Abstract
This book systematically investigates the sequential deployment of responses to requests in telephone service encounters in British English, German and Italian. Varcasia describes and defines conversational strategies used by speakers of the three languages when responding to requests, considering the different response formats and their grammatical configuration. Chapters are organised according to the structural complexity in the responses and explore the different practices of turn construction. This cross-cultural comparison recognises the similarities and differences in the preference for response format and reveals that speakers in all three languages oriented to the same expectations of detailed responses involving extended conversation rather than short responses that provided only the requested information. This book will appeal to scholars of linguistics and communication studies as well as having practical implications for the training of staff and call-centre operators.