Practice Listening Business English Exercises for A2 – Retail

1 butcher’s   2 department store   3 bookshop   4 pharmacy

5 clothes shop   6 shopping centre   7 bakery

Audioscript

1

A:   We need something for dinner.

B:   OK, I’ll get some chicken on my way home this evening.

2

A:   Where shall we get the presents for the family?

B:   I just want to buy everything in one place. You know I hate going around different shops all day.

3

A:   You know it’ll be Noah’s birthday soon. He’s ­five on Thursday.

B:   That’s right! Let’s get him some children’s stories for his birthday.

4

A:   Are you all right? You look a bit tired.

B:   Yeah, I’ve got a terrible headache. I need to get something for it.

5

A:   I should get something to wear for that job interview but I haven’t got much money.

B:   Try Zara or H&M. Their prices are reasonable.

6

A:   Where did you say we’re going again?

B:   Bluewater. It says on the website that there are 330 stores and 40 cafés under one roof.

7

A:   I love that fresh bread you bought in that new place. Let’s go there again.

B:   Yes, and they have a really nice selection of cakes as well.

A

Possible answer

The man who visited the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul seems to have had the most positive experience.

The woman who visited the automated shop seems the most dissatisfied with her retail experience.

B

1 b   2 a   3 a   4 c   5 c   6 b

Audioscript

Extract 1

A:   Hello, Tony. Did you have a nice holiday?

B:   Yes, we had a great time, thanks Sonia.

A:   Where did you go? I can’t remember if you told me.

B:   Istanbul.

A:   Ah, yes, that’s right.

B:   You see my wife went to a conference there last week. And I decided to go with her. Well, I didn’t go to the conference. I spent the day visiting the city when Barbara was at work. Then we had dinner together in the evenings. She was working Monday to Friday but she wasn’t working at the weekend. We went to the Grand Bazaar on Saturday.

A:   Oh, the Grand Bazaar, I heard it’s fabulous.

B:   Yes, it is. Did you know it’s one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world?

A:   Really?

B:   Yeah, there are, I don’t know, thousands of shops. I mean, we were browsing for hours but we weren’t looking for anything speci­fic and we didn’t see half of it.

A:   Did you buy anything in the end?

B:   Yeah, a Turkish carpet. You know, the carpet seller served us tea when we sat down, and then we negotiated the price.

A:   Sounds interesting. Did you get a bargain?

B:   No, I don’t think so, but we really liked the carpet and the experience was fun.

Extract 2

C:   Hey! Did I tell you I went to that new shopping mall yesterday?

D:   No, what’s it like?

C:   It’s cool. One clothes store had magic mirrors.

D:   Magic mirrors? What are those?

C:   It’s basically augmented reality. So I could try on different styles and colours without putting on clothes. It uses special computer software.

D:   Like a video game.

C:   Yeah! You know how I really don’t enjoy shopping for clothes. The stores are always busy and there are long queues for the changing rooms. Then you spend hours trying on clothes. Then more long queues to pay the cashier. But with a magic mirror I can try different clothes and colours in less time, which makes shopping a bit easier.

D:   So, what did you get?

C:   Well, there were a couple of nice suits, but I didn’t know which style or colour I liked best, so I didn’t buy anything. But I have the store’s app on my phone.

D:   What’s that for?

C:   Well, when I left the store, they sent me a list of the clothes I tried on to my phone, and I can order online when I decide. Have a look and help me choose.

D:   Ah, oh is that the time? What was I thinking? I was talking to Martin earlier and I agreed to help him with something. I’ll see you later.

Extract 3

F:   Hello, Rafa! Sorry! Did I interrupt you? Were you eating?

E:   No, no, I was having a coffee.

F:   So, how are you?

E:   Very well, and you? How’s it going in Shanghai?

F:   Not bad, not bad.

E:   How’s your Chinese?

F:   Don’t ask! I didn’t speak much Chinese when I arrived here a month ago and I don’t speak any more today. It’s ­ ne in the office because everyone speaks English. But shopping is more of a problem.

E:   What about ordering in restaurants?

F:   Oh, that’s easy. Lots of restaurants here in China have picture menus. They’re great!

E:   So you can see exactly what you’re ordering?

F:   That’s right! Anyway, the other day I heard about these new automated convenience stores.

E:   Automated? You mean with robots? Arti­ficial intelligence?

F:   No, not exactly, just self-service with no human staff. I was walking to the metro yesterday when I saw one. When I went in, I chose my food, paid and didn’t interact with a single person.

