A phone call from a customer

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

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

Task 2

Discussion

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Average: 4.4 (840 votes)

Submitted by Pauviver on Mon, 09/03/2026 - 18:14

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I´m agree, We must help others but they must be good customers and they musn´t do this regullary.

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Submitted by Libelula on Thu, 05/03/2026 - 12:58

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Yes, we normally make exceptions for important clients. It’s a way to help each other.

Submitted by Ssannmm on Thu, 05/03/2026 - 08:55

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It can happen, particularly with small suppliers. It is not an unusual situation so I would make an exception in this kind of situation. I think It’s important to help others and from a business perspective, I think it’s a good strategy to keep a customer.

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Submitted by abdul249 on Thu, 26/02/2026 - 22:43

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we are always asking for exstention when we fac situation like this.

Submitted by amanha7007 on Sun, 22/02/2026 - 09:40

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Yes, I sometimes make exceptions for important people, especially if helps the team or project 

Submitted by amanha7007 on Sun, 22/02/2026 - 09:35

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Yes, I sometimes make exceptions for important people, especially if it helps the team or project.

Submitted by OZalan on Sun, 15/02/2026 - 04:42

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Yes, I do. Sometimes I ever do some exceptions for information I need.

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