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Customer Service vocabulary · Requests & Complaints

De-escalate

Meaning in customer service, with examples

/diːˈeskəleɪt/verbCommon term

In customer service, de-escalate means: To make a tense or angry situation calmer and less serious, for example during a difficult call.

In Turkish: gerilimi düşürmek, sakinleştirmek, yatıştırmak

How it is used

A training term: agents learn to de-escalate angry customers by staying calm, listening, acknowledging the problem and offering clear next steps. The noun is de-escalation. Escalating a ticket sends it upwards, while de-escalating a conversation calms it down.

Example sentences

  1. She managed to de-escalate the call by letting the customer speak first.

  2. Our training includes role plays on de-escalation techniques.

Common collocations

  • de-escalate a situation
  • de-escalate an angry customer
  • de-escalation techniques
  • de-escalation skills
  • escalateTo pass a problem or complaint to a more senior person or a more specialised team because the first person cannot solve it.
  • irateVery angry, usually about something that seems unfair or badly handled.
  • empathyThe ability to understand and share another person's feelings, and to show them that you understand.
  • active listeningListening with full attention, checking that you have understood and showing the speaker that you are following.
  • acknowledgeTo show or say that you have noticed or accepted something, such as a customer's feelings, a problem or a message.

More terms: Requests & Complaints

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