Standards products rapport complaints reassure

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. When you handle ... it is important ...

2. You can establish a ... with a customer if...

3. A key element in customer care is to ... people ...

4. Companies which do not meet their ... of service ...

5. Many companies will replace ... free of charge if ...

......................................................................................

a) when they are worried.

b) will lose customers.

c) they are faulty.

d) you know about their buying habits.

e) to be diplomatic.

Ex.2. Match the idiomatic expressions 1-7 to their meanings a)-g).

1. pass the buck a) forgot to do something

2. get to the bottom of the problem b) paid far too much for

something

3. it was the last straw c) avoid responsibility

4. got straight to the point d) find the real cause of

something

5. slipped my mind e) talked about the subject

directly

6. ripped off f) the last in the series of

problems

7. talking at cross purposes g) misunderstanding what

smb else is referring to

Use the idiomatic expressions to complete the sentences appropriately.

1. She was very helpful. she promised to ... and find the solution.

2. He's the responsible person. He shouldn't try to ... and blame others for his mistakes.

3. Several customers have complained about our service contract. They say they're paying far too much and feel they have been ... .

4. I meant to send him a brochure but we were very busy and it ... .

5. They wanted to place a larger order. I thought they wanted a bigger discount. We were ... .

6. They ignored my complaints, but ... when they refused to refund my money.

7. I saw no point in arguing with him. I ... and said I wanted my money back.

Ex.3. Use one of the prefixes out- over-, or under- with the correct form of the verb in brackets to complete each of the sentences below..

1. The Dome's operators ... (estimate) the number of visitors: they forecast 10 million, but fewer than 7 million showed up.

2. Metro tried to buy Wertkauf, but was ... (bid) by Wal-Mart.

3. Under the agreement, NCR will ... (source) the manufacture of its computers to Solectron for at least five years.

4. There are some companies with big problems because they ... (extend) themselves in real estate.

5. Vickers had a reputation of ... (perform) companies, but the recent events brought them back to profitability.

Ex.4. Discuss these questions.

a) Which are the most popular commercial or saving banks in your country?

b) How do you prefer to bank? What are the advantages or disadvantages of internet banking compared with visiting your local branch?

c) In what ways is your banking different from the way you or your company carried out financial transactions five or ten years ago?

Unit 9

Text. Read ad translate.

Angel investor

An angel investor or angel (also known as a business angel or informal investor or angel funder) is an affluent individual who provides capital for a business start-up, usually in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity. A small but increasing number of angel investors organize themselves into angel groups or angel networks to share research and pool their investment capital, as well as to provide advice to their portfolio companies.

The term "angel" originally comes from Broadway, where it was used to describe wealthy individuals who provided money for theatrical productions. In 1978, William Wetzel, then a professor at the University of New Hampshire and founder of its Center for Venture Research, completed a pioneering study on how entrepreneurs raised seed capital in the USA, and he began using the term "angel" to describe the investors that supported them.

Angel investors are often retired entrepreneurs or executives, who may be interested in angel investing for reasons that go beyond pure monetary return. These include wanting to keep abreast of current developments in a particular business arena, mentoring another generation of entrepreneurs, and making use of their experience and networks on a less than full-time basis. Thus, in addition to funds, angel investors can often provide valuable management advice and important contacts. Because there are no public exchanges listing their securities, private companies meet angel investors in several ways, including referrals from the investors' trusted sources and other business contacts; at investor conferences and symposia; and at meetings organized by groups of angels where companies pitch directly to investor in face-to-face meetings.

There were 258,000 active angel investors in the U.S. in 2007. The past few years, particularly in North America, have seen the emergence of networks of angel groups, through which companies that apply for funding to one group are then brought before other groups to raise additional capital.