Part V Reading
Passage 1
A Letter of Complaint
To Customer Relations Dept.，Sunshine Tour
Fax No.:44 665 788552
From:Mary Steward，880 West，16th Street，New York，NY 10001
Fax No.:20 121 68812
Date:May 1，2013
Dear Sir/Madam
Booking Reference No.3248556
We arrived last night at the Leela Hotel，having booked a villa room.
The villa room accommodation was basic.The floor was uncarpeted and dirty.Worse，water was dripping through a leek on the bathroom ceiling and the bathroom smelt.
After much discussion with the staff，we persuaded them on deposit of a cash sum to allow us to move into a sea-view room in the building.This room is simple but barely adequate.
However，it can never justify the description in your brochure of “luxury accommodation”.The air conditioning is broken (The temperature is 40°C)and the television does not work.The room is noisy with continuous music from the bar at night and the swimming pool by day.
We have tried many times today to contact your local representatives but to no avail.
We are treating this matter very seriously and require you to move us to another hotel that matches the statements in your brochure and to do so today.
Would you please telephone us on receipt of this fax?
Mary Steward
Exercises:
1.Choose an appropriate word or phrase to fill in each blank to make each sentence meaningful，and change its form where necessary.
drip adequate justify brochure contact
1）He confessed himself out of ______ with the times.
2）He tried to ______ his absence with lame excuses.
3）He is ______ sweat.
4）Our ______ is printed on environmentally-friendly paper.
5）Though a bit too old，he is still ______ to the work.
2.Writing
You are the manager of Sunshine Tour.How will you deal with Mrs.Steward’s complaint?Write a letter to her.
Passage 2
How to handle Customer Complaints Effectively
Customer service is the interaction a person experiences when conducting business with a company or an individual.The experience can be positive or negative.Here are some tips.
Step 1 Listen to the customer concerns.Generally，concerns over an issue can be handled without it becoming a complaint.The manner in which the concern is handled will determine the intensity of the problem.
Do not take the complaint personally.This could result in a biased decision.
Step 2 Give the customer an opportunity to explain the problem without interruptions.Constantly interrupting the customer will only add fuel to the problem and may end in a shouting match.
Put yourself in the customer’s place.
Interrupting the customer will make the person feel your concern with the problem is not genuine.
Apologize for any inconvenience or misunderstanding.
Step 3 Don’t automatically take an employee’s side against the customer.
Write down information regarding the interaction with the customer and how the situation was handled，if applicable.Give a copy of the information to your immediate supervisor.
Step 4 Ask questions to clarify the problems and the causes.
Many times the problem may not be with the price，merchandise or service，but with an employee’s negative attitude while dealing with the customer.
Explain to the customer that all feedback by a customer is valued by the company.
Step 5 Find out how the customer wants the issue resolved.
The resolution could be in the form of a replacement，refund，exchange，store credit or discount on price.
If the customer’s request can be met，explain the time it takes to process or what it will entail to make it happen.
When a date is given to the customer，make sure the date is kept，or the delay is explained by a follow-up call or email.