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Do you think the travel agent handled the complaint well?. Waiter: I’m sorry, sir, I’ll change it for you.. Sarah Ashton wrote a letter of complaint to the manager of the travel agency..

COMPLAINTS

I Discussion

1 “The customer is always right” Do you agree with this

statement? Discuss your views with a partner, then with the rest

of the class

2 Here is a conversation between a travel agent and a

customer Choose a suitable word to fill in each blank to finish the conversation

Customer: My name is Sarah Ashton I (1)……… a flight to London through this

office last week It was a (2)……… booking and I paid by Visa This morning I received the ticket and you’ve booked me on the wrong (3)………

Travel agent: Hmm… What flight did you want?

Customer: I want to travel on the 10 a.m flight tomorrow This ticket is for the 14.00 Travel agent: Are you (4)……… you booked the 10 o’clock flight?

Customer: Look! I (5)……… booked the 10 o’clock flight!

Travel agent: Well, that’s a special fare If you want to change the (6)…………

time, there will be a (7)……… to upgrade the ticket

Customer: What! I don’t believe this! Listen! This is your mistake! If you think I’m

going to (8)………any more…

Discuss these questions

1 Do you think the travel agent handled the complaint well? Say why?

2 In pairs decide the best way of handling the customer’s complaint Compare your ideas with those of other students Which solution do you like best?

3 Here is another conversation between a hotel receptionist and a guest Finish the conversation by filling in the missing information

Guest: My n……… is Hagen I’m in room 229 This morning I was woken up at 6

o’clock by a telephone call that wasn’t for me Now this is the second time this has

happened It’s just not good enough! The c……… was for a Mr Haugen! Don’t you

people listen!

Reception: I’m most terribly s………, Mr Hagen I will inform the early morning

s……… She will ensure it doesn’t happen again

Guest: Well, I hope not! Also, I received this FAX this morning I’ve only got the first

two pages There should be four more Didn’t anyone ch………? This is a very i……… document!

Reception: I do a………., Mr Hagen I’ll check the FAX office straight away C………

I have those two sheets, please?

Guest: Right…

II Language study

Study the following examples and fill in the table with language of complaints and apologies

1 Man: Waiter, we ordered our drinks 20 minutes ago

Waiter: I’m terribly sorry I’ll see the wine waiter for you

2 Man: My steak is overdone I asked for it rare

Waiter: I’m sorry, sir, I’ll change it for you

3 Man: Waitress, this is the worst soup I’ve ever tasted It’s terribly salty

Waitress: I’ll take it back to the kitchen, sir Would you like to order something else?

4 Woman: Waiter, you must have the slowest service in town

Waiter: I’m sorry, madam We’re short-staffed tonight I’ll be with you in a moment

5 Woman: I’m sorry, but I asked for my dessert without cream

Waiter: So sorry, madam One moment and I’ll change it for you

6 Man: I don’t like to complain but this dish is completely uneatable

Waitress: I’m sorry, sir What exactly is wrong?

Man: The meat is completely uncooked

Waitress: I’ll speak to the chef immediately, sir Can I bring you something else?

7 Man: Look at this glass, waiter There’s lipstick on it

Waiter: My apologies, sir I’ll get you a new one

Language of complaint Language of apologies

………

………

.………

………

… ………

…… ………

……… ………

………… ………

………

………

.………

………

… ………

…… ………

……… ………

………… ………

Practice 1 Pair work: Take turns to be the manager of a hotel and a guest Use the prompts below to make short dialogues Try to use a different expression to apologize each time No towel No hot water Steak not cooked TV not working Terrible coffee Noisy guest in next room Slow service Telephone not working Example: Guest: I’d like to speak to the manager, please! Manager: I’m the manager, madam How can I be of assistance? Guest: There are no towels in my room! Manager: I’m so sorry, madam I’ll send some up straight away Guest: Thank you!

There are no towels in my room!