E:   How does it work?

F:   First you give the company all your personal details. Then you can use your phone to enter the shop with a QR code and you scan the bar codes on products and pay with your phone, too. You also scan another QR code to leave the store.

E:   Wow! But don’t some people leave without paying?

F:   I don’t think so. There are security cameras and an alarm system. They’re watching you and they have your personal details!

E:   Ah! I see. So, it sounds like a good option for you.

F:   Well, yes and no. There’s not much fresh food, it’s mostly snacks and instant noodles. I was looking for something healthy. And my soft drink was warm but I couldn’t return it or complain to anyone. I’m not sure I like the future of shopping.

A

1   last month’s customer service survey

2   customer satisfaction ratings – Carl; in-store interviews – Carl; focus group results – Inés

3   after the talk

4   from the in-store customer feedback stations (in megastores)

Audioscript

A

C = Carl I = Inés

C:   Right, morning, everyone. Thanks for coming in. OK, let’s get started. This is Inés from customer research …

I:   Hello, everyone.

C:   Inés has joined us today to help me present the results of last month’s customer service survey. As you know, improving customer service is one of our main objectives this year. Now, as you can see, this was a three-stage survey. So, ­first of all, I’d like to start off by talking about stage one, the customer satisfaction ratings. Secondly, I’ll go on to talk about the in-store interviews. And then I’ll hand you over to Inés to talk about stage three, the focus group results. Finally, there’ll be time for questions at the end. OK? So, let’s jump right in. Have a look at this. This is the customer feedback station we now have in all our megastores. Customers simply press the button that shows how satis­fied they were with our service. Was it great, good, not good or bad? Then we process their feedback. Here’s a full breakdown of the ­figures by region and store.

B

1   Lots of customers don’t use the customer feedback stations at all. And even customers who rate the service as ‘great’ don’t say why, and don’t say if they recommend the company to others.

2   On average, each happy customer recommends the store to five other people.

3   One 1 out of 12 unhappy customers leave feedback, so 11 out of 12 unhappy customers don’t leave any feedback at all.

Audioscript

B

OK, now let’s move on to the in-store interviews. First of all, why did we do them? Well, when we sent our researchers into the stores, they noticed that a lot of people weren’t using the customer feedback stations at all. So, obviously, these people do not show up in our customer satisfaction figures. Fortunately, plenty of people were leaving positive feedback. But why were they positive? And how many other people were they telling about us? Again, we had no data for this. So we organised a team of interviewers to stop customers as they were coming out of the store, and this is what we found. First, the good news. Every customer who rated our service as ‘great’ told us they regularly recommend us to others – on average, ­five other people, which is very encouraging. But, now, the bad news. For every customer who rated our service as ‘bad’, and explained the reasons, eleven other unhappy customers were not leaving any feedback. They were just going home unhappy. And, frankly, that’s a disaster! OK, let’s look at the interview data in more detail.

C

1   how the company’s sales advisers can improve their service

2   15. The research team asked them to list ten adjectives to describe the ideal mobile phone Sales Adviser.

3   They were expecting more people to want a ‘knowledgeable’ and ‘informative’ sales consultant to help them with their purchase. But the focus groups were more interested in having ‘helpful’, ‘friendly’ service.

4   The company’s sales consultants have sufficient product knowledge, but insufficient people skills, to deal with their customers and Inés recommends training in this area.

Audioscript

C

C = Carl   I = Inés

C:   So, just to recap on the main points so far. The in-store interviews now give us much more accurate ­figures for customer satisfaction. But they still don’t tell us what we can do to improve our service. OK, that brings me to the end of my part of the presentation this morning. Inés, over to you.

I:   Thanks, Carl. Well, now, let me try to answer Carl’s question. As you know, last month we set up fifteen focus groups in different cities around the country. And one thing we did was ask them to text us ten adjectives to describe the ideal mobile phone Sales Adviser. Here’s a diagram of the results. Now, to help them choose a mobile phone, we were expecting people to want a ‘knowledgeable’ and ‘informative’ Sales Adviser. But, as you can see, mostly what they wanted was someone ‘helpful’ and ‘friendly’. And that’s where some of our sales teams are failing.

So, just to sum up: Too many of our customers are currently leaving our stores unhappy with the service they received. This is not because our Sales Advisers don’t have complete product knowledge. They do. It’s because they simply don’t have the people skills they need to give helpful and friendly service. And that’s why I’m recommending that we now make people skills training a priority. OK, let’s wrap it up there. Any questions? Yes, Hugo …

One young person I interviewed said all some of the places to go in the evening were expensive. He said he and his co-workers liked to have dinner socialise together after work.

