Unit 8 Dealing with problems 8.1 Delays and problems vocabulary Fill the gaps in these sentences with suitable words form the list below. 1. If any merchandise is faulty the buyer can ……it and demand a ……. 2 If the goods are damaged ….., the suppliers may have to ….. the suppliers may have to ……………..the clients .if so, they can make an insurance ……….to recover this cost. 3. The consignment will be sent by ……….on a RoRo ferry. If there is any damage to the ……….,we will offer you a ……on your next order. 4. Our own technician can carry out ….. repairs or adjustments. But call the supplier’s service engineer if a ………. repair or …….. is required. 5. The guarantee ………last year and, unfortunately, our service contract was not renewed and is now …………… 6. Due to unforeseen …………., we couldn’t clear the goods through customs, so we paid a ………….charge while they were held in a bonded warehouse. 7. Exporters have to know about trade restriction, such as federal or governmental ……… and……… 8. They also have to know the meaning of terms like CAD……………and d / p ……………..the local can provide useful advice to exporters. 8.2 Take it back, son Reading Read this article and then answer the questions follow. Servicing manufactured goods Take it back, son LOS ANGELES On June 8th the Supreme Court ordered Eastman Kodak to stand trial in a competition case about the repair of expensive photocopiers. It has thrown a spotlight on the increasingly hostile relationship in America between manufacturing companies and the firms that service and repair the goods, which the manufacturers produce. If firms chose to use an independent service company, it is alleged , Kodak refused to supply either the servicing firm or the customers with spare parts. In effect, Kodak was trying to get customers to agree not to employ any firms that completed with it for service contracts on the Kodak machines. Many economists would slide with Kodak, rather than the court. They argue that customers take servicing costs into account when buying equipment, so restrictive service agreements are not necessarily anti-competitive as long as there is competition in the equipment market itself. The market for servicing high-technology electronic products alone is worth roughly ＄100 billion a year. Thousands of independent contractors compete for the business, but the lion’s share goes to equipment manufacturers. Roughly a quarter of the revenues of America’s computer makers comes from servicing and maintaining the machines they sell. Profit margins on services contracts can be as high as 50％. That comes in handy when profit margins on the sale of computers are disappearing because of recurring price wars. Other industries may also be affected. Detroit’s car makers also backed Kodak. In 1990 the retail market for car parts was worth ＄150 billion, about the same as that for new cars. Servicing cars came into another ＄100 billion on top of that. Detroit used to be happy to leave the repair business to mom-and –pop garages. No longer. Many independent distributors of spare parts complain that the big car makers are muscling in on their business. Big manufacturers in Japan and Germany service nearly all their own products. But America’s high job mobility and entrepreneurial traditions have encouraged many engineers in high-tech industries to set up service firms of their own, often to the fury of their former employers. Not all manufacturers are keen on the repair and service business. Makers of cheaper electronic goods, such as washing machines, television and video- recorders, find it cheaper and easier to replace faulty machines with new ones, or encourage customers to buy a new model, than to bother with spare parts. But many states in America that manufacturers honor warranties on anything they sell. To satisfy the law they have appointed the dealers and service agents. And yet because the manufacturers of electronic goods now view many of their products as disposable, they are in direct conflict with the dealers who have to provide service under those warranties.   Decide whether thee statements are true（√）or false （×）, According to the article. It is alleged that Kodak refused to supply repair firms which competed with them. □ It is generally agreed that Kodak acted unfairly. □ Most servicing of electronic equipment is done by independent contractors. □ 4. US computer manufacturers earn about half their income from selling spare parts. □ 5. Servicing computers is more profitable than selling computers. □ 6. US car manufacturers earn about half their income from selling spare parts. □ 7. The number of independent servicing companies is greater in Japan and Germany than in the USA. □ 8. If cheaper electronic products go wrong, they are more likely to be replaced than required. □ 8.3 Take a message Listening and note-taking A. Listen to first of two recorded telephone messages. Fill the gaps in these notes as you listen. You’ll probably need to hear the message more than once. Call form Morand S.A.Bordeaux. Both AR 707s running for 6 weeks now. Did usual routine tests before installing them in labs but now one unit is . Makes a loud harsh noise, as if drive motor is or one of the heads touching . Happens times a day. After noise stopped and normal. Question: Is this a fault they should ? If it is a problem that needs fixing they can . Please confirm that this will be and they can have immediately. Or they have unit examined by local -- Call him tomorrow am on . Draft a short fax replying to Mr. Morand, explaining what action you intend to take. Now listen to