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What should I avoid saying to customers?

Process: Follow-up and reviews. Reviewed 2026-10-07.

Short answerAvoid blame, vague promises, and dismissals when speaking to customers. Phrases like that is not my problem, I will try to get there sometime, and you should have told me make people feel ignored. Replace them with ownership, a specific time, and a clear next step.

The explanation

Customers judge you in the first sentence of a hard conversation. Blame sounds like a defense: it is the other crew's fault, the supplier was late. Even when true, it hands the customer a problem and no plan. Say what you will do instead, and when.

Vague promises sound kind but create anxiety. Saying someone will be there soon invites a customer to wait at the window. A window with a start and end time, or a text when the crew is on the way, is better. If you cannot commit, say what you do know and when you will update them.

Dismissals shut the conversation. Telling a customer they are overreacting, or that no one has complained before, lowers trust. Acknowledge the concern in your own words, then separate what you can fix from what you cannot, with a reason for each.

What to watch for

  • Promising a time you cannot keep, which converts one delay into two complaints.
  • Blaming a coworker or supplier in front of the customer.
  • Quoting policy without offering any alternative.

How Apex does it

In progress

Part of this is built. The rest is not. Status as of 2026-10-07; the badge shows the least-built feature involved.

Apex is designed with customizable message templates, an on-my-way text with an ETA, and arrival windows. Templates are partly built, the on-my-way text is built, and texts need a connected provider account and carrier registration first.

  • CM05Customizable message templates(In progress)
  • CM06On-my-way text with ETA(Built, rolling out)
  • BK06Arrival windows(Built)

Apex Flow Scheduler is in early access. See how we label status.

Where this question comes from: owners type it, or a close variant, into search boxes. It was returned by public search suggestions (Google, Bing or DuckDuckGo) when we collected them on 2026-10-06; the exact phrase seen was “what not to say to customers?”. We do not have search volumes.

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