Today, were talking about Apple’s new mobile phone: the iPhone. Actually it’s a combination of phone, iPod and internet browser all rolled into one gadget. We’ll be looking at the hype – or massive publicity – surrounding the launch of the iPhone and taking a closer look at the marketing vocabulary we use to describe product launches and the retail market.
Continuing our series on ESL for business travel, we rejoin Alan and Honesto on their business trip to the USA. In BEP 55 – Airport Departures and Take Off, Alan, the main character in our story, and Honesto, his colleague, have left Hong Kong for San Francisco. There they will go through immigration, collect their bags, and change planes to Michigan, which is where their company, Ambient, is headquartered.
Immigration is the process you follow to enter a foreign country. So in today’s ESL lesson, you’ll learn helpful travel vocabulary and phrases you can use when you enter the U.S. or other countries.
Listening Questions
1) What is an I-94 form?
2) How much money can you bring into the U.S.?
3) Where does Alan want to go sightseeing?
4) What does Alan mean by “just pulling your leg?”
This Business English Podcast lesson is the first in a series of shows that will follow an employee of a manufacturing company on a training trip to the U.S. Over the series, we’ll practice many situations that will be useful for you on your business trips overseas, including going through immigration, renting a car, checking into a hotel, using wireless internet and so on.
The main character in our story is Alan Chen. He works for a major multinational electronics manufacturer, Ambient, which is headquartered in Michigan in the USA. Having recently received a promotion, Alan is going to America to learn 6 Sigma, which is a system for improving quality.
Today’s episode starts at the beginning of the business trip with “boarding the airplane.”
Listening Questions
1) What row are Alan and Honesto sitting in?
2) What should passengers turn off before the plane takes off?
3) What does Alan mean by “murder a scotch.”
This is the second in a two-part Business English Podcast series on handling angry customers on the telephone. In today’s show we’ll be looking at how to resolve the customer’s complaint.
First a quick review: In part one we learned the first three steps for calming down angry customers and dealing with their complaints: First, we need to acknowledge their emotions by showing empathy. Second, we should identify the background to their problem so that we can take the right steps to fix it. And third, we should listen actively to show them that we care.
Where we left off last time, Sandy, a service associate at the front desk of the Majestic Hotel, had just finished identifying Steve’s problem. Let’s continue listening to see how Sandy resolves the complaint.
Listening Questions
1) How does Sandy show that he is actively listening to Steve?
2) What does Steve need?
3) What steps does Sandy take to ensure that Steve is satisfied with the outcome of the call?
Good customer service is essential to success in any industry, but it is particularly important in the service and hospitality sector. “Hospitality” means treating guests well; and here, we’re talking specifically about hotels. Because service is so vital to hospitality, hotels are a good place to look for excellent service practices.
So today we’ll be listening in on a phone call from an angry customer at the Majestic, a five-star hotel in Shanghai. By listening to a bad example and a good example of service practice, we’ll be studying skills that are useful in any industry, no matter whether you are dealing with internal or external customers.
We’ll see that a very important part of handling angry customers is showing empathy: Empathy is similar to sympathy – it means showing that you understand the customer’s pain.
Listening Questions
Bad Example:
1) How does the customer, Steve, learn the service associate’s name?
2) What is Steve’s problem?
3) How could Jenna have handled the complaint better?
Good Example:
1) When Steve says, “I’m at the end of my rope,” what does he mean?
2) What does Sandy do to calm Steve down?
