You're listening to Business English Pod, the Business English podcast for professionals on the move.
Hello and welcome back to Business English Pod.
My name's Edwin, and I'll be your host 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 problems keep 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 dialogue, 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.
As you listen to the dialogue, try to answer the following 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 dialogue?
Yeah, so, 20 years with the company.
I guess it was just a matter of time before he got the position.
Yeah, well, speaking of time...
I need to talk to you about a couple of things.
For one, deliveries.
Things seem to be arriving later and later.
That's not good.
No.
And it also seems we're having to send back more and more damaged produce or write stuff off ourselves.
Okay, well, we've had some issues with these new drivers.
I think they're still getting the hang of things, you know?
But I'll try talking to them about this.
Well, really, Mike, this isn't just about a few new drivers.
We've had the same guy for a year now.
And he handles things quite well, actually.
Okay, let me see.
You guys are on Alan's route.
Yeah, he's pretty good.
So listen, Donna, I'm really sorry about all this, and I'll see what I can do.
Well, Mike, here's the thing.
This has caused production delays on our snack pack line.
I'm talking about three, four days.
And that sets our whole distribution back.
Not a fun situation.
Not fun at all.
And I really apologize, Donna.
That definitely shouldn't be happening.
No, it definitely shouldn't.
And you know, two months ago I called you about this exact problem.
We talked about it.
You said you'd do something.
So that's why I'm pretty frustrated at this point.
Yes, Donna, I do remember that.
And I do understand your frustration.
Yes, well, but I can't let this kind of thing impact our bottom line.
Of course not.
That's the last thing we want, Donna.
So, how can we make sure this doesn't happen again?
Okay, well, as soon as I'm off the phone here, I'm going to talk to the guys on the floor.
In the warehouse, I mean.
Now let's go through the dialogue again and look at the language and techniques Donna uses during her call.
At the beginning of the phone call, Mike and Donna are chatting about someone they both know.
When Mike uses the expression just a matter of time, Donna sees an opportunity to explain her problem.
She uses that word time to transition into her complaint that deliveries seem to be arriving late.
Of course there is no doubt that the deliveries are late.
But saying seem to be softens the complaint, making it more polite.
Donna uses it again as she continues to explain her problem.
That's not good.
No.
And it also seems we're having to send back more and more damaged produce or write stuff off ourselves.
Besides late deliveries, Donna says it seems they're having problems with damaged produce or fruit.
In this way.
Donna is trying to politely and calmly lay out her problem for Mike near the beginning of the call.
What are some other ways we can do this?
Let's practice a few more examples of explaining a problem.
As I mentioned by email, we've been having a lot of trouble with our internet service lately.
So I'd really like to discuss some of the bookkeeping errors we've seen recently.
It seems that a few of our techs are finding it difficult to install the new software.
Overall, the session was good, but we have some important concerns about the trainer's approach.
Now, what is Mike's explanation for the problem?
Okay, well, we've had some issues with these new drivers.
I think they're still getting the hang of things, you know, but I'll try talking to them about this.
Well, really, Mike, this isn't just about a few new drivers.
We've had the same guy for a year now, and he handles things quite well, actually.
Mike blames the delivery problems on new drivers, but Donna doesn't accept these excuses.
Often, when we complain by phone, the first response is a poor excuse for the problem.
In these cases, we often have to reject the excuse and take the conversation closer to an actual solution.
Donna does this by saying, really, Mike?
Which immediately tells him she doesn't believe it.
She then says very directly that their driver is not the problem.
Let's run through some more ways we can reject poor excuses.
Okay, but that's not really the problem at all.
I'm sorry, but I seriously doubt that's the issue here.
To be honest, I'm not interested in hearing excuses right now.
Are you really telling me this is just about mechanical flaws?
Now, let's get back to the dialogue.
Okay, let me see.
You guys are on Alan's route.
Yeah, he's pretty good.
So listen, Donna, I'm really sorry about all this, and I'll see what I can do.
Well, Mike, here's the thing.
This has caused production delays on our snack pack line.
I'm talking about three, four days.
And that sets our whole distribution back.
Not a fun situation.
Now that his poor excuse has been rejected, Mike actually apologizes and says he'll see what he can do, which is a very vague or nonspecific way of saying he'll look for a solution.
Is that good enough for Donna?
It certainly isn't.
She is going to push for a clear solution.
But first she wants to highlight the impact of the problem.
We can hear that she is becoming more and more serious and direct.
She says, here's the thing, before clearly stating the negative impacts of the delivery problems.
This should help Mike understand that just seeing what he can do is not good enough.
Now, let's try some more ways we can talk about the impact of a problem when we complain.
