A phone call from a customer

Listen to the phone call from a customer to practise and improve your listening skills.

Do the preparation task first. Then listen to the audio and do the exercises.

Preparation

Matching_MjMzNDA=

Transcript

Junko: Hello, Junko Mori speaking. How can I help you?

Andrea: Hi, Junko, it's Andrea here from Red Band. I'm calling about our latest order.

Junko: Everything arrived OK, right? We got the delivery confirmation at our end.

Andrea: Yes, everything's fine with the order. I'm calling about the invoice and the payment terms. I need a favour.

Junko: A favour? What do you need?

Andrea: This is a little, er ... difficult, but I need an extension on the payment terms. I know they're usually 30 days, but we're having some cash flow problems. You'd really be helping us out if you could extend it to 60 days.

Junko: I'm not sure if I can do that, Andrea. We've got regulations at our end, and also have to manage our own cash flow.

Andrea: I promise this won't become the norm, Junko. Actually, I also want to place another new order. The same size order as last time. It's for an important customer and they pay on delivery.

Junko: I see. So your cash flow problem will be solved after this new order is delivered.

Andrea: Exactly.

Junko: That sounds good. Hold on, Andrea. Let me see what I can do. Yes, I think we can make an exception this time.

Andrea: That's great, Junko. I appreciate your help.

Junko: And we appreciate your business, Andrea. It works both ways.

Andrea: Thanks again, Junko. Can you send me a quick email confirmation of the payment terms extension?

Junko: Sure, no problem. We're happy to help you.

Andrea: Great. And I'll email you the new order.

Junko: Thanks. I'll keep an eye out for it. Talk to you soon.

Andrea: You too. Goodbye.

Task 1

Exercise

Task 2

Exercise

Discussion

Do you ever do favours or make exceptions for important clients?

Download

Worksheet81.85 KB

Try another listening

Language level

B1 Intermediate

Hello, everyone! I have just registered to this course. After a long time I am a student again and I am so happy. Well, in reference to the question, I am not a businesswoman but in a daily basis I do favours and make exceptions. It makes you feel good when you help people.

Of course but first, they must understand that not-always will be so.

I don't have any clients. But in the future, if I need to make exceptions and do favours, I will surely do if it's for an important and regular client. I think it's a good way to improve loyal relationship between clients and suppliers.

Hi, in my company es very frecuencly that aor costumer we need exceptions with your orders, or delivery or send of your products, is very commun that they request our help any moment, in our country is important we have happy a our clients for the competence is big.

I was trying to understand to improve my listening skill. These audios helped me very much. At the beginning I didn’t understand the speeches. I could do text practices all correctly but my listening was bad. They were too fast for me. Because, firstly I was trying to translate it in my mind to my native language. Meanwhile, the speakers were continuing to talk. It was too hard. Then I started to listen to A1 audios first, then listened again and again. Then I tried to write the dialogues which I heard. And day to day, I started to understand better than the previous times. Nowadays I am listening to B1 audios. That’s very fast compared to A1. I recommend to everyone who tries to improve English. Firstly, don’t be afraid of to learn a foreign language. Secondly, listen, listen, listen and listen… Thirdly, try to write the dialogues which you heard without looking at the transcript. Then compare the text you write with the transcript. You will see that your skill is improving. Meanwhile I have some advice for English citizens. :)) Please don’t say “I’ll, you’d, they’ve, she’ll etc. Say I will, you would, they have, she will etc. That’s easier for us to understand. :))

This listenig was easy for me. I did the exercise 1 and 2 very well. For the next time I will choose the next level of listening. However I learned some new vocabulary related to the money. It like it

I think this listening was easy for me because I did it ver well. I also did both task 1 and 2 and I put the answers all correct. For the next time, I will choose a listening a bit more difficult. However, I learned some new vocabulary related to the money and deliveries. It was fun.

I did a lot of favour to my customers.Even they didn't paid the previous invoices, they made a new order.

For sure , I did a lot of favor to my clients.