Bill Canady says customer service agents lose power by offering to call a supervisor. Instead, state the change date, explain the impact, then give exactly two options and repeat them calmly, no matter how the customer pushes back.
You do not invoke the supervisor as a possible source of relief. No, I'd love to help you, but they won't let me. That's the most human sentence in the world, and it is fatal. You've given away all your power because it tells the customer there's a they and they can be worked on. The script itself is short. The change effective on this date. Here's what it means for your account. Here are your 2 options. I can help you with transition. And I'd like to. If the customer keeps pushing, repeat the 2 options. Same words, warm, unhurried, identical. Repetition is the technique, not volume, not cleverness. The same 2 options delivered in the same way the 4th time as calmly as the first.
