Are you good at complaining? 6 Minute English

Sam: Hello, this is 6 Minute English.

I'm Sam.

Rob: And I'm Rob.

Sam: Are good at complaining, Rob?

Rob: Of course not. I'm British! I never

complain, even when I get terrible service.

It's just

too embarrassing.

Sam: Well, you might be

in a minority now as it seems

we British are complaining more

than we used to. We'll look at this topic

a little more after

this week's quiz question.

The oldest recorded complaint is on

a stone tablet in the British Museum.

It's nearly

4000 years old.

What was the complaint about?

a) An incorrect number of goats that were

delivered after being bought at market.

b) The quality of copper bars

that were supplied, or c) The

non-payment of a bill for a banquet.

What do you think, Rob?

Rob: I'm just going to guess at the goats.

Someone bought a load

of goats and fewer were

delivered than were bought.

That sounds good, but it's just a guess.

Sam: OK. Well, I will reveal the answer

later in the programme, and

don't complain if you

get it wrong! You and Yours is

a BBC radio programme about

consumer affairs. On a recent

programme they discussed

the topic of complaining and customer

service with Giles Hawke from

an organisation called the Institute

of Customer Service.

He talks about different sectors.

A sector is a particular area of business.

Which sectors does he say

have most problems

when it comes to keeping

the complaining customer satisfied?

Giles Hawke: The sectors that probably

have more problems than

the UK average are public

services, telecommunications, transport

and service sector. And there are

probably some

inherent challenges within those

sectors - they may have more impact

on a day-to-day basis.

Those sectors which are performing

well - travel is performing well,

retail is performing well,

leisure appears to be performing well.

Sam: So, which sectors are not keeping

the customer satisfied?

Rob: He says that public services,

telecoms, transport and

the service sector have most problems.

Sam: And he says that these sectors

may have inherent challenges.

What does he mean by that?

Rob: Well, some sectors, by their nature,

are more complicated and

more likely to cause

problems for customers.

Public services, for example, often

don't have enough money or

enough staff. Telecommunications

systems, such as your internet

connection, are very

complicated and sometimes go wrong.

Bad weather can affect transport,

and so on. So an inherent

problem is a problem that is part of

the nature of the thing itself.

Sam: So, those sectors are not

performing well. We usually think

of the word perform when we are

talking about actors or musicians,

but in a business sense to perform well or

badly means to be successful or not, and,

according to Giles Hawke, travel and retail

are performing well in terms

of customer service.

Giles Hawke goes on

to talk about how people

are actually making their complaints,

but are modern methods taking over

from the traditional

letter or phone call?

Giles Hawke: We still see over 58% of

complaints are made by phone

or by letter so, you know,

the more traditional methods of making

a complaint are still dominant,

but we are seeing social

media rise, although it's still a very small

part of how people complain

and it tends to be used as

an escalation point if people aren't

getting what they want

dealt with in the first instance.

Sam: So, are people using

modern methods more

than traditional ones?

Rob: Actually, no. He says that phoning

or writing a letter are still dominant. This

means they are still the main, most

used methods for making a complaint.

Sam: Where people are turning to

social media is if their complaint

is not dealt with. To deal with

something means to sort it, to fix

it - and if you complain and it's not dealt

with, then, he says, people turn to social

media as a form of escalation.

Rob: When you escalate a complaint,

you take it to a higher level.

Putting your complaint

on social media means that a lot more

people are going to see it

and it might encourage

a company to deal with the complaint.

Sam: Right, well before we receive

any complaints, let's review

today's vocabulary after the

answer to the question which was about

a 4000-year-old complaint.

Was the complaint about:

a) An incorrect number of goats that were

delivered after being bought at market.

b) The quality of copper bars that

were supplied, or c) The non-payment

of a bill for a banquet.

Rob, what did you say?

Rob: I went for a). I went for the goats.

Sam: Sorry! It was actually a complaint

about the quality of copper ingots or bars that

were supplied. If you knew that, very well

done. If you guessed right, also, very well

done. No shame to get that one wrong.

Rob: And no complaints from me!

Sam: OK. Right, now vocabulary.

We had sectors, which are particular

areas of business in

the economy.

Rob: Something that is inherent is

a natural part of something.

It's usually used to describe

a problem or risk that is

an unavoidable part of something.

Sam: How successful a company is

can be describe as how well it's

performing. And if something

is dominant, it means it is

the strongest or most used.

Rob: And if a company doesn't deal with,

or try to fix a problem,

the customer might take

the complaint to the next level on social

media, which would mean an escalation.

Sam: Thank you, Rob. That's all from

6 Minute English this time.

Do join us again soon and

don't forget to check us out online.

Bye bye!

Rob: Bye!