This problem has cost us over 60 hours to fix, and that's set the whole project back.
With this machine down, we've had to cut production by 20% over the last week.
Because of this mistake, the city has said they may not approve the development proposal.
So, does Mike now see how important Donna's problem is yet?
Not fun at all.
And I really apologize, Donna.
That definitely shouldn't be happening.
No, it definitely shouldn't.
And you know, two months ago I called you about this exact problem.
We talked about it.
You said you'd do something.
So that's why I'm pretty frustrated at this point.
Mike has apologized again.
But Donna's still not satisfied.
In fact, this isn't the first time she's complained about the problem.
In previous conversations, Mike said he would do something about it, but he hasn't.
So during this call, it's important for Donna to mention these previous discussions to help support her position and explain why she's frustrated or upset.
Let's practice a few more examples of mentioning previous discussions when you're complaining.
Just last week, you promised me this wouldn't happen again.
I have an email from September 20th saying you'd have a technician out here within the week.
If I recall, last month we sat down and talked about specific ways to reduce these errors.
I'd like to remind you that this isn't the first time this has come up.
In March, we had this same conversation.
Now, let's listen as Donna finishes setting up her complaint.
Yes, Donna, I do remember that.
And I do understand your frustration.
Yes, well, but I can't let this kind of thing impact our bottom line.
Of course not.
That's the last thing we want, Donna.
So, how can we make sure this doesn't happen again?
Mike continues to say he understands, while Donna once more underlines the negative impact of the problem, before she finally asks for a solution.
She has explained the problem, its impact, and her frustration.
So now she can say, how can we make sure this doesn't happen again?
When you've got a serious complaint, are you satisfied with vague promises of improvements?
Or do you want real solutions like Donna wants?
To get those solutions you need to ask for them.
So let's try a few more ways of doing this.
So what do you think we can do here?
I'd like to know exactly what you guys are willing to do about this.
Moving forward, how can we make sure there are no more costly errors?
If you've got some ideas about how to stop this problem, I'm all ears.
Exactly what kind of solution will Donna get out of this phone call?
What will Mike do to deal with the problem?
We'll have to wait until the next lesson to find out.
Now, let's practice some of the language we learned in today's lesson.
We're going to start with a role-play practice.
Imagine you are calling a mobile phone company to complain about poor service for your business.
You are talking to a service representative that you have dealt with in the past.
You'll need to start by politely explaining the problem.
Then you'll reject a poor excuse, talk about the impact of the problem and mention a previous discussion about the same problem.
Finally, you'll ask for a solution.
At each step, you'll hear a prompt spoken by the service rep.
Then I'll give you some suggestions for the language you can use.
We'll guide you through each step in the practice and play an example answer for each response.
Ready?
Let's give it a go.
So how's everything going?
Start off by politely saying that things are not so good because your staff gets poor phone reception.
Example Answer Well, to be honest, everyone is getting really poor phone reception.
Well, certain locations sometimes don't have very good cell service.
Now, reject the excuse by saying that your staff don't work in remote locations.
Example answer.
Okay, but my staff are not working in remote locations.
I see.
Well, I'm very sorry that you've been experiencing problems.
Now, tell the rep that you've had complaints from your customers about poor communication.
Example answer.
The big problem here is that we're hearing complaints from our customers about poor communication.
That's not good.
I'll definitely look into this and see what might be happening.
Now tell the rep that you've talked about this problem before.
Example answer.
I just want to remind you that we talked about this same problem last month.
Ah yes, now I remember.
We did talk about it before.
Now, ask the service rep how they can solve the problem. example answer.
So, what exactly can you do to solve this problem?
Now, let's practice some of the vocabulary and collocations we've covered in this lesson.
In a moment, you'll hear a series of sentences with a word replaced with a beep.
Repeat each sentence, including the missing word.
For example, if you hear You can say, After each response, we'll play the correct answer.
Let's begin.
It takes new employees a month or so to get the of the job.
Answer.
It takes new employees a month or so to get the hang of the job.
Answer.
We really need to cut costs to improve our bottom line.
Well, John, I'll see what I can about your technical problems.
Answer.
Well, John, I'll see what I can do about your technical problems.
My financial advisor says it's just a matter of before the economy improves.
Answer.
My financial advisor says it's just a matter of time before the economy improves.
We've reached the end of this lesson, the first in our series about complaining over the telephone.
We've learned how to explain a problem politely, reject poor excuses and explain the impact of the problem.
We've also looked at how to mention previous discussions about the problem and how to ask for a solution.
In the next lesson we'll see Donna use some more great techniques for getting a satisfactory solution when you have a serious complaint.
Thanks for listening, and see you again soon.
