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Change interface language 0:00 Hi Neil . How are you doing ?
0:01 I'm very well , thank you Georgie . How are you ?
0:06 Neil , in this episode of Real Easy English we're talking
0:09 about complaining – that is when you say something is wrong ,
0:14 or you have a problem and you want to tell someone about it .
0:17 Yes . And people should remember that they can get a free worksheet
0:22 for this podcast at bbclearningenglish.com .
0:31 I know that you have a recent experience with this , don't you ?
0:37 Yeah , I booked somewhere to stay on a trip
0:41 and the reviews were all really good .
0:43 And then when I checked again , the reviews were all really bad .
0:47 Oh no ! What were they about ?
0:49 They said the place was dirty and things were broken .
0:52 Oh no . What did you do ? Have you been yet ?
1:02 I sent them an email to say I was worried .
1:06 And I asked them to assure me that the place would be clean
1:11 and working properly .
1:13 OK . And did you get a response ?
1:15 I did , but I really hated the whole process .
1:22 Because I don't like complaining .
1:25 I'm not very good at it .
1:26 I don't like to make people feel bad .
1:29 Even if there is a problem ,
1:30 and I've paid for something and it should be a certain way ,
1:35 but it's not and I'm entitled to complain , I still don't like it .
1:43 yeah , I feel embarrassed about it .
1:45 Yeah , it's not an easy thing to do , I think .
1:48 I think I'm getting better with age .
1:51 I think I'm getting braver .
1:53 I had an experience a couple of weeks ago .
1:56 Because I am subscribed to a food delivery service ,
2:02 I get a box of food every week ,
2:05 and the last two weeks the delivery has been very late and
2:10 I'm not happy about it .
2:12 And so , I found the courage – found the bravery
2:17 to call up the customer service and complain .
2:21 And I was very strong .
2:23 And I asked for money – a discount on the next order .
2:27 Wow , that sounds very well done .
2:31 I think when you do complain , sometimes you feel bad about it .
2:37 But if it works out well , like with you and hopefully with my accommodation . . .
2:44 . . . afterwards you feel really good .
2:47 Because you did what was right .
2:51 Yeah . If you've paid for something ,
2:53 I think you can expect it to be what you paid for .
2:56 So , if it isn't , I think you're allowed to . . .
3:00 you're allowed to complain .
3:01 But there is a nice way to do it , isn't there ?
3:03 There is , yeah . Be polite .
3:08 The person you are complaining to is often not the person responsible
3:14 for the mistake or whatever .
3:16 So , I think if you are respectful and polite but you know what you want .
3:22 So Neil , you and I find complaining quite stressful
3:27 so we don't do it very often .
3:29 But do you know anyone that complains all the time ?
3:32 Oh yeah . Some people seem to love complaining
3:36 and they complain about things that I would not complain about .
3:41 Yeah , I've been in restaurants with groups of people where there's been
3:45 someone that has complained about something that is really embarrassing ,
3:50 and you just think this is not a real , big issue .
3:54 Has that ever happened to you ?
3:55 Yeah , the same thing .
3:57 I've been having a meal with some friends
4:00 and one of the people I was with – he used to be a waiter ,
4:04 and he had a very clear idea about how waiters should behave .
4:09 And he didn't like something and he complained about it ,
4:14 and nobody else really understood what he was talking about
4:17 or why he was complaining .
4:19 And it was embarrassing .
4:21 Did he complain to the waiter ?
4:23 Yeah , but so everyone could hear .
4:25 Oh no . And how did the waiter respond ?
4:29 I don't think he liked it very much .
4:31 Well , I used to work in restaurants .
4:34 I've also worked in customer service ,
4:36 but in restaurants , if people have a reason to complain ,
4:41 of course I'm going to try to fix it .
4:44 But it also depends how they say it .
4:49 If they're very rude , as a waitress you don't really want to help them .
4:55 But if they're polite and they have a reason to complain ,
4:57 of course I'll try to fix their problems .
5:08 OK . Neil , it's time to recap the vocabulary we used in this conversation .
5:12 We used the verb ' complain ' , which is when you say something is wrong
5:18 And we also heard the noun ' complaint ' .
5:21 We did . And you ' make a complaint ' , don't you ?
5:23 Yes . We also heard ' discount ' ,
5:25 which is when you don't pay the full price of something .
5:29 You also said that people are ' entitled ' to something ,
5:33 and it means that that is something they should get if they paid for it .
5:37 And Neil , you said you were worried about the ' reviews ' of the accommodation
5:43 for your trip , which is when people write what they think about the place .
5:48 That's it then , Georgie , isn't it ?
5:50 But join us again , another time for more Real Easy English .
5:53 Don't forget , there's a free worksheet on the website .
