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Lesson 32

Scheduling Follow-Up Calls: Dates and Times

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Bonjour ! Welcome back to your French course.

In our last lesson, we focused on offering alternative solutions, a key problem-solving skill. You learned how to turn a "we can't do that" situation into a positive one with phrases like Ce que nous pouvons vous offrir, c'est....

Often, the solution you offer—like a technician visit or a specialist callback—can't happen immediately. This brings us to today's topic and the first lesson in our new module, "Managing Call Flow and Expectations." Your goal for this lesson is to state and understand dates and times to schedule a follow-up call. Mastering this is essential for organizing next steps and providing clear, professional service.

1. The Building Blocks: Days, Months, and Dates

Before scheduling, you need to be confident with the basic components of a date. You've encountered numbers before, so we'll focus on days, months, and how to structure them.

First, let's review the days of the week.

Liste d'expressions en français pour la communication avec les clients francophones

This guide for communicating with clients has a clear, simple list of the days of the week. It's a good idea to practice saying them out loud.

Please find and review the short section titled '20-Jours de la semaine/Days of the week'.

For reference, here are the months of the year (les mois de l'année):

  • janvier (January)
  • février (February)
  • mars (March)
  • avril (April)
  • mai (May)
  • juin (June)
  • juillet (July)
  • août (August)
  • septembre (September)
  • octobre (October)
  • novembre (November)
  • décembre (December)

Now, let's see how to combine these to state a full date.

Telling Time in French: Days, Hours, Minutes

The video 'Telling Time in French' by Comme une Française clearly explains how to structure the date in French.

Watch from 00:41 to 01:51. Pay close attention to the standard order (day, month, year) and the special case for the 1st of the month.

As the video showed, the structure is simple and consistent: le [numéro] [mois]. For example, "July 25th" is le 25 (vingt-cinq) juillet.

The only exception is the first day of the month, where you use premier. So, "August 1st" is le premier août.

2. Telling Time: The 12-Hour vs. 24-Hour Systems

In a professional context, you'll encounter two ways of telling time. The 24-hour clock is standard for official written communication (e.g., appointment confirmations), while the 12-hour clock is common in spoken conversation.

The same video provides an excellent breakdown of both.

Telling Time in French: Days, Hours, Minutes

Let's continue with the 'Telling Time in French' video to understand the two systems for telling time.

Watch from 01:51 to 04:43. Focus on: The 12-hour system, using phrases like du matin (in the morning), de l'après-midi (in the afternoon), et quart (and a quarter), and et demi (and a half). The 24-hour system, which is more direct (e.g., dix-sept heures quinze for 17:15). The special words midi (12 PM / noon) and minuit (12 AM / midnight).

To summarize the key points:

  • 24-Hour System (Formal/Written): This is what you will likely use to formally log an appointment. It's clear and unambiguous.

    • 3 PM is quinze heures (15h00).
    • 5:30 PM is dix-sept heures trente (17h30).

  • 12-Hour System (Spoken/Informal): This is what a customer might say to you.

    • 3 PM is trois heures de l'après-midi.
    • 8:15 AM is huit heures et quart du matin.
    • 10:45 AM can be said as dix heures quarante-cinq or onze heures moins le quart (a quarter to eleven).

The image below is a helpful visual reminder.

How to Tell Time in French
This visual guide provides a great summary of how to tell time using both the 12-hour and 24-hour systems.
Test your understanding!

How would you say the following times in French? Give both the 24-hour formal version and the 12-hour spoken version.

  1. 2:30 PM
  2. 9:15 AM
  3. 8:00 PM
Show answer
  1. 2:30 PM:
    • 24-hour: Quatorze heures trente (14h30)
    • 12-hour: Deux heures et demie de l'après-midi
  2. 9:15 AM:
    • 24-hour: Neuf heures quinze (9h15)
    • 12-hour: Neuf heures et quart du matin
  3. 8:00 PM:
    • 24-hour: Vingt heures (20h00)
    • 12-hour: Huit heures du soir

3. Essential Phrases for Scheduling an Appointment

Now, let's learn the practical, conversational phrases for scheduling. This is where you combine dates and times to arrange a follow-up call with a customer.

Liste d'expressions en français pour la communication avec les clients francophones

The following resource provides a fantastic list of phrases specifically for making appointments. It is highly relevant to your goal.

