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Customer Service vocabulary · Polite & Empathetic Language

Inconvenience

Meaning in customer service, with examples

/ˌɪnkənˈviːniəns/nounCore term

In customer service, inconvenience means: Trouble, extra effort or a small problem that a situation causes for someone.

In Turkish: rahatsızlık, aksaklık, mağduriyet

How it is used

Almost always used in apologies: "Sorry for the inconvenience", "We apologize for any inconvenience caused." It is polite and slightly formal. Because the phrase is so standard, agents often add a specific detail about what went wrong so it sounds sincere.

Example sentences

  1. We're sorry for the inconvenience caused by the late delivery.

  2. Apologies for any inconvenience during tonight's system maintenance.

Common collocations

  • sorry for the inconvenience
  • apologize for any inconvenience
  • inconvenience caused
  • minimise the inconvenience
  • apologizeTo say that you are sorry for something that went wrong or caused a problem for someone.
  • compensationMoney, a discount or another benefit given to a customer to make up for a problem, a loss or poor service.
  • goodwill gestureSomething a company gives a customer, such as a discount or a small refund, to show that it cares, even when it does not have to.
  • empathyThe ability to understand and share another person's feelings, and to show them that you understand.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Polite & Empathetic Language

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