One young office worker I spoke to said she likes to buy natural health personal care products. The price of the products was more less important to her than the quality.

Another shopper I interviewed told me she likes doesn’t like to go to shopping malls. She always wears doesn’t want to wear the fashions and colours that are popular right now.

Audioscript

Extract 1

A:   Just one last question. What kind of stores do you want to see in this area?

B:   Well, I don’t really go to stores much. I do most of my shopping online. But I think this area needs some more nightlife. There are places to go in the evening after work but some of them are really expensive and the others get really busy. We’re a young group in my office and we like to socialize around here after work sometimes, but when you leave the office in the evening, it’s hard to ­find somewhere to go in the local area.

Extract 2

A:   I just want to ask you one ­final thing. What type of store does this neighbourhood need, in your opinion?

B:   Well, I don’t live around here, I work in an office over there but I like to go shopping in my lunch hour. You know, last week, I wanted to buy some personal care products, like shampoo and deodorant, but couldn’t ­find anything I liked. I prefer to buy products that are 100 percent natural. It’s something that I don’t mind paying extra for if the quality is good. There are a few stores around here but there isn’t much variety.

Extract 3

A:   Thank you for your time. Can I ask you one final question? Is there any particular kind of store missing from this area?

B:   Erm, well, I’m a big fan of small fashion boutiques and good-quality second-hand clothes. I go all over the city to ­find stores that I like. I prefer not to shop in big chain stores and shopping malls because I don’t want to see the same shirt I’m wearing on someone else. I like to browse for original clothes, things that you can’t buy anywhere else. And I like to mix and match styles, I don’t want to just wear the fashions and colours that are popular right now.

1   Why don’t we ask Julie to make some calls?

2   Someone to help with calls would really speed things up.

3   Let me see if I can get IT to give you some support.

4   Having some help from IT would make a big difference.

5   I’ll see if Tariq can increase the budget.

6   An extra ten or fifteen percent would be a big help.

7   What if we give you an extension?

8   What else can we do to help you get it done on time?

9   How about getting someone to check the sales figures again?

Audioscript

Conversation A

A:   Do you have a minute?

B:   Sure. How are you doing with your research?

A:   I’m having problems getting appointments with the right people.

B:   OK, why don’t we ask Julie to make some calls?

A:   Thanks! Someone to help with calls would really speed things up.

Conversation B

A:   Just the person I was looking for! Any progress with the presentation?

B:   It’s not going very well, in fact. I’m having problems with the software.

A:   Oh, dear. Let me see if I can get IT to give you some support.

B:   Thanks, having some help from IT would make a big difference.

Conversation C

A:   Ah, there you are! Any progress with the conference plans?

B:   Actually, I’m having problems with the budget. I’m not sure we’re going to get what we want at this price …

A:   OK, I’ll see if Tariq can increase the budget. Maybe another ten or twenty-five percent per person?

B:   Thanks! An extra ten or fifteen percent would be a big help.

Conversation D

A:   So, how are you doing with that report?

B:   Not great, I’m afraid. I’m busy with two other projects – I don’t think I can do the report by Friday.

A:   What if we give you an extension?

B:   A couple of extra days would be really helpful, thanks.

A:   Right. What else can we do to help you get it done on time? How about getting someone to check the sales figures again?

B:   That would be a big help! I’m not great with numbers!

1 a   2 a   3 c   4 b   5 b

Audioscript

1   What else can I do to help?

      a   Having more people to work with us would really speed things up.

      b   Thanks. I’m not good with reports.

      c   Great. I’m having problems with the IT system.

2   I’ll see if we can increase the budget.

      a   An extra twenty percent would make a big difference.

      b   Someone to assist with the paperwork would be a big help.

      c   Thanks. I’m not great with numbers.

3   How about asking Jane to help you with the finance report?

      a   An extra ten percent would make a big difference.

      b   Great, another two days should be enough.

      c   Good. I’m having problems with some of these figures.

4   Let me try and get you some IT support.

      a   Having a larger budget would really speed things up.

      b   Someone to assist with this program would be a big help.

      c   Great, another day should be enough.

5   What if we make the deadline later?

      a   Thanks. I’m not great with computers.

      b   Great, another week should be enough.

      c   An extra fifteen percent would make a big difference.

