Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on complaining over the telephone.
We all know the frustration that comes with not being satisfied with a product or service? And have you had your frustration build up because the problem keeps happening? At some point, we have to stop just complaining to our friends or colleagues about it and complain directly to the company. After all, you pay good money for something, and you want to be happy with it.
So you call the company up and you try to deal with the problem over the phone. It’s not an easy task, but there are some techniques that you can learn to make your complaints more effective. In today’s lesson, we’ll look at politely explaining a problem, rejecting bad excuses, and talking about the impact of the problem. We’ll also learn how to reference previous discussions about the problem and how to ask for a solution.
In the dialog, we will hear Donna, who works for a food products company called Fuller Foods. She’s calling Mike, an account manager with a company that distributes fruit. Donna is unhappy with the service she’s been getting and wants to complain about it.
Listening Questions
1. What excuse for the problem does Mike give at first?
2. What is the impact of the problem that Donna is complaining about?
3. What important question does Donna ask Mike at the end of the dialog?
Download: Podcast MP3
