Martin Lewis 'makes a big point' of the best way to talk to call centre workers

There are pitfalls to avoid when speaking to call handlers

Martin Lewis has shared the one phrase you should never say to a call centre worker. The financial guru said there are some common mistakes callers should avoid when on the phone.

Not avoiding the pitfalls could lead to the call handler turning against you quite quickly. On the latest episode of his The Martin Lewis Podcast, he told how a call centre worker called Nicola said customers often say to her "Martin Lewis told me".

Nicola added: "Well one thing Martin Lewis should also tell you is that we are human and don't like being spoken to like that." Martin called out 'rude' callers, saying they should always be 'polite and charming'.

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Martin said: "I always do Nicola, I make a big point that you should be polite and charming. I know call centre operatives sometimes get very frustrated with people quoting my name and being angry with them, but I just wanna assure all of you who work in call centres, I don't believe getting angry with call centre operatives is productive, I don't think you should do it, I think it's rude.

"And as I always say, polite, charming and maybe a bit of chutzpah is the right way to go forward." Another worker shared how there is one phrase you should not use, MirrorOnline reports.

A man called Hans wrote in to Martin and said: "When an operator asks you 'is there anything else I can do for you today', the worst thing you can say is "have you got the winning lottery numbers?"." Martin replied: "Yeah, I get the frustration.

"It's a bit like when people come up to me and say 'I'll tell you how to save money'. Don't spend any! Or, 'I'll tell you how you can save money. Get rid of the wife!'. Yeah okay, thank you."

The MoneySavingExpert also explained how asking for a manager can work when talking to a call centre operative. He said: "When you feel you have exhausted what the operative can do to help you and you feel that isn't satisfactory, don't escalate it in the first instance, only when you get to the end of the conversation, "I'm really sorry you couldn't help, I don't feel that is satisfactory, is it possible you could escalate this for me please? I think it can be worth bringing it up"."