An angry caller does not need a speech about policy. They need to hear their problem said back correctly and to know who does what next. This fictional call shows an agent who does that, slips twice and recovers.
Fictional practice call. The seller and the buyer are invented. This is not a recording of a real call or a real customer.
Setup
A customer-service agent at a furniture retailer takes a call from a customer whose delivery arrived a day late and without the table legs. It is the second late delivery. The goal is to calm the call, confirm the facts, own the next step, and promise only what the agent can deliver.
Rubric focus: Empathy, Active listening, Professionalism, Pace, Compliance, Next step.
How to use this page
Read the transcript once for the story. Then read it again with the notes and, before each note, decide what you would have said. Notes marked Worked are worth copying in your own words, not word for word. Notes marked Improve point to a line you can rewrite and say aloud. The scorecard groups what you saw under the criteria DIRI AI uses in its reports, so you can pick one criterion to practise next. Pick one, not six. The call is short on purpose: it shows one pattern clearly, and a real call will not follow it line for line.
Transcript with notes
1. Buyer: “This is the second time. The delivery came a day late and the table legs were missing. I took two days off work for this.”
2. Seller: “I'm sorry, Mr Weber. Two lost days and a table you can't use. I'll write down what happened so you don't have to repeat it. Is the order number on the delivery note?”
- Worked: Names the cost to him in his own terms, then moves to action.
3. Buyer: “48213. I'm not explaining this again to someone new.”
4. Seller: “You won't have to. I'm noting it in the file now. Let me check I have it right: delivered a day late, legs missing, and this is the second late delivery.”
- Worked: Reads the facts back, so he can correct them.
5. Buyer: “Correct.”
6. Seller: “Unfortunately, our policy is that missing parts must be reported within forty-eight hours.”
- Improve: It sounds like a defence, and the agent does not yet know whether he reported in time. Ask "When did you first get in touch?" instead.
7. Buyer: “I called the same day. Check your system.”
8. Seller: “You're right, I can see your call from that day. I'm sorry, that's on us. I understand you're frustrated, but if you calm down, I can arrange the legs.”
- Worked: Checks, and admits the mistake in plain words.
- Improve: "If you calm down" puts a condition on help. Cut it: "I can arrange the legs now."
9. Buyer: “I'm calm. I just want the legs.”
10. Seller: “Understood. I can send the legs by courier. The earliest slot is Thursday, and I'll text you a two-hour window the evening before. A goodwill gesture for the two late deliveries isn't mine to decide. My team lead decides that, so I'll ask today and call you by Wednesday noon.”
- Worked: Separates what the agent can promise from what only the team lead can, and names the time.
11. Buyer: “Fine. Wednesday noon. Who will call?”
12. Seller: “I will, from this number. If I can't reach you, I'll leave a message with the time I'll try again.”
- Worked: One named owner, one channel and a fallback.
Scorecard
An illustrative reading of this call against the criteria on How we score.
| Criterion | 0 to 100 | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Empathy | 75 | Names his lost days; line 8 undercuts it with "calm down". |
| Active listening | 70 | Reads the facts back, but line 6 ignores that he had already called. |
| Professionalism | 55 | A policy line and a conditional offer lower the tone. |
| Pace | 80 | Short answers, no talking over him. |
| Compliance | 85 | Promises only what the agent controls; the gesture goes to the team lead. |
| Next step | 90 | Courier slot, text window, callback time and owner. |
Each criterion is shown from 0 to 100, as in a report. No total is printed: a real total is built by rules that read the transcript, not by averaging criteria, so adding up this table would mislead. A real report may read the same call differently.
What to take from this call
- Say the problem back in the customer's words, then say who does what and when.
- Policy sentences sound like defence. Ask when the customer first got in touch.
- Never put a condition on helping. Say plainly what you cannot decide and who can.
Exercise
Ten minutes, one prepared scenario.
- Take your last complaint call, or a made-up one. Strike "unfortunately" and "policy" and write the question that replaces them.
- Practise a three-part reply: what happened to him, what you will do, when he hears from you.
- Write one sentence for what you cannot decide: "I can't decide X. Y can, so I'll ask today and call you at Z."
- Run the prepared scenario and check that you never put a condition on helping.
Closest prepared scenario: a customer who has had a bad experience and wants it put right.
Practise it out loud. The Free plan covers 3 voice calls a month, up to 5 minutes each; see pricing for current terms.