English Talk

English for Shopkeepers and Small Business Owners

Here is the good news about shop English: it repeats. The same fifteen situations happen fifty times a day. You do not need to speak about politics or explain your opinions — you need to handle a transaction, clearly and warmly.

That is a small, finite thing to learn. Below are the sentences, grouped by the moment they are used.

Greeting and opening

• "Good morning, please come in."
• "How can I help you?"
• "Are you looking for something specific?"
• "Please have a look, take your time."
• "Let me know if you need anything."

That last one is worth learning properly. It lets a browsing customer relax, and customers who feel relaxed stay longer.

Understanding what they want

• "What size do you need?"
• "Which colour would you prefer?"
• "Is this for yourself or a gift?"
• "What is your budget, roughly?"
• "Sorry, could you repeat that? I did not catch it."

Never guess when you did not understand. Asking again takes three seconds; sending the wrong item takes an hour and a refund.

Price, discount and bargaining

• "This one is 850 rupees."
• "That price includes GST."
• "This is the best I can do."
• "I can give you a ten percent discount on two pieces."
• "Sorry, this is a fixed-price item."
• "If you take both, I will make it 1,500."

"This is the best I can do" is the polite English way of ending a negotiation. It closes the topic without sounding rude, which "no" alone can do.

Showing options and stock

• "We have this in three colours."
• "This one is a little more expensive, but the quality is better."
• "Sorry, that size is out of stock right now."
• "It will come in by Friday. Shall I keep one for you?"
• "Can I show you something similar?"

Notice the pattern: never end on the bad news. "Out of stock" followed by "shall I keep one for you" saves the sale about half the time.

Payment and billing

• "Cash, card or UPI?"
• "You can scan the QR code here."
• "Sorry, the machine is not working — UPI is fine?"
• "Do you have change for 2,000?"
• "Would you like a bill?"
• "Please check the payment went through."

Delivery and orders

• "We can deliver it to your home."
• "Delivery takes two to three days."
• "Could I have your name and phone number?"
• "I will call you once it arrives."
• "Please keep the bill for delivery."

Returns, exchanges and complaints

This is where weak English costs the most money, because an unhappy customer who feels unheard leaves a bad review.

• "I am sorry about that. Let me see what I can do."
• "Do you have the bill with you?"
• "We can exchange it, but we do not do cash refunds."
• "Please give me a moment to check with the owner."
• "Thank you for telling me. I will make sure it does not happen again."

Start with the apology, even when it was not your fault. In English, "I am sorry about that" is not admitting blame — it is basic service language, and leaving it out sounds cold.

Closing

• "Thank you, please come again."
• "Do visit us next time you need anything."
• "Have a good day."

How to actually learn these

Do not try to memorise the whole page. That never works, and you will not recall a single line when a customer is standing in front of you.

1. Pick the ten you need most for your shop — a clothing store needs sizes, an electronics shop needs warranty lines.
2. Say each one out loud twenty times, not in your head. The goal is for your mouth to produce it without your brain planning it.
3. Use them tomorrow, even on Hindi-speaking customers. Nobody will mind.
4. Add five new ones each week. In two months you have covered everything above.

The hard part is not the sentences. It is speed — a customer will not wait ten seconds while you construct a sentence, and the pressure is what makes people switch back to Hindi and give up. The only cure for that is speaking under real time pressure until it stops feeling like pressure.

Practise these out loud with a real person — free →

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