III Writing and Reading

1 Sarah Ashton wrote a letter of complaint to the manager of the travel agency Complete her letter with the correct tense of the verbs in brackets

14 Cherry Street, Edinburgh EH 12 1QT

16th

April 1991 The manager,

Fly-By-Night Travel,

101 Constable Street, Edinburgh EH4 3PQ

Dear Sir,

I … (write) to complain about the way a member of your staff …

(treat) me in Fly-By-Night Travel last Monday

I … (go) in to alter a flight booking to London as a result of a mistake your office … (make) in issuing my ticket

I … (try) to explain the situation to the travel clerk on duty, but he

… (be) extremely rude to me He … (suggest) that I was in the wrong and … (tell) me that I would have to pay a supplement to upgrade my original ticket In the end I … (have) to pay an extra $50

I often … (fly) to London and always … (use) Fly-By-Night, but if I

… (not/ receive) a satisfactory reply to this letter, I … (take) my business elsewhere

Yours faithfully, Sarah Ashton Sarah Ashton

2 Study the text below Then look at the reply to Sarah Ashton’s letter Does it follow steps 1-4 in the passage? How can you improve it?

Replying to letter of complaint

It is important to deal quickly with

letters of complaint A prompt and

satisfactory reply may save a

customer

First establish whether the

complaint is justified If you are quite

sure the customer is at fault, your

reply should politely point out what

the facts are If there is any doubt

about responsibility for a mistake, it is

often wiser to assume the customer

is right

Below is a guide to the

content of a typical reply to a letter

of complaint Write about each

point in a separate paragraph

1 Begin your reply by

acknowledging the fact that you

have received the letter and

referring to the complaint

2 Then apologize for the mistake,

explaining why it happened

Avoid blaming members of your

staff

3 Explain what action you are

taking This may mean replacing

damaged goods, or refunding

the customer’s money

4 Finally, apologize for the

inconvenience caused and

indicate that you hope your

business relationship can

continue

FLY-BY-NIGHT TRAVEL

101 Constable Street, Edinburgh EH4 3PQ Tel: 031 333 9861 Fax: 031 333 9862

Sarah Ashton

14 Cherry Street Edinburgh EH12 1QT

19 April 1991

Dear Ms Ashton

I do apologize for the inconvenience and hope you will decide to travel with us again

I would like to apologize on behalf of the staff member who served you He wishes you to know that he did not intend to cause you any offence

Thank you for your letter of 16 April concerning your visit to Fly-By-Night Travel last Monday

As a guest of our goodwill I am enclosing

a cheque for $50 to cover the supplement paid

Yours sincerely John Fleece John Fleece Manager

Now write a similar letter using the information below Spend some time planning the letter before you start to wirte You will have to invent some information

You are the manager of a travel agency You have received a letter of complaint from

a Mr Webb He asked your office to arrange his itinerary for a buisness trip to Brazil The itinarary he received gave the wrong departure time He missed his flight to Sao Paulo as well as a number of meetings

Practice 1

Pairwork: Work with your partner Choose one of the picture below What do you think the customer is complaining about? Use your imagination to make up a dialogue to suit the picture, then act out the scene with your partner

Is service included?

I Discussion

Work in pairs Which countries use these currencies?

Match the currencies to the countries

Baht dollars forints francs

pesos

Canada Hungary India Japan Malaysia Mexico

Russia South Africa Switzerland Thailand

Which are the top 5 nationalities who visit your country (or your place of work)

What currencies do they each use?

What were the exchange rates yesterday?

Fill out the chart

II Reading To tip or not to tip

Pre-reading questions

1 Talk about what you know about tipping

2 What kind of positions do people receive tips?

3 Do you think people who receive tips work harder? Explain

4 Is tipping common in Vietnam? If yes, where and what circumstances? If not, would you like to see it become more common? Why? Why not?

5 Is there a relationship between tipping and tourism? Explain

Nationality Currency Exchange

rate

1

2

3

4

5

People who have worked in the hospitality industry often depend on tips from customers to make ends meet People who don’t work in this industry don’t realize that servers, guides, drivers etc, sometimes aren’t paid minimum wages by their employers They depend on the tips that customers give them for good service and friendly help

One of the main reasons for tipping seems to be more out of guilt than actual gratitude We know that in many places tipping is

expected and if we don’t tip, there’s a chance that the

service on our next visit may not be up to standard

However, if we know that we are at a restaurant that

we’ll never return to, what is the motivation to leave a

tip? Some people believe that tips are left to make the customer feel better about being served knowing that the serving staff work hard and aren’t paid well

