Business communication 1 - telephoning: solving problems

A Listen to four phone calls. Write the number of the call after the problem. Some calls have two problems.

1 There are no instructions. _____

2 A piece is missing. _____

3 The printer doesn’t work. _____

4 The invoice is incorrect. _____

5 The air conditioning doesn’t work. _____

6 The line is engaged. _____

B Listen again, read and check your answers.

Call 1

A:	Hello. This is Carl Fisher. Can I speak to Janet Porter, please?
B:	Speaking. How can I help you?
A:	I’ve got a problem with my printer. It doesn’t work.
B:	I’m very sorry about that. Please, return it, and we can look at it for you.

Call 2

A:	Hello, Barbara Keller here. Can I speak to Rodolfo Hernandez, please?
B:	Hold on. I’ll put your through…Hello. I’m sorry, the line is engaged. Would you like to hold?
A:	No. Can he call me back, please? My number’s 02049 487934. It’s urgent. We have a problem with the air conditioning. It’s broken down again!

Call 3

A:	Good morning. PK Electronics. Marta Gomez speaking.
B:	Oh, hello. I’m phoning about my microwave. There are no instructions in the package.
A:	I’m sorry to hear that. Which model is it?
B:	Hold on, I’ll check…. Here it is. It’s the PX2054.
A:	Sorry, could you repeat that, please?
B:	PX2054.
A:	PX2054. I’ll send you some new instructions in the post today.

Call 4

A:	Good morning. Denise Roberts here. Could I speak to Mike Wang, please?
B:	Speaking.
A:	Hello. I’ve got a few problems with the table you delivered last week.
B:	Can you give me some more information, please?
A:	There’s a piece missing and the invoice is incorrect.
B:	Right. Let me note down the details.

C Look at the Useful language box. Listen and tick the expressions you hear.

Answering Hello. This is ….(Carl Fisher) Good morning. (Marta Gomez) speaking.	Getting through Can I speak to ….., please? Can he call me back, please?
Apologizing I’m very sorry about that. I’m sorry to hear that.	Stating the problem I’ve got a problem with…. There are some problems with….
Getting details Can you give me some more information? Which model is it?	Giving details The invoice is incorrect. There’s a piece missing. It’s the wrong part / model / item.
Finding solutions We can give you a refund. I can talk to the manager. We can send you a new one.	Finishing a conversation Thank you. Thanks for your help.

D Listen and read the conversation again. Check your answers.

A:	Hello. Cindy Dekker speaking.
B:	Hello. This is Richard Marsh. I’ve got a problem with the parts you sent me.
A:	Oh, dear. I’m sorry to hear that. Can you give me the details?
B:	Yes, well, I want part number PV202, not PB204. It’s the wrong part.
A:	OK. Please return them as soon as possible. We can give you a refund or we can send you some new ones.
B:	That’s fine. Please send me some new ones right away.
A:	OK. Thanks for calling. Goodbye.
B:	Thanks for your help. Goodbye.

E Work in pairs and role-play the conversation. Use some of the expressions from the Useful language box. Do this exercise in writing first.

Student A Sales Representative Answer the phone. Ask for details. Apologize for first problem. Apologize again and offer solutions. Say goodbye.

Student B Customer Introduce yourself. Say you have some problems with order. Give details of first problem (shirts are wrong colour and size). Give details of second problem (want 2,000 not 200, as soon as possible. Thank the Sales Representative. Say goodbye.