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BUSINESS ISSUES

Is the customer king? Lesson code: 11G8-95AD-3N6L

UPPER INTERMEDIATE +

1 Warm-up What was the last hotel you stayed in? Would you recommend it? Why/why not?

2 Adjectives for describing customer service Which of the following adjectives describe good customer service, and which describe bad customer service? businesslike impersonal smooth

child-friendly indifferent transactional

cold inefficient unobtrusive

efficient laid-back unprofessional

Good service

honest personal warm

Bad service

Choose two adjectives which describe a service that is: and

1. relaxed and doesn't interfere with the customer: 2. very professional and fast:

and

. and

3. not interested in the customer as an individual: 4. interested in the customer as an individual:

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Can you add any other adjectives to the table above?

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Now read the article and tick the adjectives that are mentioned.

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BUSINESS ISSUES

Is the customer king? Where in the world can you expect the best from staff at hotels and restaurants?

3 Other frequent travellers have very similar opinions. The level of service in the international hotels in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore is "among the best in the world" according to music company executive Richard Piercy who lived in Singapore for three years. "It's very good; it's very personal and very intensive. There's a human touch to it, there's a lot of warmth, and it's not just transactional. The Asians do it very well because they are very personable and very charming." However, Piercy, who is now based in London, says when it comes to bars and restaurants it's the Americans who win hands down precisely because of their system of tipping. "The staff have a strong incentive to give good service so they largely rely on their tips and if you do tip quite well then you do get very good service." 4 Management consultant John Erik Ellingsen believes as a business traveller you can be well protected from bad service. Choose the brand names and you get what you pay for. Ellingsen's job takes him on a regular basis to major cities in India, the US and Europe: Barcelona, Amsterdam and Paris. At all these destinations he stays in business hotels. "They're efficient and businesslike, you're not pampered but you do feel

5 And if you don't get the service you feel you're entitled to you should let it be known says Ellingsen. He did, to great effect, on a recent trip from London to Mumbai. "I landed at midnight and got to my hotel around one. Crucially I was in time for the second half of a match between Manchester United and AC Milan. Despite the fact that my room had been booked two months in advance the receptionist told me the hotel was full and they were relocating me to another one. I never usually get angry but I insisted I was not moving. Within minutes they found a room for me and I was in time to see a fantastic late goal from Rooney." 6 Of course many would argue it's all very subjective: if you're in a good mood, if work is going well, you might not even notice the effort being put into making your trip a smooth one. It's only when things go wrong, or you're finding the journey a chore, that you're aware of what's going on around you. "On a long a busy trip even the smallest issues get magnified," says Scott Thomson, a brand creation manager. "A card rejection, the buzz from the almost silent air-conditioning, a room key not working, the mini bar missing the peanuts. I hardly ever notice the things that go well and the service that is good or even great." 7 Ironically publishing executive Ian Bartley actually believes the best service is unobtrusive and unseen: "My vote goes to Amsterdam for the most natural, laid-back and invisible service - how it should be." Adapted from The Independent, 25 June 2007

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2 "In my experience, the best service is in the Far East and Middle Eastern countries - they really try to please the clients and if you are travelling with your family it's genuinely child-friendly," says Marjan Farhad, a London-based knitwear buyer. Farhad thinks the US has a good grasp of what it's all about as well - she travels to New York several times a year: "they still realise the customer is everything".

they work. You know exactly what to expect. In many ways they're interchangeable you feel you could be in any major city. But when you're making short, brief, visits for meetings, it's what you want: everything functions well and things happen when they're meant to".

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1 Good service is serious stuff - it's often what we remember most from our travels and it makes us come back for more. Ask a frequent traveller for their opinion on the subject and they barely pause for thought.

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3 Predict the answers Decide which of the statements below are true or false according to the business travellers' opinions, and correct the false statements with the information in the article. 1. Hotels in the Middle East are among the best in the world. 2. Bars in the US provide good customer service because the staff are very friendly. 3. The customer service in business hotels is very unpredictable. 4. Complaining about bad service doesn't help. 5. If you are in a good mood, you are less aware of bad service. 6. You do not notice customer service in hotels in Amsterdam.

