[English] Telephoning from Oxford 비즈니스 영어

 

출처: Pixabay

Edit by gslow, From Oxford 비즈니스 영어

 

Making excuses

• Jorg: Seide.
• Bob: Hi jorg. It’s Bob here.
• Jorg: Oh, hi Bob. Nice to hear from you. How’s business?
• Bob: Oh, can’t complain. How are things with you?
• Jorg: Fine, thanks. Listen Bob, can I call you back in ten minutes?
• I’m actually talking to someone on the other line.
• OR I'm afraid I'm in a meeting.
• Bob: Sure, no problem. Have you got my mobile number?
• Jorg: Yes, I have.
• Bob: Great. Speak to you then.
• Jorg: Bye.

 

Dealing with communication problem

• A: Petrex Plastics. Simon speaking.
• B: HI. Is Claire Brown there?
• A: Sorry, I think you have the wrong number. There’s no one of that name here.
• B: Oh, Sorry about that.
• A: So, we should really try to find time next week for a meeting.
• What do you think?...Hello? Are you there? Hmm. Hi, Chris?
• B: Yes, I’m here. Sorry, we got cut off. I don’t know what happened.
• A: That’s okay. Anyway, as I was saying…

Saying email and web address

• Kathy: Voland Information Services. Kathy speaking.
• Paul: Hi Kathy. It’s Paul here. I just have a quick question about the software you installed for us last week.
• Kathy: Oh, hi Paul. Nice to hear from you. What would you like to know?
• Paul: Well, I’m afraid we’ve lost the dummy user name for the test set-up.
• Can you give it to us again?
• Kathy: Sure. No problem. Do you have a pen?
• Paul: Yes, I do. Fire away.
• Kathy: OK. The user name is ‘Joe.Bloggs’. Would you like me to spell that for you?
• Paul: Yes please.
• Kathy: OK. It’s J-O-E dot B-L-O-G-G-S.
• Paul: Let me just check that. The user name is ‘Joe.Bloggs’, spelt J-O-E dot B-L-O-G-G-S.

@ - at

/ - forward slash
＼ - back slash

- hash sigh/ pound sign
* asterisk/ star button

( - open bracket
) - close bracket

 

• Kathy: That’s right.
• Paul: Well, thanks very much Kathy.
• Kathy: You’re welcome. Bye now.

Mobile phone calls

• Simon: Simon Mellor.
• Alexa: Hi Simon, Alexa again.
• Simon: Oh, hi Alexa. What’s up?
• Alexa: I’m actually still waiting for the train so I’m afraid I might be a few minutes late.
• Simon: Sorry, you’sre breaking up a little. I didn’t catch that last part.
• Alex: I said I might be a few minutes late to your office.
• Simon: Oh, OK. That’s no problem. I’ll see you when I see you.
• Alexa: I should be there by 9:15 at the latest, but I’ll call you again if there are any more delays. Listen, I think I’m losing the connection. I’d better go.
• Simon: Sure. See you in a few minutes.
• Alexa: Bye.

Rescheduling appointments

• Thorsten: Thorsten Hofmeister.
• Alexa: Hello, this is Alexa Johnston. May I speak to Simon Mellor, please?
• Thorsten: He’s actually in a meeting at the moment. But maybe I can help you.
• Alexa: Well, I’m calling about our meeting tomorrow. I’m afraid something has come up. One of my clients has brought forward our appointment in the afternoon to 12 O’clock. So I wanted to ask Simon if we could meet a bit earlier in the morning, so that I don’t have to rush.
• Thorsten: Let me just check Simon’s schedule. OK…How about 9 O’clock?
  • Alexa: Yes, that sounds fine.
• Thorsten: Great. I’ll tell Simon about the new time. And just give me a call if there are any more changes.
• Alexa: I’ll do that. Thanks very much for your help.
• Thorsten: You’re welcome. Bye now.

Complaining (Explaining a problem)

• Reva : Hume Sensors. Reva Burgos speaking
• Abby : Hello Reva, this is Abby Dickson from Sykes Electronics here.
• Reva : Oh hello, Abby, how are you?
• Abby : I’m a bit stressed to tell the truth. There appears to be a small problem with your latest consignment.
• Reva : Oh dear. I’m sorry to hear that. What’s the problem exactly?
• Abby : Well, you know we ordered your FR 346 sensor last week.
• Reva : Yes. 1200 units, if I remember correctly.
• Abby : Exactly. Anyway, some of the boxes contain the wrong sensor model, namely the FR 388.
• Reva : Oh, I’m very sorry about that. That must be really annoying.
• Abby : Well, it has caused problems with our production schedule, to be honest.
• Reva : Yes, I can imagine. It’s good that you’ve brought it to my attention. Listen Abby, I’ll get on to this problem immediately. How many units are missing exactly?
• Abby : Let me just check … 130.
• Reva : 130. Right. Well, this is what I’m going to do. I’ll send you 130 units of the FR 346 by express delivery with Swift Logistics. You should have them first thing tomorrow morning.
• Abby : That’s excellent. Shall I send you the wrong sensors back?
• Reva : Yes, I’ll tell the logistics company to pick the boxes up when they deliver the correct units.
• Abby : Great. Well, thanks for sorting that out, Reva.
• Reva : It’s the least I can do. Again, I’m really sorry about the mix-up. I’ll personally make sure it doesn’t happen again.
• Abby : That’s great, Reva. Thank you. Talk to you later.
• Reva : Bye for now.

