 WARM-UP ~ CUSTOMER FEEDBACK

Work in pairs.
What are the most common reasons for customer feedback?

1. 2.

3. 4.

5. 6.

Work in pairs.
Have you given any customer feedback lately?
What was the feedback about?
What did you say/do?
What was the result?
 LISTENING – FEEDBACK (Business Basics 67a -b))

Listen to a customer calling Stephanie Rowe at Benn Distribution and complete the details below.

Benn Distribution Ltd

Customer Service Department

Complaint Form

Caller: Company:

Order No: Goods:

Problem:

Action:

Listen to Part 2.

Where are the instruction manuals?

What does Stephanie offer to do?

Complete the following sentences from the telephone dialogues.

Then label them S (Stephanie) or C (customer).

S/C

I’m ………………………….. about my order.

I’m very sorry ……………… that.

Can you ……………………………… the problem?

……………………… call you ………………….. in ten to fifteen minutes.

I’m …………………………… we found them here in our factory.

I ………………….…………………. once again.

Check your answers with your partner.

 PRACTICE EXERCISE - GETTING ALL THE FACTS:

When customers give feedback, it is important to ask questions to get all the facts you need.
Look at the examples:

Customer: There’s a problem with our server.

You: Oh dear. What exactly seems to be the problem?
Customer: It keeps overheating.
You: I’m sorry about that. I’ll [arrange for a technician to visit your office as soon as possible].

How would you respond to the following situations?

1. Customer: Your technician was very rude.

You:

Customer: He told me that I was stupid and that I didn’t know how to use the handset.

You:

2. Customer: You delivered the wrong quantity.

You:

Customer: 30. We ordered 300.

You:

3. Customer: Your technician was very unskilled.

You:

Customer: He didn’t bring the right spare parts, and he broke the front cover of the machine.

You:

4. Customer: The blackberry you delivered is incomplete.

You:

Customer: There is no battery.

You:
 LANGUAGE FOCUS ~ RESPONDING TO FEEDBACK

Giving Feedback
There seems to be a mistake.
Can you look into it?

Asking for details

Could you tell me exactly what happened?
What exactly seems to be the problem?
Could I have the order number, please?
May I have your account number, please?
Apologising and giving reasons

I’m sorry, but we’ve had problems with our supplier.

I’m afraid there’s been a delay due to transportation problems.

Apologising again

I’m very sorry about that.

I do apologise for the mistake.

Promising action

I’ll look into it.

I’ll see what I can do.
I’ll dispatch the missing items today.
I’ll ask our technician to call you as soon as possible.

Offering to do something

Would you like me to send it by express mail?

Shall I send it today?

 PRACTICE EXERCISE

Fill the gaps in the following dialogue with suitable expressions.

Staff: Good morning, Hutchison, my name is ………………………………….?

Caller: Yes, this is Michael Fraser calling from HSBC. Your Blackberry trainer has arrived but you were
supposed to send two trainers to our office this morning. We have 50 people scheduled for training. Can you
send another trainer right away?

Staff: [Apologise]…………………………………………………….………………………………..

[Give a possible reason for the mistake]………..……….……………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………….…………
 [Explain action you will take]………………………………………..……….…….………….

………………………………………….………………………………………………………

………………………………………….………………………………………………………

[Apologise again and tell him you will call him back in 15 minutes]
……………………………………………………..……….…….………….

Caller: OK. We'll wait for your call. I hope you can help.

Staff: [Reassure again and say goodbye] …………………………....……….……………………….

………………………....………………………………………………………………………..

Caller: Thank you. Goodbye.

 PRACTICE EXERCISE - CALLING BACK

Work in pairs.

Decide on a possible cause and outcome for the previous situation.

On the following page construct a dialogue for calling back the client.

Compare your dialogue with another pair. Which one is better? Why?

CALLING BACK:

HSBC Hutchison Staff

 PRACTICE EXERCISE - GIVING EXPLANATIONS

 This is due to… This may be due to…

 This is because… This may be because…
 This is because of… This may be because of…

How would you answer the following?

1) Why is my bill so high?

2) Why have you increased your charges again so soon?

3) Why isn't my Blackberry receiving e-mails?

4) Why hasn’t your technician arrived at our offices yet?

 PRACTICE EXERCISE: BULATS SPEAKING TEST
Read the Sample Question Paper. Complete the following.

1. BULATS means ________________________________________________________________.

2. BULATS is a ______________________________test.
3. The entire test is __________ minutes long.
4. Each part will last _________ minutes.
5. In Part One you will have an _______________________________________________________________.
6. In Part One you will be asked _____________________ questions and will have one ___________ to
answer each of them.
7. In Part Two you will be asked to give a short __________________.
8. In Part Two you will have one minute to _________ the topics and _________________ your talk.
9. In Part 3 you will be asked to take part in a ________________________________________activity with
the _________________________.
10. The communicative activity in Part 3 is made up of a __________________________________________
and a __________________________________ with the ___________________________.

Do you think this statement is true or false?

You cannot fail the BULATS test. _____________

 INTERVIEW PRACTICE
Pretend you are a BULATS interviewer.
Work in pairs.
Brainstorm six questions to request personal information about someone.

Personal Information Questions

Now interview another pair using these questions.

Work in pairs.
Brainstorm six questions to request information about someone's work.

Work-related questions Answers

Now interview another pair using these questions.

 INTERVIEW PRACTICE con't
Work in pairs.
Brainstorm four questions to request information about someone's travel experience.

Travel Questions

Now interview another pair using these questions.

Work in pairs.
Brainstorm four questions you could ask someone about learning English. Write them below

English Learning Questions

Now interview another pair using these questions.

 INTERVIEW PRACTICE
TOPIC - FUTURE CAREER PROSPECTS
Work in pairs.
Brainstorm four questions to request information about someone's future career prospects.

Questions about your future career prospects Answers

Now interview another pair using these questions.

Brainstorm four questions to request information about someone's hobbies and interests.

Hobbies and Interests Questions Answers