the second message and fill the gaps in these notes: Call from Electronics, Toledo, Ohio. Re: upgrade off 4x Drives with new hardware options. He understood we would ship them at , them they would upgrade for ____ per unit, then ship them back to us at . Problems: 1They’ve only received 2 we’ve their agents here for air freight and . Proposal: They will upgrade drive number and us for air freight and insurance. Please . Question: were other 3 drives sent at the same time? If so, maybe If not, at our expense. Call him tomorrow their time or send fax . N.B. if they don’t hear from us, they’ll they’ve received and for the upgrade ! D. Draft a short fax replying to Mr. Santini, explaining what action you intend to take. 8.4 After-sales Vocabulary Add the missing words to the following sentences. This is not a serious problem, it’s only a ….fault. We are rejecting the goods because we consider the quality to be… If you have suffered any loss, we will of course…you for this. We intend to…for the additional expenses we have incurred. You don’t need a qualified electrician to…a computer printer. A number of problems have…since we bought the machine. The delay is due to a…of qualified staff. As explained in our catalogue, this program carries a 90-day… As explained in our catalogue, this program carries a 3-month… The engineer is on call 24hours a day if there is an… There is a lack of…for such an old machine. We must have a computer system that works well, …of the cost. Their service department is responsible for…the machine. The service contract…all repairs to the equipment. Any…that is faulty will be returned to the suppliers. Please………these faulty items. 8.5 Apologies Functions What would you say in these situations? Write down the exact words you’d used. Your car wouldn’t start and you have arrived a few minutes late for dinner with a client. What do you say when you arrive? I’m terribly sorry to be so late. My car wouldn’t start. I hope you haven’t waiting too long. Your train was delayed and you have arrived a few minutes late for lunch with some colleagues. What do you say when you arrive? Sorry I’m so late, everyone. My train was delayed. You promised to call a client back yesterday but you forgot to. What do you say to him or her when you call the next day? ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. You misunderstood the instructions your boss gave you and mailed the wrong documents to your supplier. ……………………………………………………………………………………………… You were given a copy the sales figures by your boss, but you have mislaid it. What do you say to your boss? ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. You put the wrong date on the invoice you sent to a client. Explain why you are sending a new invoice. ……………………………………………………………………………………………… You’ve been waiting twenty minutes for a colleague to arrive. When she appears she apologizes, using the words in Sentence 1 above. What do you reply? ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. Your supplier hasn’t sent the correct instruction manual, in spite of your reminder to them. What do you say? ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Your boss promised to call your clients in Dallas this afternoon but it’s now nearly time to go home. ………………………………………………………………………………………………. Ms King, a client, calls you and tells you that she thinks you have invoiced her incorrectly. What do you say? ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 8.6 Bean sticks to its back yard Reading Read this article and then fill each gap below with one word. Bean sticks to its back yard FREEPORT MAINE L.L.BEAN is a family company. It’s boss, Mr. Leon Gorman, is the grandson of Leon Leonwood (sic) Bean, the founder of the America’s most famous mail order business. Like Timberland, L.L. Bean firs made a name for itself by making superior foot wear, the famed Maine hunting boot, and has earned a deserved reputation for the quality of the ＄600m worth of mainly outdoor clothes and equipment it sells each year. Mr. Gorman has shown scarcely any interest in selling abroad-much like his late grandfather, who used to block suggestions that he expand markets by saying： “I’m eating three meals a day now, and I can’t eat four.” So few of the 11.3m packages L.L. Bean ships each year with extraordinary dispatch and efficiency go outside North America. If the company and America’s trade balance are the losers, so are the foreigners denied easy access to some of the best things made in the United States. About 94﹪of Bean’s goods carry the L.L. Bean label, either because the product is manufactured by Bean or, as is nowadays more likely, it is made by others to its specifications. Either way, L.L. Bean stands behind all it sells. Customers can return a Bean product for any reason at any time and they get a replacement or their money back. One recently returned a bag with bullet holes in it. In a covering note the customer explained that books in the bag had saved his life when he was hit by stray shots and could he please have a new bag. L.L. Bean said yes immediately. The company is committed to satisfying its customers, and it says it is for customers to decide whether or not they are satisfied. Foreigners have good reason to complain that they are not. L.L. Bean is the most famous…………………………..business in the USA. It has a reputation for the…………………………of its products. The company doesn’t sell………………………….products abroad. More of L.L. Bean’s products are made by…………………..than by………………. Customers can………………………….any Bean product at any time and receive a…………….or a……………….without question. L.L. Bean is committed to ………………….its customers. The writer is……………………that L.L. Bean products aren’t available abroad. 