could you tell me the order number, please?"
• "And when did you place the order?"

Echo questions – to check she understood:

• "So you ordered a coffee machine and it has not arrived yet, is that right?"
• "Just to check, you ordered it last Tuesday evening… did I get that right?"

Echo questions:

• repeat the customer’s key words (ordered a coffee machine, last Tuesday),
• use soft checking phrases such as "so", "just to check", "did I get that right?", "is that right?".

These questions are very helpful because they show the customer you are really listening. They also help you avoid mistakes later in the call.

In the activity below, you will read three short customer sentences. You will choose two of them and write:

• one follow-up question to get more details;
• one echo question to check you understood.

Use the patterns from the chunk bank, for example: "Can you tell me a bit more about that?", "Let me just check I understood correctly.", "So the problem is that… is that right?"

Practice & Feedback

Read the three customer statements carefully. Then choose two situations.

For each of the two situations you choose, write:

1. One follow-up question to get more information. Think about what is missing: a date, a product name, a reference, or a detail about the problem.
2. One echo question to check that you understood correctly. Repeat the key information and add a soft checking phrase, for example "So… is that right?" or "Just to check, you said… did I get that right?".

Write your four questions clearly. You can label them, for example: "1 – follow-up", "1 – echo", etc. Use very simple grammar, but try to sound polite and calm.

4. Summarising and checking urgency in chat.

So far we have worked with phone calls, but the same skills are important in live chat. In a chat window, customers often write several problems together in one long message. Your job is to pick out the key points, summarise them in a short, clear sentence, and then check how urgent the situation is. This helps you decide what to do first. In this block, you will see a short live chat between an agent at UrbanHome and a customer with two issues: a late delivery and a question about a refund. Notice how the agent uses phrases like, “Let me just check I understood correctly,” and then asks, “What is the most urgent issue for you?”. After reading the model chat, you will continue the conversation as the agent. You will write a short reply where you summarise the customer’s problems and ask about urgency in a polite way. This is excellent practice for real chat tools at work.

Live chat: summarising and asking about urgency.

You are now on live chat instead of the phone. Read this short chat between UrbanHome agent Kelly and customer Maria Lopez.

Chat transcript.

> Customer (Maria): Hi, I ordered two lamps and some cushions last week. The lamps arrived but the cushions are missing. Also, I returned a rug two weeks ago and I have not received my refund yet.

>

> Agent (Kelly): Hello Maria, thank you for contacting UrbanHome today. My name is Kelly. What can I help you with first, the missing cushions or the refund for the rug?

>

> Customer: Both are annoying. The cushions were for my daughter’s birthday this weekend, and the rug refund is quite a lot of money.

>

> Agent: I understand, thank you for explaining. Let me just check I understood correctly. You are waiting for the cushions from your recent order, and you are also waiting for a refund for a rug you returned two weeks ago, is that right?

>

> Customer: Yes, that is right.

Here Kelly does two important things:

Summarises Maria’s situation in one clear sentence:

• "You are waiting for the cushions from your recent order, and you are also waiting for a refund for a rug you returned two weeks ago…"

Checks urgency / priority:

• First with "What can I help you with first…"
• She could also ask: "What is the most urgent issue for you?"

Useful phrases for this step:

• "Let me just check I understood correctly."
• "So the problem is that… is that right?"
• "What is the most urgent issue for you?"
• "What would you like me to look at first?"

In the activity below, you will continue this chat as the agent. You will write a short reply to Maria where you:

• confirm the summary,
• ask clearly about urgency,
• keep a polite, calm tone.

Practice & Feedback

Imagine you are Kelly, the UrbanHome agent, continuing the chat with Maria after her last message: "Yes, that is right."

Write 3–5 short chat lines as your reply.

In your reply, please:

• briefly repeat the two issues (missing cushions and late refund),
• use a soft checking phrase such as "Just to check" or "Let me make sure I have this right",
• ask one clear question about urgency, for example "What is the most urgent issue for you?" or "Which problem would you like me to solve first?".

Write in a friendly but professional tone, as in a real live chat. You do not need to solve the problem yet; focus on summarising and checking urgency.

5. Writing a mini call script with questions.

You have now seen how to open with an open question, ask follow-up questions, use echo questions, and summarise and check urgency. In this block, we will bring all of these micro-skills together in a **mini call script**. A script is not something you read like a robot. It is more like a helpful plan of the key phrases you want to use. Our new customer today is Emma Jones. She calls UrbanHome because she received the wrong size shoes and she needs the correct size before a wedding next week. Her situation is simple, but there are still details you must check. I will show you a short example script so you can see the structure. Then you will write your own version, using phrases from the chunk bank such as, “Can you tell me a bit more about that?” and “What is the most urgent issue for you?”. This will help you feel ready for similar calls in real life.

