English Vocabulary in Use Advance (Unit 34: Here to help: customer service)


A. Good service

They’re a good company. They always make sure you get a prompt1 reply to any query2 and they’re very responsive3 to complaints. When I rang to ask if I could change the delivery date, they were very accommodating4 and got back to5 me within ten minutes with a new date. Whenever I ring, I get impeccable6 service; they’re always very helpful and obliging7, whatever the problem is.

  • 1 quick, without delay
  • 2 question or enquiry
  • 3 they listen, take things seriously and act
  • 4 willing to understand and help
  • 5 called (or wrote) with an answer
  • 6 100% perfect
  • 7 willing and happy to do things for someone

B. Adjectives connected with bad service

Adjective Meaning Example
incompetent failing through insufficient skill, knowledge or training It wasn’t just bad service; they were completely incompetent.
impersonal lacking a personal element or feeling of human warmth I find some big shops so impersonal.
shoddy poor quality (of service or of goods) They repaired my car but the work was very shoddy.
substandard below the standard expected (often used about actions) It was a substandard performance altogether for such a big company.
uncooperative not supportive, unwilling to work together The secretary was very uncooperative, so I ended up doing it myself.
  • There’s a huge backlog of orders and they can’t deliver for three weeks. [number which are waiting to be dealt with]
  • They never seem to have any sense of urgency when you ring them. [feeling that your request is important or urgent]
  • They have a helpline, but it’s useless; they always put you on hold every time you ring. [telephone number where you can get help if you have problems; make you wait]
  • The home button on my tablet stopped working but it was still under guarantee/warranty so I didn’t have to pay to get it repaired. [having a written promise by a company to repair or replace a faulty product]

C. Service encounters on the internet

  • Most big companies offer a secure site where you can set up an account, and they have a privacy policy guaranteeing secure transactions. [web address where no outside person can read your details] [enter all the details necessary to open an account] [set of rules to make sure your account is private] [business exchanges which protect, e.g., your credit card from use by someone else]
  • The hotel website lets you check availability and has all the information you need on its home page. [whether they can supply something, e.g. a room for when you want it] [main or first page of a website]
  • This site has a very good FAQ link where you can find answers to the most important questions. [frequently asked questions (pronounced as initials)]
  • This online bookshop is excellent: you can browse and it has a very good site index. [look at the list of goods/services offered before buying] [alphabetical list of contents of website]
  • Most large online stores offer immediate dispatch and a nationwide service. [goods will be sent at once] [covering the whole country] You can also track your order so you know when it will be delivered. [follow]
  • Do you buy clothes online or do you prefer to buy them in-store? [in a real shop]
Exercise-34.1


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