COMMERCIAL PRACTICES

CUSTOMER SERVICE

ENGLISH GUIDE

EFA – B3 – Práticas Comerciais

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AUTHORS

Alcina Torres

Alexandra Araújo

Angelina Mendes

Dora Azevedo

João Tomás

Joaquim Ribeiro

Juliana Ferreira

Liliana Araújo

Lídia Silva

Graça Soares

Mª Fátima Martins

Mª Helena Serra

Mª José Gomes

Teresa Silva

and

Jorge Lopes

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Introduction

1. This Guide was made on the third Life Theme (Good Commercial Practices), of the

Technical & Commercial Practices’ Training (integration Activity), in the Adults’ Education &

Training Course at AEBA (Associação Empresarial do Baixo Ave).

The English language version of this document was written by the English language trainees

in their classes during the months of June and July 2010.

2. The goals of this guide are the following:

To be an useful helping document to the Trofa commerce in order to give training

to its employees;

To begin the selling process;

To keep a dialogue during the referred context;

To finish that process;

To have means to solve situations and problems out of the selling context;

3. The topics that will be included in the guide are:

Greetings/ introducing yourself – people;

Asking or giving information;

Useful shopping phrases inside a store;

Short questions and answers;

Starting and closing a conversation;

Vocabulary;

Numbers (how to pay);

How to deal with problems and complaints.

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Greetings

Introducing yourself | introducing other people

Este tópico aborda o modo como deve apresentar-se e também como apresentar e saudar

outras pessoas.

- Hello!

- Good morning!

- Good afternoon!

- Good evening!

How are you? Fine, what about you?

How are you doing? I’m okay, thanks.

- I´m John I´m John Kennedy

(Informal) (Formal)

- It´s nice to meet you. Nice to meet you too.

- This is Mr. /Mrs. .

- This is my colleague ( boss, partner)

- This is the manager, Mr. .

Wait a moment, I’m going to call Mrs. .

This is Mr. That is Mr. .

These are my partners. Those are my partners.

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Asking

-How do you say it in English?

- How do you spell it in Portuguese?

Please, say it again.

Could you repeat it, please?

Please, speak more slowly.

I´m sorry, I don´t understand.

What is this? What is that?

What are these? What are those?

Where is the manager?

Where are you from? I´m from England. (I live in London).

What´s your occupation? I´m a teacher.

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Useful shopping phrases inside a store

Neste tópico encontrará frases úteis que podem ser usadas nas lojas, antes, durante e depois

do acto de compra.

a) Opening phrases

What time do you open, please?

What time do you close, please?

Are you open all day?

Are you open on weekends? / on Sundays?

- Can you recommend a good shop/ supermarket?

- Is there a supermarket in the area?

- Where can I get toothpaste?

- Where’s the nearest shopping?

We are open from 9 am till 6 pm Monday to Friday.

We are closed on weekends.

We are closed on Sundays.

Conversations;

a) Closing a conversation

- Its bean nice talking to you. Nice talking to you too.

- I’m sorry, but I have to go now.

- See you later.

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- I hope we can meet each other later.

- I hope we can meet on other occasion.

- I hope we can meet in the near future.

b) Expressing thanks:

Thanks/ Thank you (very much).

I appreciate it. (very much).

I appreciate your kindness / Help / Work / Cooperation

Thank you very much for your attention.

Thank you very much for your kindness.

Thank you very much for your effectiveness.

Thank you very much for your visit.

Thank you very much for your time.

I’m looking forward to meeting you again.

CLIENT

Could you help me, please?

Could you tell me where the toys department is?

Excuse me, I´m looking for toys.

I´m looking for a green shirt.

Is there somewhere where I can try this on, please?

Do you have this in a smaller/ larger size, please?

Do you have it in blue?

Do you do alterations?

How much is this shirt?

How much does it cost?

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How Much?

Numbers, Prices and Vocabulary

Neste capítulo irá encontrar referências sobre os números e os preços, bem como alguns

elementos de vocabulário característicos de um cenário de atendimento.

How much?

1 one

2 two

3 three

4 four

5 five

6 six

7 seven

8 eight

9 nine

10 ten

11 eleven

12 twelve

13 thirteen

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14 fourteen

15 fifteen

16 sixteen

17 seventeen

18 eighteen

19 nineteen

20 twenty

30 thirty

40 fourty

50 fifty

60 sixty

70 seventy

80 eighty

90 ninety

100 a hundred

1000 a thousand

Do you take credit cards?