Mini call script: putting the steps together.

You are working on the phone at UrbanHome. Emma Jones calls you.

• She ordered a pair of shoes.
• The shoes arrived today, but they are the wrong size.
• She needs the right size before a wedding next week.

Your script should include:

1. An open question to invite Emma to explain.
2. One or two follow-up questions to get details (order number, size, date, etc.).
3. An echo or summary question to check you understood.
4. A question about urgency or priority.

Sample mini script.

> Agent: Good afternoon, UrbanHome customer service, this is Alex. How can I help you today?

>

> Customer (Emma): I ordered some shoes and they are the wrong size.

>

> Agent: I am sorry to hear that. Could you tell me a bit more about that? Which size did you order and what size did you receive?

>

> Customer: I ordered size 6, but I received size 5.

>

> Agent: Thank you. Let me just check I understood correctly. You ordered size 6 but we sent you size 5, is that right?

>

> Customer: Yes, that is right.

>

> Agent: Thank you for explaining. When do you need the correct size?

>

> Customer: I need them before a wedding next Saturday.

>

> Agent: I see. So the most urgent issue for you is to receive the correct size before next Saturday, did I get that right?

Notice how the script:

• uses open questions at the start;
• adds follow-up questions for missing details;
• includes a soft echo question to confirm the key facts;
• finishes this section with a clear urgency check.

In the task below, you will write your own mini script for this call, using your own words but following the same structure.

Practice & Feedback

Write a short call script as if you are the UrbanHome agent speaking to Emma Jones about the wrong-size shoes.

Your script should have 6–8 lines in total. You can write it like a dialogue, for example:

> Agent: …

>

> Customer: …

Focus especially on the questions you, the agent, ask. Make sure you:

• start with a good open question (for example, "How can I help you today?"),
• add follow-up questions to get details such as the order number and the sizes,
• use at least one echo or summary question (for example, "So the problem is that… is that right?"),
• ask when she needs the shoes or which part is most urgent.

You do not need to write the solution yet, only the opening and question part of the call.

6. Creating scripts for your real customers.

To finish this lesson, we will move from the UrbanHome examples to **your own job**. The skills are the same in any company: you need to discover why the customer is contacting you, check the details and understand what is most urgent. A great way to feel more confident is to prepare a few mini scripts for the most common situations you see at work. In this block, I will guide you to choose two or three typical reasons why customers contact you, for example, to ask about prices, to change a booking, or to report a simple problem. For each one, you will write a very short script with an open question, one or two follow-up questions, and a summary plus urgency check. Think of these as **small tools** you can keep and reuse. You can adapt the phrases from this lesson, like “Could you tell me what the problem is?” and “Just to check, you said… did I get that right?”. At the end, you will have a personal phrase bank you can use in your next shift.

Your own mini scripts.

Now it is your turn to connect this lesson to your real work.

Think about your job, or a job you would like to have. What are the two or three most common reasons why customers contact you. For example:

• to ask a question about a bill or invoice,
• to change or cancel a booking,
• to report that something does not work,
• to ask for information about a product or service.

For each typical reason, you will create a mini script for the opening part of the interaction.

Each script should include:

One open question, for example:

• "What can I help you with today?"
• "Could you tell me what the problem is?"

One or two follow-up questions, for example:

• "Can you tell me a bit more about that?"
• "When did the problem start?"
• "Which booking reference is that?"

One echo or summary sentence + a checking phrase, for example:

• "Let me just check I understood correctly. You want to change the date of your booking, is that right?"
• "So the problem is that your internet does not work in the evenings, did I get that right?"

One question about urgency or priority, for example:

• "What is the most urgent issue for you today?"
• "Which part would you like me to look at first?"

You can keep these scripts in a notebook, on your desk, or saved on your computer. Over time, you can improve them and add new ideas.

In the activity, you will write two mini scripts for situations that are realistic for you. This will be your first small phrase bank for finding out the reason for a customer contact.

Practice & Feedback

Think about two common customer situations in your real job (or a job you know well). For each situation, write a short mini script for the opening part of the call or chat.

Please:

1. Start with a short title, for example "Late delivery" or "Change booking date".
2. Under each title, write 4–6 lines of dialogue or phrases you would say as the agent.
3. In each script, include:

• an open question to discover the main reason,
• one or two follow-up questions to get missing details,
• one echo or summary sentence with a checking phrase (for example, "Just to check, you said… did I get that right?"),
• a question about urgency.

Use simple, clear English. You can adapt any useful phrases from this lesson to fit your own company, products or services.