Speak Business English Like an American Lesson 9 Idioms and Expressions Test
LESSON 9 – Dealing with a Dissatisfied Customer
DEALING WITH A DISSATISFIED CUSTOMER
John hired Kevin s web design firm to design a website for his company, but John s not satisfied with the end result.
John: We’re disappointed with the website you designed for us. It’s a far cry from what we were expecting.
Kevin: I’m sorry you’re not satisfied. We really went all out to make it a great site.
John: Well, I’m not going to mince words. You charged us a pretty penny, and you didn’t deliver.
Kevin: Wow, I’m really surprised to hear you say that! We pulled out all the stops.
John: Don’t try to pull the wool over my eyes. You promised that your best people would work on this project, but our website looks like it was designed by a summer intern!
Kevin: What exactly is the problem with the site?
John: Where to begin? The shopping cart doesn’t even work.
Kevin: Really? Well, we’ll get right on that.
John: And you guys messed around forever getting the site done. You were three months behind schedule!
Kevin: I’m sorry about that. We were swamped. Let me make it up to you. We’ll give you a 25 percent discount on the project.
IDIOMS
- a far cry from
→ different than; not at all like; much less than
EXAMPLE: Cisco Systems’ stock may be trading higher, but it’s still a far cry from where it was in 2000.
- (to) go all out
→ to make a big effort; to try hard
EXAMPLE: The small gift shop went all out on advertising in December, trying to increase its holiday sales.
- (to) mince words
→ to control one’s language so as to be polite
EXAMPLE: Sue told you your new product idea was “the stupidest idea she’s ever heard?” Clearly, she’s not one to mince words!
NOTE: Mince has two main meanings: in this expression, it means “to make less harsh.” It also means “to chop foods into tiny pieces.”
- pretty penny
→ a lot of money; too much money (when referring to the cost of something)
EXAMPLE: Ruth made a pretty penny selling antiques on eBay.
- (to) deliver
→ to meet expectations or requirements of a task, project, or job
EXAMPLE: You made a lot of promises during your job interview here. Now that you’re hired, I hope you can deliver!
- (to) pull out all the stops
→ to use all one’s resources to get something done; to try very hard
EXAMPLE: Many airline companies are pulling out all the stops to win the right to fly direct to China.
ORIGIN: This expression comes from the world of music. To increase the volume of a pipe organ, organists pull out stops (levers that control the volume).
- (to) pull the wool over one’s eyes
→ to deceive someone
EXAMPLE: Are you telling me the truth or are you trying to pull the wool over my eyes?
ORIGIN: In in the 17th and 18th centuries, men sometimes wore wigs. The “wool” refers to the wig (made of wool). Pulling the wool over the eyes made it impossible to see.
- Where to begin?
→ There is so much to say, I have to think about where to start (usually used when you’re about to complain and you want to stress that there’s a lot to complain about).
EXAMPLE: Your new marketing campaign has so many problems. Where to begin?
- (to) get right on something
→ to take care of something immediately
EXAMPLE: You need my help in finding a new office to lease? I’ll get right on that.
- (to) mess around
→ to waste time; to spend time with no particular purpose or goal
EXAMPLE: We don’t have time to mess around with the design for the packaging. Let’s just design it quickly and get it into production!
- (to be) swamped
→ to have too much work to do; to be extremely busy
EXAMPLE: Accounting firms are swamped during tax season.
- (to) make it up to you
→ to do something to compensate you for your trouble
EXAMPLE: I’m sorry that you weren’t happy with the sign we made for your business. Let me make it up to you and make a new sign for you at no charge.
