English for customer support chat and phone escalations

What you’ll practice

Handle difficult support conversations: acknowledge, diagnose, escalate, and set realistic expectations.

Questions

• Can you walk me through what happened right before the error?
• I understand this is urgent. May I place you on a brief hold while I check logs?
• I escalated this to Tier 2. Is email update every 2 hours acceptable?

Useful phrases

• “I understand how frustrating this is, and I will help you resolve it.”
• “To speed this up, could you share a screenshot and timestamp?”
• “I cannot promise an immediate fix, but I can provide regular updates.”

Mini role-play

Customer: “This is the third time this week.” You: “I understand your frustration. I have escalated this with priority and will send an update by 3 PM.”

FAQ

What should I never say in escalation?

Avoid blame and vague promises like “soon” without a time window.