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!