1. Habilidades
  2. Comprensión oral
  3. Intermedio B1
  4. 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

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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

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Discussion

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

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I'm working as accountant, and my clients need to provide me their invoice and other financial data, so I would prepare their financial statements on time. But sometimes I make an exception for loyal clients. I give them an opportunity to bring them later if they aren’t ready. Even that I have my own regulation, sometimes I become flexible about deadlines. A small deviation from norms sometimes is needed if you want to collect more clients and to keep the older.
I haven't made exceptions just for important clients, sometimes it depends for the situation, in fact, if some client needs an exception and it's a good client, I can help it.
I hope if we work in a delivery company such as Upsala when the customers would call with their problems, then we should do favors for them because we don't like to lose our clients in the company.
I had made exeception with the terms of payment of my clientes. If they are good customers we can be flexible.
I think it’s good to be flexible in business and that’s what I learned from the conversation.by communicating they create win win situation for both of them
Actually, I have few chances to ask clients some favors, on the other hand, I try to be flexible to our clients' requests.
I think only this execption is had with loyal and importan clients . The company should have segurity that they won´t have problems in the future
I think making exceptions for important customers is something usual in the companies even if the company has its own regulations, sometimes they'd have to be flexible about the terms to maintain good business relationships.
If I were a supplier, I usually do a favor for my clients to keep them with me. Because for longer relationship between customer and supplier, I think there must be such a pleasant favors.
I think this is the best idea, good to win customer’s with a nice approach. And I usually preferred such kind of suppliers To buy anything I want . They got a good heart
I work as a call center of Corona virus I make exceptions for people who have physiological problem a bout having this disease
I worked as a salesman about chemical equipment 7 years ago. At that time, I had some important clients that order a large number of products from my company. One of them also had a bit problem with their flow cash so he asked me a favor. He need an extension on the payment terms from 30 days to 45 days. I had a little confused about this. But after discussing with my manager, we decided to make an exception. And he really appreciated my help.
In my opinion, if you have a company and you usually work with costumers sometime is necessary to change your payment terms and make an exception. It depends on what kind of client we considered and that doesn't can become the rule because the company will be in problems with the cash flow and in general this situation can't be right for both.
I think it's quite normal to lend a hand to your partner. Life can't be straight without sharp angles. Sometimes we need a little help from our parents, friends, colleagues or partners. Sometimes they need ours. I'm sure that the small deviation from the norm is acceptable and even needed. When you give someone a little favor you build a much stronger and confiding relationship when you can rely on other one. Of course, if these deviations don't become a rule. If they do, you have to overview this partnership and maybe find another one.
Yes,I did favor for important clients a few time.I work for drinkmaler and our products stock become tight in high demand season,particularly July or August,so I have to do favor to postpone product arrival.
Dear team. From the audio above : Andrea: I promise this won't become the norm, Junko.  The question is : Is that mean the payment in 60 days will not become an an accepted standard ??? Because the accepted standard is 30 days.

Hello fahri,

Yes, that is the idea. Andrea is saying that he won't make another request for a 60-day period in the future.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

i am not a supplier, but i think the suppliers should to do favour or exception sometimes for important client. because every suppliers do not lose important client and client appreciate your help or exception.
I'm not a supplier, even like that, if I were, I would do it... also if my costumer is a good person
Sometimes, I deal with this kind of demand of extension in term of delivery time. It happens when a manufacturer can not meet the deadline. I think it's normal to help. But as said earlier on, that must not be the norm.
Yes, I made exceptions more than a few times, when worked. personally, I think that it is a bad behevior about other clients but sometimes some people have problem thus we can help them. when I did it, some of them appricated and I was glad because of it. But some times some of them made annoyed.
Yes I do that, I make exceptions at more than time to our clients, but some of them are really annoying and other are good with the dealing, and I also discovered one thing through it that the clients women better than men.
yes, I could do a favour for my client, if it's our old client and plus he is giving us another order :)
I have a problem with the word " our" in brithis , listening the audio, I wonder if in Brithish eglish you can pronunciate as " A "in spanish

Hello Jorge,

I'd recommend you pronounce 'our' as /aʊər/ -- you can hear a recording of it on this dictionary page (click or press on the small audio symbol under the word 'determiner').

This is different from 'a' in Spanish. It has more than one vowel sound. You might try saying 'au' and then 'güa' (I've written these thinking in Spanish orthography; the 'g' isn't pronounced) quickly together -- that is close to the pronunciation of 'our' in British English.

Hope this helps you.

All the best

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Sometimes, We have to do a favour to our customer. speacially when there is something went wrong with the customer like this problem.
I work for distribution company, so I work with suppliers and hospitals; meaning I am a customer to suppliers and hospitals are my customers. Suppliers always assist me with quotation extension and I helped hospitals with orders placed query. I always appreciate Suppliers cooperation and its feel so good to help hospitals.
Yes, I think I could do a favour to my clients, but only in the situacion if it was very important clients for our company and if they ask about it in a polite form !!!!!!

Hello Sharif Tayyebi,

The phrase ti works both ways in this context means that a situation or action has a similar effect on both parties.

https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/work-both-ways

 

In this case, Junko is telling Andrea that the fact that Andrea is a loyal and valued customer means that Junko is able to help her when she has problems.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

I am an assistant professor, so I haven't had any business which needs doing a favour. In my opinion, business needs to deal with customers these days, if there is an important reason to do. Companies and customers usually have the same benefits, so they should help each other when one side needs helping. According to the case, even I sometimes make an exception to my students which have properly and rationally reasons. For instance, if a student cannot come to the class or miss some lectures, I usually help him/her, provided he/she has a problem. Our students have to pay their tuition fees by the time which identifys in the payment terms of a university, but sometimes, they have problems and the administration of university should make an exception for them. I think, regulations are good and they usually ensure the discipline. But it should be part of rules that we can help others with their problems. Best wishes,

Hello Vusale

While it may be true that 'Andrea' is more often the name of a woman among native speakers of English, around the world, it is a name given to both men and women. The Andrea in this phone call is not a native speaker of English, so it's not unusual for him to have this name.

All the best

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello MedScience

These are all the pages at the B1 level in our Listening skills, but there are many other pages in General English. I would recommend you have a look at a few pages in Big City Small World, Audio zone, Podcasts, Video zone and Word on the Street (though please note these last two have video, not just audio). Each of those sections has many more pages and you can continue with whichever one you like the most.

Hope this helps.

All the best

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

If I had a company, I would deal all to my customers for similitary because I think that make exceptions with only some customers itsn't well.
Yes, I agree with that but sometimes I don´t think it is a problem to open a small exception to a client if it is something important and obviously not to let it become a routine or abuse.
Until now, I don't have a chance to work directly with customers. I work with my team, and my leader with contact with them. But I hope that I will have a chance to do it and get many experiences, or something like this
Can someone please tell me how to select multiple answers and put in two groups. I am having problem in task 2.

Hello Jangchutshomo,

To place a second item in one of the boxes, make sure you drop the item on the box itself (it should be marked dark grey) rather than on any answers already in the box. If you drop an item on an item already in the box then it will swap them; if you drop it on the box it will add the new item.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team