Knowing who to tip and how much to tip is difficult as tipping customs vary from country to country For example, tipping is not expected in Australia, New Zealand or Japan, but the average in Canada is 10-20% or 15-20% in the United States In China, tipping is not expected because foreigners are charged more as a matter of government policy As well, sometimes the tip is automatically included in the bill and sometimes it is not Therefore, if you’re traveling to another country, you would be wise to read up on its tipping customs to avoid embarrassment or angering someone

by accident

In Vietnam, most service people earn well US 100/ month so a few thousand doing is enormously appreciated even though there is no general cultural of tipping However, tipping is becoming more and more common in places such as Saigon, Hanoi and other cities where tourists often travel Many upscale restaurant and hotels now and

a service charge to their bill which ranges from 5-10% However, this money doesn’t always make its way to the service staff

Deciding whether to tip or not takes some sensitivity The Vietnamese are a very proud people and a tip can easily offend the receiver But there are times when it can

be taken the wrong way At small hotels, the staffs frequently go out of their way to answer questions, reconfirm plane reservations, look up addresses and the like You may even be invited to join the staff for a meal! This is a great honor and their way of saying they consider you a friend Remember, friends don’t tip friends! A tip, no matter how well-intentioned, will invariably be taken as an insult

III Practice

1 Read the following interview and practice with your partner

1 INTERVIEW: Jane is a flight attendant, who sells duty free goods on board Jane, how do customers pay?

JANE: I would say most people pay by credit card now and a few with cash You don’t often get people paying with traveler’s cheques any more Um… it’s all done by computers on the aircraft so people can give you a handful of this currency and you can take that You can’t take coins, any kind of coins at all these days, apart from sterling, so it… it’s just notes Um… and any change that involves coins has to be given in sterling So I would say credit cards by far and away are the most usual form

of payment

2 INTERVIEW: Rod is a travel agent, Rod, how do customers pay?

ROD: It’s becoming more and more common for credit cards The proportion of tickets that are actually paid for by cash and cheque has reduced quite substantially over the last three years and probably now 60 to 70% bookings are paid for by credit card, which may be a telephone booking, where they phone us up and make a booking over the phone or they come into the shop and do it

3 INTERVIEW: Fiona works in a restaurant Fiona, how do your foreign customers pay?

FIONA: I think if they’re younger, it’s usually cash and if they’re older, it’s probably credit cards

2 Fill in the blank with suitable information

1 Jane works for an airline Most passengers pay ……… But she also accepts foreign ……… But not ………

2 Rod is a travel agent ………… to …………% of his customers pay … ………… over the ……… or in the shop

3 Fiona is waitress Her younger customer pay ……… and the older ones

………

3 How do clients usually pay in hotels, restaurants, travel agents and shops in your country?

4 What is the price of each of these goods and services in your country?

5 Role play

Work in pairs If a tourist asks you the price of the goods and services above, what

do you say to him or her? Role play the conversation between a TOURIST and a LOCAL RESIDENT Then change roles

IV Listening

Harrods: the amazing facts

1 How do you say these numbers?

a 100 b 150 c 1,000 d 3.500

e 20,000 f 30,500 g 1,000,000 h 10,000,000

2 Listen to an interview with Peter Willasey, Harrods’ Media and Press Officer Complete the press information sheet below

Language in use

What does a … cost?

A … costs about…

The average price of … is…

That costs between … and …

You can pay up to … for that

It depends whether you buy it in a …

or in a …

Harrods

Knightbridge THE AMAZING FACTS

1 The Food sells

• ……… different kinds of cheese

• ……… sorts of bread and patisserie

• ……… tons of chocolate every year

TELEPHONE ENQUIRIES

I Listening

Listen to the telephone conversation, complete the

information on the screen below

II Language Study 1

We use WILL to talk about things we expect to happen We use WON’T to talk about

things we don’t expect to happen

Example: Mr Williams will probably arrive quite late

I won’t see you tomorrow I’m working at home

We also use will when we decide to do something at the moment we speak

Example: One moment I’ll put you through

I’ll just check that

MOUNT JOY HOTEL-NEWCASTLE

Reservation Confirmation

Accommodation: Not confirmed

Reservation for:

Contact:

No of persons:

Arriving:

For: .nights Check-in time: ………

Room Type: ………

Room Rate: $ 65