Find the section titled '3-Rendez-vous/Appointment'. Read through the list of phrases. We will practice the most important ones next.

Let's organize these phrases by function, adding a few more from other professional contexts.

Proposing a Time

  • Je peux vous proposer un rendez-vous... (I can offer you an appointment...)
    • Example: Je peux vous proposer un rendez-vous **le mardi 10 juin à 15 heures**.
  • Est-ce que [jour/date] à [heure] vous convient ? (Does [day/date] at [time] work for you?)
    • Example: Est-ce que **demain à 10 heures du matin** vous convient ?
  • Serait-il possible pour vous le... ? (Would it be possible for you on...?)
    • Example: Serait-il possible pour vous **jeudi après-midi** ?

Asking for the Customer's Availability

  • Quand êtes-vous disponible ? (When are you available?)

Reacting to a Proposal

  • Customer says yes: Oui, c'est parfait. (Yes, that's perfect.)
  • Customer says no: Non, je ne suis pas disponible à cette heure-là. (No, I am not available at that time.)

Confirming the Appointment

This is the most critical step to ensure no miscommunication.

  • You confirm: Parfait. Le rendez-vous est donc fixé pour **le [date] à [heure]**. (Perfect. The appointment is therefore set for [date] at [time].)
  • You ask the customer to confirm: Pouvez-vous répéter la date et l'heure pour confirmer, s'il vous plaît ? (Can you repeat the date and time to confirm, please?)

4. Dialogue Practice

Let's see these phrases in a realistic conversation. The following dialogue is for setting a business meeting, but the language is identical to what you'd use for a customer call.

#52 Scheduling a Meeting in French｜Business Conversation Phrases

This resource provides a simple and clear dialogue for scheduling. Read it carefully to see the flow of proposing, declining, and confirming a time.

Read the short dialogue at the top of the page. Pay attention to how both speakers negotiate the time.

Now, let's practice your listening skills. The following video shows someone booking a doctor's appointment. The context is different, but the language for negotiating dates and times is exactly what you need to learn.

How to book a doctors appointment in French! FAST dialogue to improve your French listening skills

Listen to this dialogue from 'Learn French With Alexa' to hear how scheduling sounds in a natural conversation.

First, watch the full dialogue from 00:12 to 01:25 and try to understand the general negotiation. Then, watch the breakdown from 03:39 to 06:27, where the instructor explains the phrases demain jeudi à 18 heures and 18h30.

Final Practice Scenario

Imagine this situation: You need to schedule a 30-minute follow-up call with a customer, M. Dubois, to check if his new internet connection is stable.

  1. Propose a call for tomorrow at 11 AM.
  2. He says he is not available. Ask him when would be a good time for him.
  3. He suggests Friday afternoon. Propose 2:30 PM specifically.
  4. He agrees. Confirm the appointment with him.

How would you say your parts of this conversation in French? Try writing it down.

Show answer

Here is one possible version of the dialogue:

  • You: Bonjour M. Dubois. Je voudrais fixer un rendez-vous téléphonique avec vous. Est-ce que demain à 11 heures vous convient ?
  • M. Dubois: Non, désolé, je ne suis pas disponible.
  • You: D'accord. Quand seriez-vous disponible ?
  • M. Dubois: Vendredi après-midi, c'est possible.
  • You: Très bien. Est-ce que vendredi à 14h30 (quatorze heures trente) serait possible ?
  • M. Dubois: Oui, c'est parfait.
  • You: Parfait. Le rendez-vous est donc confirmé pour vendredi à 14h30. Merci, M. Dubois.

Conclusion

Félicitations ! You have just learned one of the most practical and essential skills for a call center role: scheduling appointments.

Key Takeaways:

  • Dates in French are structured as le [jour] [mois], with le premier for the 1st.
  • Be comfortable with both the 24-hour clock (e.g., quinze heures) for formal settings and the 12-hour clock (e.g., trois heures de l'après-midi) for conversation.
  • Master key phrases for proposing (Est-ce que... vous convient ?), asking (Quand êtes-vous disponible ?), and confirming (Le rendez-vous est donc fixé pour...).

Preview of the Next Lesson:
Once you've scheduled a call, you often need to tell the customer what will happen next. In our next lesson, you will learn to use the futur proche (aller + infinitive) to explain the next immediate action, which is the perfect way to set expectations for the follow-up call you just scheduled.

À la prochaine