时间:2018-12-16 作者:英语课 分类:2018年VOA慢速英语(十一)月


英语课

How to Make a Complaint in English


Imagine that you are visiting friends or family in an English-speaking country. You need to have a few pieces of clothing professionally cleaned for a party. So you take them to a dry cleaner.


When you go to get your clothing from the cleaners, the man working there is friendly. He hands you the clothes, smiles and says, “That will be $21.50 please.”


But you see a problem. There is now a hole in your favorite shirt and your pants have changed color. You are very unhappy. But how do you express this effectively?


Most of us do not enjoy complaining. But sometimes we must do it to get a solution.


In this Everyday Grammar program, we will tell you how to make a complaint in English.


An effective complaint often has three steps: explaining the problem; stating your feelings; and asking for action.


Explain the problem


The first step is to explain the problem.


To do it effectively, you must use polite, respectful 1 language. In English, polite language is usually indirect 2.


For example, if you are at a restaurant and the server forgets to bring your drink, saying, “You didn’t bring my drink” may be too direct. It may sound critical and cause the server to become defensive 3.


So here are a few phrases you can use to politely explain your problem.


Let’s start with “I think you may have…”


Oh, hi! I think you may have forgotten to bring my drink.


Here is another opening line: “I’m sorry to have to say this but…”


Hi. How’s it going? I’m sorry to have to say this, but I noticed some damage to my clothing.


Or you can simplify it with the words: “I just noticed…”


Hi. How’s it going? I just noticed some damage to my clothing.


Here’s another useful phrase: “I’m sorry to bother you, but…”


Hi, there. I’m sorry to bother you, but my hotel room is a little cold.


Or you might say: “There seems to be a mistake…”


Hi! How are you? There seems to be a mistake on my billing statement. I think you may have overcharged me.


Note that, in the last example, the speaker used two phrases: “There seems to be a mistake…” and “I think you may have…”


State your feelings


The second step is to say how you feel about the problem.


This step is often not necessary. It will depend on how bad the problem is. Some problems have easy, quick solutions. For example, politely telling people that they forgot something or overcharged you usually leads to a speedy solution.


But imagine that you are receiving poor service at a hotel or restaurant or that a repair shop has damaged your belongings 4. Or, maybe there is a continuing issue at your apartment building. In these cases, you may need to express how you feel.


Always begin with step 1 – politely explaining the problem.


Then, you can use phrases like “This is…” or “It is…” followed by one or more descriptive words. Let’s hear an example of someone telling their building manager about a problem:


Hi Vanessa. I’m sorry to have to say this but there is still a mouse problem in my apartment. This has been an issue for three months now. It is unacceptable that the problem hasn’t been resolved 5.


This was a continuing issue, so the speaker used step 2. But, again, use your best judgment 6 to decide whether this step is needed.


Ask for action


The third step is to ask for action to be taken on the problem. This is an important step. Some people do steps 1 and 2, but forget step 3.


Depending on who the listener is, you or they may need to ask someone else to take action. In such cases, ask for the store’s manager. Here is how you can do that in person:


Could I please speak with the manager?


And by phone:


Could you please redirect my call to the manager?


Other times, the listener can solve the problem themselves. You can use indirect questions to ask for action. Listen to a few examples:


Would it be possible to reimburse 7 me?


Is there any chance you could turn the heat up?


You can read more about indirect questions in a past Everyday Grammar program.


Connecting the steps


Now, let’s put the steps together. Let’s hear a short exchange about the damaged clothing:


OK. That’ll be $21.50 please.


Oh, gosh... I just noticed some damage to my clothing. The shirt has a hole and the pants have changed color.


Hmm. I cleaned those myself. I don’t remember damaging anything.


But these pieces are new and I’ve only worn them once. Is there any chance you could reimburse me?


Let me get the manager.


Well, we don’t know how this dispute 8 ends. But we know the complainer was polite and used steps 1 and 3. Using step 2 might depend on the manager’s response.


Making complaints is never easy but knowing how to do it right can it a lot easier!


