The Big List of Things Not to Say

In early November, I said I was working on The Big List of Things Not to Say.

Well, here it is. I’ve taken the time to go through quite a few posts, organize, and add to a long list of things that bloggers and their readers suggested that customer service representatives not say.

The Big List of Things Not to Say is available in PDF form completely free. It contains an introduction, about 15 phrases with alternatives suggestions and explanations, and more.

Since everyone has different browser settings and such, here is an easy way to download the file:

  1. Go to http://www.serviceuntitled.com/downloads.
  2. Click the file titled “NotToSay.pdf”.
  3. Click Save and save the document to your Desktop or a folder of your choice.
  4. Open the file using Adobe Acrobat Reader or Foxit Reader (my personal favorite).
  5. Read and enjoy!

If clicking the file does not work, you may need to right click it and choose an option like “Save Target As”. One of those two ways seems to work on pretty much every computer.

You are free (and encouraged) to distribute the article around to friends and colleagues – just ensure you follow the terms outlined at the end (basically, don’t remove anything). The article will hopefully be helpful to you and/or people within your company.

There will be many more downloadable PDF articles on customer service available on Service Untitled in the upcoming months. Now that the Big List of Things Not to Say has been released, I expect I will go through some old posts and pick out the “gems” and make those available as PDFs as well.

I’d like to extend a special thanks to the following people who helped out by contributing “things not to say”, their alternatives, ideas, and suggestions:

Thanks again and please do enjoy the article! If you any questions, comments, or concerns, please let me know.

5 Responses to “The Big List of Things Not to Say”

  1. contingency design: what not to say, on the phone and on the web « All For You said:

    Dec 18, 06 at 7:05 pm

    […] Service Untitled calls it The Big List of Things Not To Say: “I’ve taken the time to go through quite a few posts, organize, and add to a long list of things that bloggers and their readers suggested that customer service representatives not say.” […]

  2. Anonymous Cog said:

    Dec 18, 06 at 9:29 pm

    Thanks for mention. I checked out the .pdf file, very nicely done.

    Have a Merry Christmas.

    AC

  3. Meikah Delid said:

    Dec 19, 06 at 2:15 am

    Wow, Doug, congratulations! As a new year is about to begin, I’m also thinking of ways to improve CustServ. I hope we can team up on one project soon. Keep up the good work! 🙂

  4. Service Untitled » Bad Restaurant Customer Service - customer service and customer service experience blog said:

    Dec 28, 07 at 12:12 am

    […] I laughed out loud when I read this. Then, I came to the realization that the waitress actually did say that. At point, I got a scary reminder of just how bad customer service can be. The particular phrase isn’t on my “Big List of Things Not to Say,” but I do feel it is implied. […]

  5. Customer Support and Customer Service: Ten Resources You Shouldn’t Miss | Assistly Blog – Help Desk and Customer Service Software said:

    Oct 05, 10 at 4:36 pm

    […] Service Untitled A terrific blog about customer service and the customer service experience A recent post: “The Big List of Things Not to Say” […]