Do you give credit?

Do you have a loyalty card?

Does it have a warranty?

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Can I pay by cheque?

Do you offer a cash discount?

Could I have a receipt, please?

Thank you, goodbye!

Shop

Yes, of course!

Yes, certainly!

What can I do for you?

How can I help you?

The toys apartment is on the 3rd floor.

I´m sorry, we don’t have toys in our store.

Here it is / there you have

Yes, of course, the changing rooms are, on your left.

Yes, of course, right over there.

Sorry, we don’t have smaller numbers.

Yes, we do.

No, we don´t.

We take all the major credit cards.

No, we don´t. We only accept cash.

Yes, we give.

No, we don’t I give credit.

Yes, we have.

No, we don´t have cards.

Yes, it has.

No, it hasn’t.

We don´t accept cheques.

We only accept cheques guaranteed by the bank.

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We only accept cheques with a cheque card.

We only accept cheques until 50E.

Thank you very much! Good afternoon!

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Vocabulary – Part 1

Food and Drink

Neste ponto poderá consultar as designações de alguns alimentos e bebidas.

Basic Food and Drinks

Water Milk Coffee Tea Juice

Soft Drink

Bread Corn Rice Noodles

Fruits

Apple Banana Orange Pear Strawberry

Grapes Peach Watermelon

Vegetables

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Carrots Celery Lettuce Cabbage Broccoli

Spinach

Peas Beans Potato(es)

Other

Soup Salad Sandwich Meat Egg(s)

Cheese Seafood

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Vocabulary – Part 2

Clothing and Acessories

Neste ponto poderá encontrar referências a roupas e acessórios.

Clothing and Accessories

Shirt Tie Shoe(s) Slippers Dress

Jeans Sweater Skirt Coat Sock(s)

Pants Blouse Shorts Glasses Watch

Belt Wallet Purse Handbag Ring

Earring(s) Chain Necklace Umbrella

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Vocabulary – Part 3

Useful Vocabulary

Vocabulário diversificado sobre os temas constantes neste Guia.

Shop(s) Customer(s) Cashier(s)

Wallet(s) (m)

Purse(s) (f) Scales Till(s)

Shelf Shelves Barcode(s)

Trolley(s) Lift(s) Bag(s)

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Basket(s) Changing Room(s) Escalator(s)

Ways to pay

Cheque(s) Cash Note(s)

Coin(s) Credit card(s)

Debit card(s)

Where to buy what

Chemist's

Ladies Clothing Shop or Boutique

Mens Clothing Shop or Tailor's

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Shoe Shop or Cobbler's

Jeweller's

Electrical Store

Toy Shop or Toy Store

Record Shop

Book Shop

Newsagent's

Ironmonger's

Optician's

Haberdasher's

Butcher's

Fishmonger's

Greengrocer's

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Baker's

Delicatessen

Grocer's

Florist's

Post Office

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Problems and Complaints

Neste capítulo saberá como lidar com problemas e reclamações:

1. Produto/ Serviço

2. Atendimento

3. Pagamentos (crédito, cheques, nota e cartão)

Product/ Service

Shop (clothes)

Client_ Excuse me, I bought these trousers but there is a problem.

Clerk_ Very well, we are (I’m) going to solve it.

What is exactly the problem?

Client_ These trousers have some cuts.

Clerk_ Would you allow me to check them?

Can you please show them to me?

Client_ Ok.

Clerk_ A_ You are absolutely right! I’m going to get another pair; Sorry for the inconvenience

(delay).

B-_ I’m very (so) sorry, but we cannot change them because this model is just like that.

Would you like to change them for another model?

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Service

Cafeteria/ coffee shop/restaurant

Client 1_ Excuse me, this glass is broken!!!

Client 2_ Excuse me, this dish is dirty!!!

Client 3 WC_ Excuse me, the wc is not clean!

Excuse me, the toilet paper is over! I´m so sorry, someone will replace it at once!

Clerk_ I’m very (extremely) sorry, I’ll get you another, it won’t happen again!

_ I’m very sorry, I´ll send someone to clean it immediately!

Excuse me, this room is too noisy.

Excuse me, can you open (close) the window please? Of course, certainly.

Excuse me, can you turn on (off) the TV/ radio/the lights/Air conditioned, please?

Client_ May I speak to the manager, please?

Manager_ How can I help you? Is there any problem?

Client_Your clerk was very rude to me.

I´ve been waiting for more than an hour!

Manager_ a) Please, could you tell me exactly what happened?

