Episode 133

EPISODE 133
LEVEL A2

READING COMPREHENSION

 

Phone calls etiquette

The phones are ringing like crazy in your office. Every line is busy. And you can’t put through any callers. Don’t put a caller on hold or ask him or her to call back later. Many customers dislike being put on hold. So instead take a message! First ask for the caller’s name and number. Always repeat the information back to the caller. That way, you can catch any mistakes. Next, ask the caller what the call is regarding. Carefully write this information down. Finally, find out what action the caller wants. Does he or she want someone else to return the call? Or is the caller simply passing on information?
Good phone etiquette is very important to a business. Sometimes you may feel stressed but don’t let the caller know! You need to be courteous and professional at all times. You also need to be efficient when answering phone calls. It is most companies’ policy to answer the call before the third ring. When transferring a call, always say the name of the person the caller is going to speak to. And don’t forget to announce the caller’s name before you connect them!

 

Exercise 1
Without looking back to the text, do you remember which words are missing from it?

The phones are ringing like crazy in your office. Every line is b _ _ _ . And you can’t put
t _ _ _ _ _ _ any callers. Don’t put a caller on h _ _ _ or ask him or her to c _ _ _ b _ _ _ later. Many customers dislike being put on hold. So instead t _ _ _ a m _ _ _ _ _ _ ! First ask for the caller’s n _ _ _ and n _ _ _ _ _ . Always r _ _ _ _ _ the information back to the caller. That way, you can catch any m _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . Next, ask the caller what the call is regarding. Carefully w _ _ _ _ this information d _ _ _ . Finally, f _ _ _ o _ _ what action the caller wants. Does he or she want someone else to r _ _ _ _ _ the call? Or is the caller simply passing on information?

 

Exercise 2
Find in the second part of the text words which mean:

1. zestresowany
2. uprzejmy
3. wydajny
4. przekazać
5. połączyć

 

Exercise 3
Match the words in the two columns to form correct collocations:

1. to put               back later
2. to call              down information
3. to catch           through a caller
4. to write           the call
5. to return         phone calls
6. to answer        mistakes

 

Phrasals, phrasals…

This lesson’s topic – phone etiquette – is particularly rich in phrasal verbs. Looking back in our text we can find such a list of them:

• put through
• call back
• pass on
• write down
• find out

Do you remember how to use each of them? Complete these sentences correctly:

1. I always need to ______ _______ the name of the caller, otherwise I won’t remember it.
2. Can you tell her to ______ _______ when she returns to the office?
3. Could you ______ _______ what happened?
4. My job as a secretary is to ______ _______ callers who want to speak to the manager.
5. I’d like you to ______ _______ this information to Mr Smith.

 

Grammar corner…

Let’s study these examples from the reading text:

• Don’t put a caller on hold or ask him or her to call back later.
• Always repeat the information back to the caller.
• Carefully write this information down.

The underlined verbs forms are those of imperative (tryb rozkazujący). As we can see it’s a very easy grammar structure, which only has two forms: verb in infinitive (repeat, write) or it’s negation (don’t put).

 

 

GLOSSARY

phone call – rozmowa telefoniczna
etiquette – etykieta
busy line – zajęta linia
to put through – przełączyć, połączyć
caller – dzwoniący
to put sb on hold – kazać rozmówcy czekać na połączenie
take a message – przyjąć wiadomość
to repeat (back) – powtórzyć
to catch – wychwycić
mistake – błąd
to regard sth – dotyczyć czegoś
to write sth down – zanotować
to find out – dowiedzieć się
to return the call – oddzwonić
to pass on – przekaz(yw)ać
stressed – zestresowany
courteous – uprzejmy
efficient – wydajny
to answer a phone call – odebrać telefon
policy – polityka (firmy, rządu)
ring – dzwonek, sygnał telefonu
to transfer – przekazywać
to announce – oznajmić, ogłosić, tu: powiedzieć
to connect – połączyć

 

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