Excuse me!

I’m afraid …  I’m sorry to say this but I am really quite

I have a complaint to make, I’m afraid.  upset/angry/disappointed … 
I’m sorry to say this but …  I want to complain about …  
There appears to be a problem here…  I would like to express my dissatisfaction with
Look, I’m sorry to trouble you, but …  …  
There seems to be a problem with …  I would like to point out that …  
I hate to tell you but …  I must insist that you refund my money …  
Do you have any thoughts on how we could Is there anything that can be done to improve
proceed?  the situation? 

engineers, duty, policy, help, model, found, problem, screen, manager, joking, price, replacement,
adjusting, gesture, apologise, quality, sound, staff, demanded, complaint, cap

A faulty TV

A: Good afternoon, can I ________you?

B: I hope so. I bought this television here about three months ago, but the sound and picture ________
are awful. The picture is always flickering and there’s a dark line down the left-hand side of the ______.
And there’s an annoying hissing _________ in the background.

A: Do you have an outdoor antenna?

B: Yes, I do.

A: Have you tried ______ the antenna?

B: Several times.

A:Hmmmmm. I’ll get our__________ to have a look at it.

B:A friend of mine bought the same ________ here and had exactly the same problems. I want a refund.

A:I’m afraid it isn’t our_________to give refunds, sir.

B:I want to see the _________ .

A bad holiday

A: Good morning, can I help you?

B:I’d like to make a ____________about my holiday in Hawaii last week.

A:I’m sorry to hear that. What exactly was the ____________?

B:First of all the bus taking us to the hotel broke down and we had to wait for over two hours in the
sweltering heat before a __________ arrived. Then when we got to the hotel we__________ our room
hadn’t been cleaned.

A:Oh dear, did you complain to the hotel____________?

B:Of course, but we were told all the chambermaids were off _________ . Anyway, that’s not all. The
people in the room above sounded like they were having all-night parties, every night. I________ another
room but the receptionist told me the hotel was full.

A:Oh, I see.

B:And to ________it all the food in the hotel restaurant was awful. It was so bad we had to eat out all the
time despite having paid for meals in the ________of our holiday.

A:I do__________. I’d like to offer you a 20% discount on the price of one of our Autumn breaks as a
________ of goodwill.

B:A 20% discount, you must be__________ . I want to see the manager.
A: Good afternoon, can I help you?

B: I hope so. I bought this television here about three months ago, but the sound and picture quality are
awful. The picture is always flickering and there’s a dark line down the left-hand side of the screen. And
there’s an annoying hissing sound in the background.

A: Do you have an outdoor antenna?

B: Yes, I do.

A: Have you tried adjusting the antenna?

B: Several times.

A:Hmmmmm. I’ll get our engineers to have a look at it.

B:A friend of mine bought the same model here and had exactly the same problems. I want a refund.

A:I’m afraid it isn’t our policy to give refunds, sir.

B:I want to see the manager.

A bad holiday

A: Good morning, can I help you?

B:I’d like to make a complaint about my holiday in Hawaii last week.

A:I’m sorry to hear that. What exactly was the problem?

B:First of all the bus taking us to the hotel broke down and we had to wait for over two hours in the
sweltering heat before a replacement arrived. Then when we got to the hotel we found our room hadn’t
been cleaned.

A:Oh dear, did you complain to the hotel staff?

B:Of course, but we were told all the chambermaids were off duty. Anyway, that’s not all. The people in
the room above sounded like they were having all-night parties, every night. I demanded another room
but the receptionist told me the hotel was full.

A:Oh, I see.

B:And to cap it all the food in the hotel restaurant was awful. It was so bad we had to eat out all the time
despite having paid for meals in the price of our holiday.

A:I do apologise. I’d like to offer you a 20% discount on the price of one of our Autumn breaks as a
gesture of goodwill.

B:A 20% discount, you must be joking. I want to see the manager.

I’m a waiter. You want to complain because your food is cold. You start. 

We’re colleagues. You want to swap shifts next week. You start. 

I’m a waiter. I BROUGHT YOU THE WRONG ORDER. TELL ME TO TAKE IT BACK. 

YOU ARE IN A BOOKSHOP. COMPLAIN TO THE STORE MANAGER THAT THE SALESPEOPLE IN THAT
STORE ARE RUDE. 
YOUR NEIGHBOURS ARE HAVING A BIG PARTY. IT IS TWO O’CLOCK IN THE MORNING. GO NEXT
DOOR AND COMPLAIN ABOUT THE NOISE. 

YOUR TEACHER HAS GIVEN YOU A GRADE WHICH YOU FEEL IS UNFAIR. TALK TO YOUR TEACHER
ABOUT THIS. 

