Mastering consumer service for every food truck vendor requires the experience of knowing just what to say when to say it and having the wisdom to recognize the best way to say it. Communication can be tough when your staff is being pushed to get the next order out the service window. It’s often made harder when you’re trying to make simple statements memorable. Today we explore a few simple consumer service phrases that can be used to improve nearly every customer service interaction at your food truck.

While it’s only the good, bad, and the ugly of customer service gets most of the press, the typical customer service conversation is fairly common: “I have a problem with my order,” and “Let us fix that for you.”

5 Consumer Service Phrases To Improve Your Food Truck

  1. “I understand how ____ that must be.” Use this phrase often and thoughtfully. Read the customer’s mood and relate with how they feel. Great customer service is defined by genuine empathy.
  2. “As much as I’d love to help…”  There will comes times when the only answer is no. Some requests just aren’t feasible, but this consumer service phrase will help you avoid specifically saying NO!
  3. “Great question, I’ll find an answer for you.”  Only the impatient will mind a small delay so that you can find solution to their question.
  4. “Nice to meet you.” Using a friendly tone of voice goes a long way in creating real customer engagement.
  5. “May I ask why that is?” While this phrase won’t pacify every vitriolic customer, it always puts you in the right. Who can fault you for kindly asking for additional feedback?

3 Consumer Service Phrases To Avoid:

  • “That sucks.” Any sort of customer interaction that includes “sucks to be you” should be avoided.
  • “To be honest with you…” Don’t use this phrase because it makes a subtle implication that you’re being honest but only “right now.”
  • “If I recall correctly…” Don’t guess for a customer. Simply state that you’re going to find out the exact answer they need, and do just that.

RELATED: Never Ask: Do You Need Change?

The Bottom Line

Great communication is an art. Honing it to a sharp edge is a science. If almost six years at Mobile Cuisine have taught me anything, it’s that improving your ability to convey information in a concise, friendly style will yield better results than anything else. You may incorporate these consumer service phrases into your own style, they have proven to be consistently helpful for our team; I hope they are helpful for you.

Do you have other consumer service phrases that have helped or harmed your food truck’s customer service reputation? Share your thoughts on this topic in the comment section below or on social media. Facebook | Twitter