Gone are the days when you had to physically go to a shop or service center to lodge a complaint about a faulty machine or deficiency in service. Nowadays, all you have to do is call up the complaint or grievance center and register your complaint.

You must be wondering why are we discussing complaint centers in a blog meant for English learning? What has a spoken English tutorial got to do with service centers? The logic is simple – when you make a call to a service center, how will you communicate? In English, right? Now, if this is not where you can put your English fluency to practice, I wonder where you would!

Speaking to a complaint center executive is a wonderful chance of improving spoken English, as you can not only practice English speaking, but also learn from the executives, who are usually fluent English speakers.

Tips to remember while lodging a complaint

Let’s take an instance where you are not satisfied with a new vacuum cleaner that you have purchased. You decide to call up the company’s complaint center to register your grievance. Before you make the call, make sure that the following points are clear in your mind.

· Keep the details handy: The very first information you will have to provide to the complaint center executive is the model number of the product, purchase date and warranty registration number. Keep all this information handy so that you can converse smoothly. If you get panicky, or try searching for all this information while on the call, it could affect the way you communicate.

· Be precise and clear: Unless you could explain the executive exactly what issue you are facing with your vacuum cleaner, how will he assist you? Saying, “The vacuum cleaner does not work,” is very vague. You need to tell precisely what the problem is. Try saying, “The suction pipe of the vacuum cleaner is not working properly.” See the difference?

A sample conversation

Complaint center executive: Good morning. Welcome to Target sales. How may I help you?

You: I need to lodge a complaint regarding my vacuum cleaner, that I purchased last week.

Executive: Can I have your name, number and the model number of your vacuum cleaner?

You: My name is Rajesh, and my mobile number is 9854646. The model number of the vacuum cleaner is HV8745.

Executive: Thank you for the information, sir. May I know when did you purchase this vacuum cleaner and do you have the receipt and warranty card with you?

You: I purchased it on July 20, and I have both, the receipt as well as warranty card.

Executive: Okay, sir. I have registered your complaint. One of our technicians will visit you in the next 24 hours and service your vacuum cleaner. Can I help you with anything else, sir?

You: No, that will be fine. Thank you for your assistance.

Executive: You are welcome, sir. Thank you for calling Target sales.

Isn’t it better to actually practice speaking English, rather than keep reading books and taking classes on how to improve English speaking?

About EAgeTutor:

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- By Shailja Varma

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