Learn how to apologize to a client
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Becky: Apologies in an American Business Setting. Becky Here. |
| John: Hi, I'm John. |
| Becky: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to apologize to a client. The following conversation takes place over the phone. |
| John: It's between Paul Handerson and Linda. |
| Becky: The speakers are business partners; therefore, they will speak formal English. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Paul Handerson: Hello? |
| Linda: Mr. Handerson, this is Linda Baker from Green &Blue. We have a meeting scheduled today. |
| Linda: Unfortunately, I will arrive late, because I'm stuck in traffic. I'm sorry. I hope this doesn't cause problems. |
| Paul Handerson: Please don't worry. I don't have any other appointments today, so I'll wait for you. |
| Linda: Thank you, I'll try to be there as soon as possible. |
| Becky: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Paul Handerson: Hello? |
| Linda: Mr. Handerson, this is Linda Baker from Green &Blue. We have a meeting scheduled today. |
| Linda: Unfortunately, I will arrive late, because I'm stuck in traffic. I'm sorry. I hope this doesn't cause problems. |
| Paul Handerson: Please don't worry. I don't have any other appointments today, so I'll wait for you. |
| Linda: Thank you, I'll try to be there as soon as possible. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Becky: Poor Linda’s stuck in traffic when she has a business meeting to attend. |
| John: Paul was very understanding, though, wasn’t he? |
| Becky: He was! How is tardiness treated in the American business world? |
| John: Usually it isn’t tolerated at all. You should always be on time for work or meetings. You are actually expected to be a little early and should try to arrive five to ten minutes before you’re scheduled. |
| Becky: However, there are times when you can't help being late due to traffic problems or some emergency. |
| John: If you know you are going to be late, you should call your office and let them know as soon as possible. You should also try to give them an estimate of when you’ll arrive |
| Becky: It's very important that you apologize. |
| John: Right. For example, you can say, “I'm sorry, but due to traffic I'm going to be 15 minutes late.” |
| Becky: Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Becky: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is... |
| John: to schedule [natural native speed] |
| Becky: To make a plan, to do. |
| John: to schedule [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: to schedule [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| John: Unfortunately. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Regrettably. |
| John: Unfortunately. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: Unfortunately. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| John: To arrive. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: To get to your destination. |
| John: To arrive. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: To arrive. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| John: To be stuck. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: To be unable to move due to an obstacle. |
| John: To be stuck. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: To be stuck. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| John: Traffic. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Vehicles driving on the road around the same area. |
| John: Traffic. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: Traffic. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| John: As soon as. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Quickly, at the earliest time possible. |
| John: As soon as. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: As soon as. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: And lastly... |
| John: Possible. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Able to be done. |
| John: Possible. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: Possible. [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Becky: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first phrase is... |
| John: Have [something] scheduled. |
| Becky: The first word of this phrase is "have," and this means "to possess." The second word is the past tense of the verb "schedule," which means to arrange a plan or event. |
| John: You can put a noun in between "have" and "scheduled" to say what your plan is. |
| Becky: As well as "meeting," you can use nouns such as "appointment," "vacation," and "class." John, can you give us an example using this word? |
| John: Sure. For example, you can say, “I have a yoga class scheduled for tomorrow morning.” |
| Becky: Okay, what's the next word? |
| John: Unfortunately. |
| Becky: Which means "regrettably." |
| John: It’s an adverb that comes from the adjective "unfortunate." They both mean being marked by bad fortune or poor luck. |
| Becky: You can use this to start or finish a clause when you are talking about something bad that has happened. Can you give us an example using this word? |
| John: Sure. For example, you can say, “Unfortunately, I missed the train and was late for work.” |
| Becky: If something good has happened instead, then you can use the adjective "fortunate," and the adverb "fortunately." |
| Becky: Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Becky: In this lesson, you'll learn how to apologize to a client. |
| John: In the business world the relationship with your client is very important and something you should treasure. |
| Becky: You should avoid making mistakes or offending them at all costs. However, sometimes things happen that you’ll need to apologize for. |
| John: The key phrase for apologizing to a client is “I’m sorry for” followed by what happened. |
| Becky: The preposition “for” is very important, as it links what happened to your apology. |
| John: When apologizing to a client, you should be honest and explain what happened, but you don’t need to go into details. |
| Becky: Right. The client expects to be dealing with a professional company, so don’t tell them about staff shortage problems or other issues. |
| John: You could just say, “I’m sorry for not getting back to you,” or “I’m sorry for the delay.” |
| Becky: However, this doesn’t sound very reassuring to the client, so you could add “it won’t happen again” to the end. |
| John: Now the client knows that this mistake was a one time occurrence and won’t be repeated in the future. |
| Becky: When apologizing to a client, you should also consider whether any further action is appropriate. For example, if you have delayed their order or got it wrong, should they receive a discount for the error? |
| John: If that’s the case you could say, “I’m sorry for the mistake, so to make it up to you, I’ll give you a 5% discount on the order.” |
| Becky: Ok, now let’s see how to accept an apology. If your business partner has done something wrong towards you or your company, you might hear some of the phrases we’ve just discussed. |
| John: You need to react to them in a professional way, especially if you want to continue doing business with your client. |
| Becky: You need to be formal. |
| John: You could even use a phrase like, “Apology accepted.” If you want to make sure that the mistake isn’t repeated, you can say, “Please make sure that it doesn’t happen again.” |
| Becky: It may be better to avoid saying that to a client and save it for a business partner who didn’t behave well. |
| John: Your tone of voice is also very important. Phrases like these can sound either harsh or playful depending on how they are said. |
Outro |
| Becky: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| John: See you! |
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