We´re sorry, and in the name of our collaborator we regret this situation.

I’m very sorry; I’ll call someone right now! (right away).

Payments/Recommendations

a) Money: If the payment is in cash, please keep the bank notes/coins totally visible to avoid

mistakes.

b) Credit cards: Please keep the client in permanent visual contact with the card.

a) Client: Excuse me, the change is not correct.

b) Manager: We´re sorry, you´re right.

Sorry, after closing, we will confirm the situation.

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B) Client: Excuse me; you doubled the amount of the operation.

Manager: I´m sorry, we will solve that problem now.

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After Sales

How to deal with problems, conflicts and complaints.

Introduction

This document was made during the technical & commercial practices training classes (after

sales unit), at AEBA.

The English version of this document was written and conceived by the English language

trainees in the training sessions that took place in September/October 2010.

The goals of this document are the following:

To be an useful helping document to the Trofa commerce, in order to give training

to its employees;

To define a set of instructions and advice within the after sales context;

To know how to face after sales situations:

- Complaints;

- Conflicts;

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- Behaviors;

- Hostility environments.

The topics in this document are the following:

1_ Complaints management – resolution of satisfaction problems;

2_ Management of the complaint process;

3_ Facing disagreement and/or hostility environments

4_ To understand the complaints’ motives and suggest proper solutions;

5_ Complaints as mechanisms of client loyalty.

Complaint management_ Resolution of satisfaction problems

Context: “I bought a damaged dehumidifier”

Client_ Good afternoon!

Clerk_ Good afternoon! How can I help you?

Client_ I bought this dehumidifier this morning, and when I arrived home I turned on the

device and after some time the floor was all wet. Then, I checked the water recipient and it

was damaged.

Clerk_ Very well. Do you mind if I check the device? You´re absolutely right. This

dehumidifier is really damaged, I´m going to see if we have another one. I´m very sorry, but

at the moment we don´t have another one available. If you don’t mind waiting, we will

order a new one.

Client_ How long will it take?

Clerk_ I´m afraid it will take 10 days.

Client_ I´m sorry, I can´t wait for so long, it´s urgent.

Clerk_ In this case, I´ll call the manager. Wait a moment, please.

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Manager_ Once you cannot wait for another, you can take another product or you can

accept a refund.

Client_ In that case, I prefer the money.

Manager_ Here you have, once again we would like to apologize for this inconvenience,

and I hope you are pleased with this solution.

Complaint management process.

Context:” My mobile phone is damaged”

Client_ Good Afternoon!

Clerk_ Good Afternoon! Can I help you?

Client_ Yes, I want to make a claim.

Clerk_ Yes, of course. Can you please tell me what is the problem?

Client_ I bought a mobile phone here, but when I turned it on it went off.

Clerk_ Would it be possible to see the receipt, please?

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Client_ Here you have.

Clerk_ I´m very sorry, but the fifteen days deadline is over, so the phone has to stay here to

be repaired. We will contact you in six days.

(Two days later…)

Client_ Good morning, can I speak to the manager?

Clerk_ Is it something I can solve?

Client_ It´s only with the manager.

Clerk_ Just a moment please, I will call him at once!

Manager- Good morning! What can I do for you?

Client- I bought a phone here and it was damaged. I came here twice but it is still not

working. I´m getting angry! I want the complaint book.

Manager- I´m very sorry, you´re absolutely right! Don´t worry, we are going to solve your

problem today. You can leave you phone here, and we will give you a substitute until the

other one is repaired. As soon as I have news, I´ll contact you.

(Some days later…)

Client- Good afternoon! I´ve come to take my phone.

Clerk- We apologize for this inconvenience... We would like to offer you 15 € in phone calls.

We hope this problem will not be an obstacle in the future, and we would like to keep you

as our client.

Facing disagreement/hostility environments

Context A: “Problems at the restaurant”

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A couple decided to go to a restaurant to celebrate their wedding´s anniversary.

Waiter- Good evening and welcome to our restaurant, are you ready to order, please?

Client- Yes, I´ll have the beef stew and my wife the red fish.

Waiter- Certainly. Would you like something to drink? I´ll bring you the wine list.

Client- I´ll have a bottle of red wine and my wife an orange juice.

(Half an hour later, the client calls the waiter).

Client - Excuse me, have you forgotten my order?

Waiter- I´m very sorry, but if I´m not mistaken, those clients ordered before you…

Client- It isn´t true, but it doesn´t matter…

Waiter- In that case, I´m sorry for my mistake.