I’m Alice Bryant.


Words in This Story


dry cleaner – n. a shop where clothes and other cloth items are cleaned using special chemicals


complain – v. to say or write that you are unhappy, sick, or uncomfortable, or that you do not like something


polite – adj. having or showing good manners or respect for other people


bother – v. to cause someone to feel annoyed


phrase – n. a group of two or more words that express a single idea but do not usually form a complete sentence


mouse – n. a very small animal that has a pointed 9 nose and a long, thin tail


manager – n. someone who runs a business or department


reimburse – v. to pay someone an amount of money equal to an amount that person has spent


data – n. information that is produced or stored by a computer



1 respectful
adj.恭敬的,对...表示尊敬的
  • He is respectful to his elders.他对长辈很尊敬。
  • She received guests with a respectful attitude.她恭恭敬敬地接待了客人。
2 indirect
adj.间接的,转弯抹角的,非直接的
  • What he said was very indirect.他的话很婉转。
  • He gave only an indirect answer.他只作了间接的回答。
3 defensive
adj.防御的;防卫的;防守的
  • Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题,使她警觉起来。
  • The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。
4 belongings
n.私人物品,私人财物
  • I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
  • Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。
5 resolved
adj.下定决心的,断然的;坚决的;已解决的v.做决定,分解(resolve的过去式和过去分词)
  • I was resolved not to see him. 我决意不见他。
  • The union resolved to strike by 40 votes to 18. 工会以40票对18票通过决议举行罢工。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 judgment
n.审判;判断力,识别力,看法,意见
  • The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
  • He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。
7 reimburse
v.补偿,付还
  • We'll reimburse you for your travelling expenses.我们将付还你旅费。
  • The funds are supposed to reimburse policyholders in the event of insurer failure.这项基金将在保险公司不能偿付的情况下对投保人进行赔付。
8 dispute
n.争端,分歧;v.争论,争吵,辩论,辩驳
  • They are trying to find a way of settling the dispute.他们正设法寻找解决争端的办法。
  • The parties to the dispute should be more polite to each other.争执双方应相互礼貌些。
9 pointed
adj.尖的,直截了当的
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
学英语单词
.bo
aerophoto interpretation
alloy steel roll
amco type tank furnace
Annemasse
arachno-, arach
be on the spot
be rational
bejaia (bougie)
birthday candle
capitulum humeri
capped warrant
carbonation depth
chapones
chelated
Chondrieae
clock request block
collodin cotton
commercial culture
compress air system
cosening
cuffs
cyclic price movements
damping vat
defence of habitation
dewatering filter
dim design
distributing area
divisibility relation
double dealt
douglas-fir
dowlat yar
drops down
Drygalski Basin
efficiency extrapolation method
exit status
expansion clamp
ferrokentbrooksite
final save-all cell
fresh game
fuzzy logic
Gujjar
Haloragis
hastately
hemophilias
heterogeneous pooled data set
homoneura (homoneura) subvittata
incubuses
institutionality
integral (spent) fuel pit
intermediate shaft supporting bracket
JIS code
Kazancι
Kenyanized
labour control
leather-trimmed
LF time and frequency dissemination
long-playing record
maltese monetary units
Mikashevichy
morrill
Muskegon
neptunyl potassium carbonate
opposide
oryzin
outgoing order wire
part span shroud of blade
praxi-therapeutics
precision instrument manufacture
preliminary balance
prima facie case
proved
quick-firing antiaircraft gun
reciprocal hybrids
rough ... out
Ryūyō
schematic stage
Schmitt-Ott Seamount
scrinerary
selective call with digital pulse coding
self-contained cardan joint
silicon gate processing technique
spectrophone
stave church
storgata
strong algorithm
surface stripping
suspense payments
symmetric channel
Symplocos pyrifolia
takfirs
temmoku glaze
temperature measurement filled system
topographic high
tower-type grain drier
trail away
Traminer
tumble-turds
Vulture Capitalist
wall suface
watercolor, watercolour
Yoxford