Leaving and taking messages

• Anke : JKL Consulting. Anke Schmidt speaking.
• Ricardo : Hello. This is Ricardo Fonseca from Aresto. Could I speak to Jonathan Leary, please?
• Anke : Oh, I’m afraid Jonathan isn’t here at the moment. Would you like to leave a message for him?
• Ricardo : Yes, please.
• Anke : Just a moment. Let me get a pen.[pause] Okay, I’m ready now. Go ahead.
• Ricardo : Right. I was calling about the EuroMedical trade fair next week. Jonathan mentioned that he was thinking about going. So I just wanted to check if he’ll be there, and if so, if he has time to meet me.
• Anke : Let me just make sure that I got that right. You’re going to the EuroMedical trade fair next week, and you’d like to know if Jonathan will be there, and if the two of you can meet.
• Ricardo : That’ right.
• Anke : Shall I ask Jonathan to call you back?
• Ricardo : Yes, that would be good.
• Anke : OK. Erm … does he have your number?
• Ricardo : Yes, he does. I’ll be in the office until about 5 p.m. today if he wants to call me.
• Anke : That’s great, I’ll make sure Jonathan gets your message.
• Ricardo : Thanks very much.
• Anke : You’re welcome. Bye for now.
• Ricardo : Bye.

Exchanging and checking information

• Arno : HCE Ltd. Arno Maier speaking. How can I help you?
• Neil : Hello. I have a question about your relay Switches. Are you the right person to ask?
• Arno : Yes, I am. What was your question?
• Neil : I’m interested in the switch model RS 877, but I couldn’t find a price for it on your website. Could you tell me what the unit price would be for orders over a thousand units?
• Arno : Hang on a second, let me just check that in our system. That was the RS 877, right?
• Neil : Yes, that’s right.
• Arno : OK… The unit price for a thousand units or more would be 1 euro 56 cents. If you order two thousand units or more, then the unit price drops to … let me see … 1 euro 49 cents.
• Neil : Sorry, I didn’t catch the second price.
• Arno : It’s 1 euro 49 cents.
• Neil : OK. Right, so that’s 1 euro 56 cents for a thousand units or over, and 1 euro 49 cents for two thousand units or over, and 1 euro 49 cents for two thousand units or over.
• Arno : That’s right.
• Neil : Great. Well, thank you very much.
• Arno : You’re welcome. Just let me know if there’s anything else I can do for you.
• Neil : I’ll do that. Goodbye.
• Arno : Bye.

Referring to previous communication

• Anke: JKL Consulting. Anke Schmidt speaking.
• Elaine: Hi Anke. This is Elaine Sloan.
• Anke: Oh hi, Elaine. How are you doing?
• Elaine: Fine thanks, and you?
• Anke: Oh, can’t complain. So, what can I do for you?
• Elaine: I’m calling about the email you sent me yesterday, about the team for the new marketing campaign. You said that Henry was too busy to join the team and you told me that we could take Maria instead.
• Anke: That’s right.
• Elaine: Well, we would really like to have Henry if possible, so I wanted to make a suggestion. Do you think Henry would have time if we shifted the deadline back, say, a week or so?
• Anke: Mmm, that might be possible, but I’ll have to talk about it with Henry first.
• Elaine: Of course.
• Anke: Can I call you back later today as soon as I’ve had the chance to speak to him?
• Elaine: Sure, I’ll be here all day. You’ve got my number, right?
• Anke: I think so, but can you give it to me again just in case?
• Elaine: Yes. It’s 44 for Britain, then 141 223 4569.
• Anke: Let me read that back to you. 141 223 4569, is that right?
• Elaine: Yes, that’s right.
• Anke: Great. Okay, I’ll talk to Henry and call you straight back.
• Elaine: Thanks Anke. Talk to you later.

Making and reacting to proposals

• Helen : A & M Semiconductors. Helen Tanner speaking.
• Carles : Hello. This is Carles Ferran calling from K Systems in Barcelona.
• Helen : Hello Mr. Ferran. What can I do for you?
• Carles : We’re thinking about placing an order with you for processor chips.
• Helen : Really? I’m pleased to hear that.
• Carles : The only thing is, we need the chips very urgently. We’ve just won a contract with a major new customer.
• Helen : Congratulations. How quickly do you need the chips exactly?
• Carles : We need them by the middle of next month at the latest.
• Helen : Right, so that would be in five weeks’ time. I have to say that’s a pretty tight schedule.
• Carles : You’re right, but we really need them by then if we’re going to meet our project deadlines with our customer. If you weren’t able to another supplier. You’re our first choice however, so it would be good if we could find a way to work with you.
• Helen : Of course I would like that as well. Let me think for a moment. Normally we need six to eight weeks from order to delivery. However, if we introduced shift work at the factory, then we would probably be able to manufacture the chips faster.
• Carles : Well, that sounds like it would be feasible.
• Helen : Yes, but shift work is more expensive. Would you be prepared to pay more for the chips in order to get them faster?
• Carles : That depends. How much more expensive would they be?
• Helen : That’s difficult to say. I’d need to do the calculations.
• Carles : Well, can you give me a ballpark figure?
• Helen : Let me think. Off the top of my head, I would say between 5 to 10 per cent more expensive.
• Carles : OK. Well, I’ll have to check that with my boss, but I think I can provisionally say that we could work with that.
• Helen : Great. So maybe you can talk to your boss and I can work out a quotation for you, and then we can talk again.
• Carles : Sound good. How quickly can you prepare the quotation?
• Helen : I’ll have it ready by tomorrow. I’ll send it to you by email, and then we can talk again.
• Carles : Great. Talk to you tomorrow, then.
• Helen : Bye.