(Five minutes later…)

Client- I hope this isn´t for us!

Waiter- You´re totally right, I apologize again for this misunderstanding!

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I´ll get your order A.S.A.P. (as soon as possible).

Client- It was the first and it will be the last time I come to this restaurant!

(After dinner, the client asks for the bill).

Waiter- We are deeply sorry for all this trouble. The drinks are on the house and we hope

we can continue to deserve your trust in the future.

Thank you very much!

Facing disagreement/hostility environments

Context B: “The trip of my dreams was a nightmare.”

Client- Good morning!

Clerk- Good morning, what can I do for you?

Client- I bought a trip in your agency six months ago, yesterday, when I tried to raise my

ticket, the agency was closed so I lost my trip... I want to know what you´re going to do,

because if I don´t receive my money back, I will go to court.

Clerk- You are absolutely right, but please calm down …

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Client- Calm down!!! How can it be possible for you to tell me to calm down? I lost my

money and my holiday and you don’t care! You are playing with me, right???

Clerk - You´re absolutely right, but calm down please, I assure you we will solve this

problem! Can you tell me please, your complete name, and the location of the agency,

where did you buy the tickets, so I can introduce the data in the computer, to solve the

problem.

OR

Clerk- I´m sorry for the misunderstanding I regret this situation, of course you are

absolutely right and we are going to solve your situation right now. Can you tell me please,

your complete name, and the location of the agency, where did you buy the ticks, so that I

can introduce these data in the computer, to solve the problem?

Client- João Paulo Morgado, and the agency was in Trofa.

Clerk- Thank you, Mr. Morgado, can you wait a moment please while I check.

(A few seconds later…)

Thank you very much for your time, Mr. Morgado and I´m sorry if I kept you waiting.

Client- I just want to know if the problem is solved.

Clerk- Of course Mr. Morgado; your trip was to Paris, and for seven days, am I correct?

Client- Yes!

Clerk- Mr. Morgado, we will refund the money, and we offer you a trip to Paris, in a date of

your choice, for two, half the price. Do you agree with this solution?

Client- Yes, after all I already lost my holidays. And what guarantees do you give me?

Clerk- In two days, you will receive at home, a cheque with your money, and a voucher with

the promotion that we offer you. And once again, in the name of the company, please

accept our apologies for the inconvenience. Is there anything else I can do for you, Mr.

Morgado?

Client- That´s all thanks.

Clerk- You´re welcome, have a nice day, Mr. Morgado.

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Claims and loyalty

“What to do to maintain the loyalty of my clients”

E- Mail

Good morning, Mr. João Paulo:

We would like to inform you that on September 22, after midnight, the store will be open

just for the enlisted clients, like you.

You can buy all the products with a 10% to 50% discount.

Don’t forget, this promotion ends at 4 a.m.

Don´t miss this opportunity.

Best regards,…

Dear client:

“Come and visit the new Hotel Paradise”

Located in Gerês.

Near the centre and at the same time, near nature.

“Special promotion (1st stay).”

“Children under 12: free.”

“You stay 3 nights, you pay 2 “!

SMS

Dear client, tag has hundreds of tickets to offer for the movie “Juliet´s letters”.

Go immediately to optimustag.pt to get your ticket.

September 24/ 20% discount/ come to our shop/ we are waiting for you.

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Phone-calls

Good afternoon, my name is Joana, I´m calling from Fnac. We know you bought an LCD in

our store. We would like to know if you are satisfied, and we want to tell you in first hand,

that next week, we are going to have excellent products, half the price. Once again we

appreciate your preference and thank you for your time!

Good morning! This is “New Look”. Am I talking to Mrs. Mary Smith?

You have been in our store two months ago. We would like to tell you about our new

loyalty –card and its advantages.

Visit our new site for on-line orders.

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CUSTOMER SERVICE

QUOTES

If we don’t take care of our customers someone else will

Anonymous

In business you get what you want by giving other people what THEY want.

Alice MacDougall

A man without a smiling face must not open a store.

Chinese Proverb

A rose on time is more valuable than a $1000 gift that’s too late.

Jim Rohn

Consumers are statistics. Customers are PEOPLE.

Stanley Marcus

Quality is remembered long after price is forgotten.

Anonymous

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Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Choose your words, for they become

actions. Understand your actions, for they become habits. Study your habits, for they will

become your character. Develop your character, for it becomes your destiny.

Oliver Wendell Holmes

AEBA – TROFA

July, September and October 2010