YOUR ROOMMATE IS NOT VERY NEAT AND YOU ARE TIRED OF PICKING UP AFTER HIM/HER. DISCUSS
THE PROBLEM WITH YOUR ROOMMATE. 

You bought an electric toothbrush that was marked “Final Sale”. When you brought the item home,
you found it did not work. Bring it back to the store. 

You are paying for your child to take swimming lessons. When you arrive at the pool, you see there
is no supervision. Complain to the swimming instructor. 

Your landlord just called and told you he is raising the rent again, the third time in six months. Talk to
your landlord about this. 

Your friend was supposed to pick you up two hours ago. He/she has just shown up. Tell him/her why
you are angry. 

You are leaving a supermarket and look at your receipt. You think the cashier has overcharged you.
Bring this to his/her attention. 

Complaint 1

Student 1

Customer - you are in a restaurant having dinner, you ordered steak but when it arrives it is
under cooked.

You create a fuss and call the waiter to complain

Student 2

Waiter – You listen to the complaint and are not sympathetic, you dispute the complaint as
the meat is Carpaccio

Complaint 2

Student 1

Customer - you are in a restaurant having dinner, you ordered soup but when it arrives it is
cold.

You call the waiter over discretely to make your complaint

Student 2

Waiter – You listen to the complaint and are sympathetic but have to point out that the
soup is gazpacho which is always served cold
Complaint 3

Student 1

You buy a pair of expensive jeans in a large department store, you get a discount of 50% as
there is a sale on. The next day you notice a stain on one of the legs. Your little sister may
have spilt some make up on them but she denies it. You take them back to the shop to
exchange them or get your money back.

Student 2

You are the shop assistant. You sold the jeans to student 1 and you checked them carefully
before you wrapped them and they were perfect. You now have to deal with the complaint
that there is a stain on them.

Complaint 4

Student 1

You have been studying very hard for an exam at school. The night before the exam your
neighbours have a party. You are awakened at 1am by the noise. You are very annoyed. You
get out of bed and knock on their door to complain.

Student 2

You are having a party as you are emigrating in a few days and this is the only night that you
could bring all your friends together for this special party, it is very important to you.

Complaint 5

Student 1

You are a parent. You get a phone call from the head teacher of your child’s school
complaining that he/she has been seen smoking cigarettes behind the bicycle shed. This is
strictly against the rules. You must confront your child and find out the truth

Student 2

You are the child and you have recently taken up smoking. You recently fell out with your
closest friend and have started hanging out with a new group of friends who all smoke. You
only smoke as you want to be one of the gang.
Complaint 6

Student 1

You get on a very crowded train. The only available seat has a small dog sitting on it. The
owner looks very cross. You have a long journey ahead of you and you need a seat. You
decide to complain to the owner of the dog.

Student 2

You are the dog owner. You don’t like students as they are always noisy on the train and
often sit with their feet on seats. You have bought a ticket and you think it is quite
reasonable to have your dog sitting on the seat beside you.

Complaint 7

Student 1

You have been waiting for the bus to go into the city for an important appointment. You
were first at the bus stop but as the bus is late a lot of other people have arrived. When the
bus comes you are pushed out of the way and everyone gets on before you. When you
finally get on the bus, the bus driver tells you the bus is full and you must get off. You are
very annoyed and complain…..

Student 2

You are the bus driver. You are late because of very heavy traffic. The bus company have
very strict rules about exceeding the passenger numbers and you have been reprimanded in
the past for doing this. You are sympathetic but not sure what you can do and you need to
move off quickly as you are running late..

Complaint 8

Student 1

You have just purchased an expensive bottle of perfumes online. It has been two weeks
since the order, but nothing has come yet. Complain to the seller about the situation.

Student 2

You are the manager of an online shop. You have sent the product and have the
confirmation, but you are not responsible for the delivery.
You cannot afford to give refunds.

Complaint 9

Student 1

You have just registered your credit card, but as soon as you did that, you realise your
surname has been typed incorrectly. Explain the situation and demand on having your name
changed. It is correct in your general tab, but it is incorrect in payment tab.

Student 2

You are the person in the call center. Everything has been changed, so there is no need for
the customer to ask for any changes.

Complaint 10

Student 1

You have just had new printer delivered. Hardly had you started using it when you realized
it does not work properly. Get in touch with the people who are responsible for the product.

Student 2

You are the manager of the shop. You may supply the customer a new printer but it must
be sent 200 km back to the shop and you must cover the cost of the deliver. The other
solution is to get in touch with your local service.