Getting Things Done: Calls, Emails and Customer Service

The lessons at a glance

1. Beating phone anxiety and making the call

Many young people would rather send ten messages than make one two-minute phone call. Yet some things, from urgent repairs to medical appointments, still move fastest by phone. The good news is that phone confidence is a skill you can build, one small call at a time.

• Nerves before calls are common and get smaller with practice.
• Prepare one opening sentence, your details and two or three questions.
• Always confirm what was agreed and ask for a name and reference number.
• Build up from easy calls to harder ones.

2. Calling to book, cancel or ask

Once you live independently, nobody else will phone the doctor, the landlord or the bank for you. Most of these calls follow a pattern, so a few ready-made scripts make them quick and stress-free.

• Check whether it can be done online first, then call prepared.
• Describe the problem briefly: what, since when, what you need.
• Follow up important calls in writing.
• Only call your bank on a number you have found yourself, and never share PINs or one-time passcodes.

3. Writing emails to university staff, landlords and companies

Emails are how most official business happens at university and with landlords and companies. A clear, polite email with the right details gets a faster, better answer and gives you a written record.

• Check the handbook or website first, then email the right person.
• Use a specific subject line with a code or reference.
• Say who you are, what happened and exactly what you want.
• Calm, short and factual gets better results than long and angry.

4. Customer service: getting results

Customer service can feel like a maze of hold music and chatbots. People who get results are usually not the loudest; they are the clearest, best prepared and most politely persistent.

• Prepare evidence and know what outcome you want before you call.
• Be specific: dates, amounts, reference numbers.
• Record every contact: who, when, what was agreed.
• If the answer is no, ask for options, a supervisor and the complaints procedure.

5. Making a formal complaint that gets taken seriously

Sometimes a quick chat does not fix the problem and you need to make a formal complaint. This lesson is about how to communicate that complaint and escalate it step by step. For your legal rights as a consumer, see the Contracts, Purchases and Your Rights module.

• Use the organisation's own complaints process first, in writing.
• Facts, impact, reasonable request, deadline.
• Ask for a final response or deadlock letter if it is not resolved.
• Independent schemes are usually free; check their time limits.

6. Asking for help and favours

Many students struggle alone rather than ask a lecturer, a flatmate or an office for help. Research suggests people are more willing to help than we expect, and asking well makes it easy for them to say yes.

• People are often more willing to help than you predict.
• Check the obvious sources first, then ask directly and specifically.
• Make it easy to say yes, and easy to say no.
• Always thank people and tell them how it turned out.

7. Following up and keeping records

Problems are often solved not by the first call but by the second or third, and by whoever has the best records. A simple habit of noting and saving every important contact turns a frustrating situation into one you can win.

• Record date, time, name, what was agreed and a reference for every important call.
• Confirm important calls in writing.
• Follow up politely on the date they promised.
• Organised records are your strongest tool if you need to escalate.

8. Dealing with bureaucracy patiently

Visas, residency, university registration and government services all involve forms, queues and waiting. Bureaucracy rewards people who prepare, read carefully and stay politely persistent.

• Use official websites and read instructions in full.
• Check official processing times before worrying, and start early.
• Keep reference numbers and confirm next steps before you leave.
• Politely persistent beats angry every time.

Talk about it, then try it

The real-life practice tasks from each lesson. Pick one or two a week and agree when you will check in.

1. Beating phone anxiety and making the call
   • Make one low-stakes practice call this week (for example, asking a shop about opening hours) using the five-part script.
   • Write a 'call card' in your phone notes with your full name, date of birth, address, student number and the account or policy numbers you use most, ready for any call.
2. Calling to book, cancel or ask
   • Book, change or cancel one real appointment this week by phone using the scripts, and write down the date, time, name and reference.
   • Save your bank's official number, your accommodation office number and your doctor's surgery number in your contacts with clear names.
3. Writing emails to university staff, landlords and companies
   • Write (but do not send) a practice email to a future lecturer asking for a meeting, using the structure above, and check it against the five-part checklist.
   • Create three email templates in your notes app: lecturer, landlord and company, ready to adapt.
4. Customer service: getting results
   • Next time you have a problem with an order, a bill or a service, use the 'facts, request, record' method and note the name, date, time and reference.
   • Write a one-page 'customer service log' template in your notes with columns for date, time, channel, person, what was said and next step.
5. Making a formal complaint that gets taken seriously
   • Find the complaints procedure of one company you use (your phone provider, bank or university) and note where it is and how long they say they take.
   • Adapt the complaint letter structure into a template you can reuse.
6. Asking for help and favours
   • Identify one thing you have been putting off asking for help with, and send the request this week using the direct, specific, easy-out format.
   • Write a short thank-you message to someone who helped you recently, saying exactly what difference it made.
7. Following up and keeping records
   • Start a 'contact log' note on your phone and use it for the next three calls or chats you have with any organisation.
   • Set up a digital folder called 'Admin and complaints' with subfolders by year.
8. Dealing with bureaucracy patiently
   • Pick one official process you will face in the next year (visa, residency renewal, university registration) and write a checklist of documents and official processing times from the official website.
   • Set calendar reminders three months before each of your important documents expires.

Quiz

Name: ______________________ Date: ____________ Circle one answer for each question.

Answer key

1. C: Confirming what was agreed and noting a name and reference gives you a record. Complaint guides such as StepChange and sa.gov.au advise noting who you spoke to and what was agreed.
2. D: NHS: write down your 2 or 3 most important questions and tick them off during the appointment.
3. A: NHS: the surgery may ask what you need help with so it can decide how soon you need to be seen and the most suitable clinician.
4. C: Take Five: being asked for a one-time passcode, password or PIN is a warning sign, criminals rush you, and you should check using contact details you have sourced yourself.
5. B: University of Melbourne and University of Toronto: use a short, specific subject line including the subject or course code.
6. A: University of Melbourne: personal addresses may be filtered as spam. University of Toronto: your university address identifies you as part of the university community.
7. D: sa.gov.au and StepChange: note the name of the person you spoke to, the date and time and what was discussed or agreed.
8. D: Citizens Advice: save webchat conversations and keep them for your records.
9. D: Citizens Advice: make a formal complaint to the seller first, following their complaints procedure. Ombudsmen expect you to have complained to the organisation first.
10. C: Financial Ombudsman Service: for most complaints the business has up to 8 weeks; for payment services, fraud and scams, 15 days.
11. C: Flynn and Lake (2008), Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: help seekers underestimated compliance with direct requests by as much as 50%.
12. C: Specific, limited requests are easier to agree to. This is practical advice consistent with the advice to be clear and direct.
13. D: StepChange and sa.gov.au: note the date and time, who you spoke to and what was said or agreed.
14. A: StepChange and the NZ Ombudsman recommend written records and written acknowledgement; an email turns a call into a record.
15. C: GOV.UK visa processing times: Student visa applications inside the UK have a standard processing time of 8 weeks (page updated September 2026).
16. B: GOV.UK: you should not book travel until you get a decision; UKVI will not reimburse travel costs if an application is refused or delayed.

General information only, written from the sources listed in each online lesson. Laws, numbers and services change, so check official sources. Life-Ready Society, https://lifereadysociety.com/getting-things-done/