1 a   2 b   3 b   4 c   5 b   6 c   7 b   8 a

Audioscript

1   What type of shop is Butterfield?

A:   Look, our business is doing really well online. I think we could open a real shop. Some are doing really well in the city … Like Butterfield.

B:   Butterfield? I’ve heard of it, but I haven’t been in it yet. It’s a department store, right?

A:   Actually, right now it just focuses on reading materials, comics and books, but I hear they are thinking of adding other things like clothes and toys later.

2   What is special about the restaurant?

The new restaurant in Cape Town that everyone is talking about is Bergan’s. It’s a modern space with some unusual food. But what is really different about it are the workspaces for business diners. You can plug in your computer and work while fine dining! Make sure you visit, but at over two hundred rand for a main course, it’s not cheap!

3   How much of the department store’s profits came from clothes last month?

So, we have the numbers from last month’s sales. We have had a fifty percent rise in sales in general over the Christmas period, and seventy percent of sales last month were on clothes alone. This area has grown all year. I think next year it might rise to eighty-five percent of our sales total.

4   How does the man order food in other countries?

A:   Do you like travelling for work?

B:   Yes, generally, but it can be difficult if I don’t speak the language of the country I’m visiting. For example, if I am in a restaurant and I can’t understand the menu, it can be a real problem. I don’t normally travel with colleagues who can help.

A:   So what do you do? Take a phrase book or app with you?

B:   I never remember things like that! I generally just point at two or three things on the menu and hope I can eat it!

5   What was the woman doing when her manager called?

A:   Did you speak to your manager today?

B:   Yes, I did. I spoke to him after the team meeting. I’ve prepared everything for him now. I was having lunch when he called but I managed to answer all his questions about the trip. I’m going to email his travel documents tonight.

6   Why is the woman’s report late?

A:   Hi. I’m still waiting for that report from you. Why didn’t I receive it yesterday?

B:   I’m really sorry. It’s all nearly ready. The numbers look good but the report is still with the marketing department. They should give it to me later today. I will hopefully send it to you before I go to the doctor’s in the afternoon.

7   Why is the man worried about going to Geneva?

I’m really worried about going to Geneva next week. Normally, I have such a nice time and I really like the team there, but I’ve got to deliver a presentation and I’m still working on the slides. I don’t know why I am so worried about it – their sales figures over there have been really impressive this year.

8   What were the customers’ opinions on communication with the company?

I’ve just analysed the responses to the customer survey on our website and there are some interesting results. Most people are really happy with our delivery times and our products, and they thought the overall website experience was OK but not great. Where we really need to improve is how customers can contact us. People found it difficult to get answers to questions.

1 b   2 b   3 a   4 c   5 a   6 c   7 c

Audioscript

Listen to Lilian talk about her business trip to Hong Kong.

A:   Hi Lilian, how was your trip to Hong Kong?

L:   It was really good, thanks, David. I had lots of meetings and I think they were very useful.

A:   Were you there for long?

L:   No, not really. I wanted to go for more time … ten days … but I only went for a week in the end. I needed to come back here for a meeting on the fifth.

A:   Was it your first time in Hong Kong?

L:   Yes, it was. What a great city! So many skyscrapers. It’s a really exciting place, but I found it difficult to get around. I couldn’t understand the metro system.

A:   Yes, I think taking public transport is difficult in any foreign city.

L:   Me too. I didn’t want to ask strangers for help, everyone was walking so fast and busy, but the people working in the station were really happy to show me how to buy tickets. I was also lucky because some of the clients I met took me to visit lots of attractions, too.

A:   Oh yes, what was that like?

L:   Well, did you know that there is a light show at night? It’s amazing. You can see it from the Kowloon ferry. I also went up Victoria Peak but I didn’t like it so much because it’s quite high and I don’t like being high up. One of my clients took me to the Ladies Market and that was great. Well, you know I love clothes.

A:   Did you buy anything when you were there?

L:   At the Ladies Market? No. I wanted to, but I like to spend time trying on clothes and looking around. My clients only took me to show me the market quickly and then to buy me dinner. I would love to go back there some time.

A:   Well, there’s always a next time!

L:   Yes, there is! I am going back there in three months. The clients loved my designs and want to see more. I might also do a bit of shopping when I’m there!

A:   That’s great news. I’m really glad it went well for you. I’ve never been to Hong Kong, but I would love to go.

L:   You should! I think you would love the architecture there. I can ask some of my clients to show you around. They’re really friendly people.