4 Find the words Find a word or phrase in the text which means.. 1. stop to think about something (phrase, P1) 2. pleasant and likeable (formal adj., P3) 3. win very easily (idiom, P3) 4. something that encourages or motivates someone to do something (noun, P3) 5. treated in a special way by being given anything you want and made to feel as comfortable as possible (adj., P4) 6. an unpleasant task (noun, P6)

5 Expressions for describing customer service Look at the following expressions from the text and match them to the comments below: There's a human touch to it. They have a good grasp of what it's all about. You get what you pay for. You know exactly what to expect. They realise the customer is everything. It's not just transactional.

1. They did everything they could to please me. 2. It was a cheap hotel and the service wasn't very good. 3. You feel that they take care of you not only because you pay them to. 4. They take care of you as an individual person. 5. They understand what they need to do to provide good customer service.

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6. You can always rely on the service in this hotel, wherever you are in the world. There are no unpleasant suprises.

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6 Grammar - Tenses for describing a past experience Read the following passage from the text. Study the underlined structures and put them into the correct categories below. Which tense is used in each category? "I landed at midnight and got to my hotel around one. Crucially I was in time for the second half of a match between Manchester United and AC Milan. Despite the fact that my room had been booked two months in advance the receptionist told me the hotel was full and they were relocating me to another one. I never usually get angry but I insisted I was not moving. Within minutes they found a room for me and I was in time to see a fantastic late goal from Rooney." 1. completed events in the past 2. something that happened before a completed event in the past 3. a general, habitual activity in the present

4. a reported unfinished activity in the past

Now complete the sentences below putting the verbs in brackets in the correct form: 1. When I

(arrive) at the reception desk, my host (call) the potential customer, we (already/sign) a contract with another supplier.

2. When we 3. I usually car

(drive) to work, but yesterday I (break down). (not/understand) a word he

4. I in a hurry.

(find out) that they (take) the train because my

(talk) about, so I

(have) a chat, a strange old man (ask) us if we (see) his pet dog.

5. While we

(wait) to greet me.

(leave)

(come) up to us and

6. I (give) a Power Point presentation when suddenly my laptop It seems the service centre (not/repair) it properly the week before. (hear) that her colleague (downsize), she

7. When Anne company

(lose) his job because the (become) worried.

(go out) on Friday evenings, but it (decide) to stay in instead.

8. We usually so we

(crash).

(pour down) last night

7 Talking point

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Have you experienced the type of customer service described in the article? Talk about a good or bad customer service experience (in any sector) that you have had. Try to use vocabulary from this lesson.

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Is the customer king? - Key A

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BUSINESS ISSUES

2- Adjectives for describing customer service

Good service: laid-back, personal, unobtrusive, businesslike, efficient, warm, smooth, childfriendly, honest Bad service: transactional, impersonal, inefficient, unprofessional, cold, indifferent Possible answers:

1. laid-back and unobtrusive 3. cold and impersonal

2. efficient and businesslike 4. warm and personal

Adjectives mentioned in the article: child-friendly, personal, transactional, efficient, businesslike, unobstrusive, laid-back 3- Predict the answers

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

True False - Bars in the US provide good customer service because of tips. False - With business hotels, you know exactly what to expect. False - You should let it be know if you don't get the service you're entitled to. True True

4- Find the words

1. pause for thought 4. incentive

2. personable 5. pampered

3. win hands down 6. chore

5- Expressions for describing customer service

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

They realise the customer is everything. You get what you pay for. It's not just transactional. There's a human touch to it. They have a good grasp of what it's all about. You know exactly what to expect.

6- Grammar - Tenses for describing a past experience

completed events in the past (past simple): landed, got, told, insisted, found something that happened before a completed event in the past (past perfect): had been booked a general, habitual activity in the present (present simple): get a reported unfinished activity in the past (past continuous): were relocating, was not moving

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2. called; found out; had already signed 4. didn't understand; was talking; left 6. was giving; crashed; hadn't repaired 8. go out; was pouring down; decided

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1. arrived; was waiting 3. drive; took; had broken down 5. were having; came; asked; had seen 7. heard; had lost; was downsizing; became

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1. 2. 3. 4.

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