Manager and Client: Difficult Clients

If your company offers a service, you may find that you have to deal with complaints from customers and clients.

ü Think it over. Imagine that you work in a travel agency and a customer comes in to complain about a recent holiday. The customer tells you that they experienced a bad delay at the airport which ruined their holiday. How do you respond?

ü Useful Phrases. Read the phrases and find Russian equivalents for them.

· You can explain to me what actually is the problem…

· Can I take your name?

· I understand you are having a few problems…

· Would you like to just explain from the beginning what’s happened?

· I’m sorry for that wait.

· I don’t know what the problem was.

· As you can imagine…

· I’m sorry about this, Mr. Anderson.

· I can actually look into that for you…

· I’m sorry for the inconvenience.

· I can assure you…

· Let me check for you.

ü Read. Now read two conversations of people making complaints. As you read, see if you can find in the conversation expressions from “Useful phrases” list above.

***

Angela: Hello, I’m Angela, I’m the customer services manager. Would you like to come with me and come and take a seat and you can explain to me what actually is the problem?

Alison: Okay, okay, fine.

Angela: Can I take your name?

Alison: Yes, my name’s Alison.

Angela: Okay. Alison, if you’d like to make yourself comfortable. As I said, I am the customer services manager and I’d like to help you. I understand you are having a few problems. Would you like to just explain from the beginning what’s happened?

Alison: Well, yes. I’ve just come back from one of your holidays. I went to Crete, in Greece, got back last week and the whole thing was a disaster.

Angela: Would you like to just explain from the beginning what’s happened?

Alison: Well, yes. To start with, when we got to the airport in Crete, we had a two hour wait on the coach, I think there was a delayed flight or something, and… and…

Angela: …Right, that’s quite possible…

Alison: …Yes… And I just can’t work out why you didn’t take us to our hotel and then come back to the airport to pick up the people from the delayed flight.

Angela: Right, I’m sorry for that wait. I don’t know what the problem was. You mentioned a delayed flight there. As you can imagine, you probably weren’t the only family on the coach waiting, and to ferry people to and from resort to the airport would have been a lot of extra work and they like to try and keep everybody together who are going on the same flight. I can actually look into that for you …

***

Karen: Hello!

Mark: Hello, can I speak to despatch, please?

Karen: You’re through to despatch.

Mark: Right. Well, I phoned two days ago to say that I hadn’t received delivery of my order and I’m ringing again to say it still hasn’t arrived.

Karen: Can I just take your name please?

Mark: Yes, it’s Mark Anderson.

Karen: Ah! I think there’s been a problem with that order, Mr Anderson.

Mark: What kind of problem?

Karen: Oh, I don’t know offhand. Let me check for you. Yes, part of the order didn’t arrive here at the depot, so I couldn’t send it out until we’d received everything.

ü Practice. Finish the sentence with the correct word or phrase and putting them in order.

1. I know that you were delayed for well over 2 hours and__________ ______________ _____________ ______ _________ _____________

wait / sorry / I’m / very / the / for

2. If you give me all the relevant information about the problems you had on your holiday, _____ _________ ______ _________ __________ _____________

can / into / look / for / it / you / I

We’re doing everything we can to ensure that this situation never happens again.

you / assure / can / I

4. There was a technical problem on Saturday and, ____ ______ ______ _______, you weren’t the only one affected.

imagine / can / as / you

CHALLENGE

I. Prepare and act out negotiations between a boss and an employee.

The negotiations take place at a fictional company called Landscape

Labourers.

Person A: Markus, a landscaper who has been with this company for five years, believes he is underpaid. He also thinks he deserves more seniority over his crew members.

Person B: Markus's manager, Louis is also the owner of Landscape Labourers. Though Louis values Markus more than any of his other labourers, he isn't sure that he can afford to pay him more, especially at this time of year when work is unsteady.

Markus prepares his case and presents it to management. The two parties negotiate and achieve their goals.

II.You can choose any other situation to practice your negotiation skills and act it out with your colleagues.

PRESENTATIONS

PRE-READING

A presentation is a formal talk to one or more people that " presents" ideas or information in a clear, structured way. People are sometimes afraid of speaking in public, but if you follow a few simple rules, giving a presentation is actually very easy.

· Answer the questions: Did you ever give a presentation in public? Was it successful?

· Study the key vocabulary and give Russian equivalents to the words.

audience - people watching a presentation of some kind

with someone in mind - thinking about a person

to appeal to someone - to speak to someone's interests

to fall on deaf ears - to not be heard

thoroughly - completely, entirely

to be second nature - to do something naturally, with little effort

to rehearse - to practice, repeat a number of times

to record yourself - to make an audio or video recording of yourself

appropriate - in the right place, in good taste

tone - the feeling of a presentation (i.e. funny, serious, etc.)

ice-breaker - a short story or joke to put everyone at ease before you begin

to address someone - to speak to someone

conviction - with belief

to persuade - to convince someone

to refer to notes - to look at your notes while speaking

to maintain eye contact - to look someone in the eyes

handout - sheets of paper with information presented

to make your case - to state information relating to your position

READING

Text 1. Read and discuss the text about giving an effective presentation.

Effective Presentation Tips

Above all know your audience and match what you say to their needs. Creating your presentation with your audience in mind, will assure that your audience will follow you. If your presentation doesn't appeal to your audience - no matter how well you have developed your presentation - your presentation will fall on deaf ears. This leads us to the next rule: Know your material thoroughly. Your material needs to be second nature to you. Practice and rehearse your presentation with friends, in front of a mirror, and with colleagues. If you are speaking in a second language, make sure that you record yourself and listen a number of times before going to practice with a native speaker (if possible).

Remember that you are an actor when presenting. Make sure that not only your physical appearance is appropriate to the occasion, but also the tone you use is well chosen. If your topic is serious, be solemn. However, it's always a good idea to begin your presentation with an ice-breaker. Don't worry about making friends, rather lead the audience through your materials in a calm and relaxed manner. Speak slowly and clearly, and remember to address everyone in the audience - even the person the farthest away from you.

To achieve the above goals follow these tips when giving your presentation:

· Speak with conviction. Believe what you are saying and you will persuade your audience.

· Do not read from notes. Referring to notes is fine, but do so only briefly.

· Maintain eye contact with your audience. Making direct eye contact with individuals will help them feel as if they are participating in your presentation.

· Bring handouts. Don't just use a PowerPoint presentation. Provide audience members with handouts of the most important materials so they can keep your most important take always in mind.

· Know when to stop. This cannot be underestimated. You need to make your case, but continuing for too long will only ensure that the audience forgets what you have said.

http: //esl.about.com/od/businessreading/a/present_tips.htm

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