8.7 Preposition Fill the gaps in these sentences with a suitable verb or noun +preposition. First try and do the exercise without looking at the list below. 1. He was _____________ a gold watch when he retired. 2. We’ve been ________ them over this since January. 3. We expect to __________ a large ___________computer system_______-one of the major suppliers. 4. We may have to ____________them to agree to our demands. 5. We have just _____________a new computer system _______one of the major suppliers. 6. Unfortunately, there is a __________technical information about these new processes. 7. What _________ our customers are completely satisfied with our product? 8. I __________having to pay a handling charge to the freight with our product? 9. Their firm has just __________Apollo International. 10. Will you please us _________ any change to the shipping date? 11. We’re ________ seeing your new TV advertisements. 12. I think we should ________ larger quantities________ the suppliers next month. References 8.1 Delays and problems 1. merchandise reject refund 2. transit compensate claim 3. truck / lorry load rebate 4. minor major modification 5. expired void 6. circumstances storage 7. boycotts quotas 8. cash against documents documents against payment Chamber of Commerce 8.2 Take it back, son True: 1 5 8 False: 2 3 4 6 7 8.3 Take a message A. The missing words are in bold type. Call from Henri Morand, Transocean S.A., Bordeaus. Both AR 707s running for 6 weeks now. Did usual routine tests before installing them in labs but now one unit is noisy. Makes a loud harsh vibrating noise, as if drive motor is unbalanced or one of the heads touching side of case. Happens 2 or 3 times a day. After 30 secs noise stopped and readings normal. Question: Is this a fault they should worry about? If it is a problem that needs fixing they can send the unit back. Please confirm that this will be at our expense and they can have replacement unit immediately. Or they have unit examined by local expert-at our expense. Call him at home tomorrow am on 56 52 60 44. B. Model fax to Mr Morand To Henri Morand From (your name) I am sorry to hear of your problems with one of your AR 707 units. I don’t think you need worry about the vibrating noise. But to set your mind at rest we have instructed our agent to visit you next week to examine the unit. Our agent, Ace Importers, will be in touch with you on Monday. Best wishes, C. Call from Byron Santini, Sunrise Electronics, Toledo, Ohio. Re: upgrade of 4 x Sunrise 3 Drives with new hardware options. He understood we would ship them at our expense, then they would upgrade for $250 per unit, then ship them back to us at their expense. This arrangement was confirmed in our fax to them of July 7. Problems: 1. They’ve only received 1 drive. 2. We’ve charged their agents here for air freight and insurance. Proposal: They will upgrade drive number R 9290004 and charge us for airfreight and insurance. Please confirm this is acceptable. Question: Were other 3 drives sent at the same time? If so, maybe lost in transit. If not, send them right away but at our expense. Call him tomorrow before 6 pm their time (419 897 4567) or send fax (419 897 0982). N.B. If they don’t hear from us, they’ll hold the one drive they’ve received and withdraw the special price of $250 for the upgrade! D. Model fax to Mr Santini Dear Mr Santini, Thank you for your telephone message. I apologize for the misunderstanding about shipping costs. Please inform your agents that there will be no charge for airfreight and insurance. We accept your proposal to upgrade drive number R 9290004 and charge us for airfreight and insurance. The remaining three drives have not yet been packed and shipped. As soon as we have received back the first drive and it is running again, we will send them to you at our expense. Thank you for your patience. Sincerely, A Transcript Mr Morand: This is Henri Morand (HENRI MORAND) from Transocean S.A. (TRANSOCEAN) in Bordeaux. You sent us month. We’ve had both units running for six weeks now. Now, we did the usual routine tests on them before installing them in our laboratories but now that we have them both in use, we’ve found that one of them seems to be rather noisier than the other. Every so often one of the units seems to make a very loud sort of harsh vibrating noise, as if the drive motor is unbalanced or one of the heads is touching the side of the case. This happens for no apparent reason two or three times a day, and it always happens with the same unit. The first time it happened we were terrified because we thought the whole unit was about to blow up! But after about half a minute the noise stopped and the readings were normal. Now we don’t really want to take the unit out of service, as the performance of the unit seems to be unaffected and we can’t really do without it now. So what we’d like to know is this: is this a fault that we should worry about or not? If it is a problem that needs fixing (and I assume you would know this from your after sales reports on other units) we can send the unit back to you ,but if we do I’d like you to confirm that this will be at your expense and that we can have a replacement unit immediately. The alternative is for us to have the unit examined by a local expert-again at your expense. So can you let us know which of these alternatives you recommend? If you can call me at home tomorrow morning, please, I’d be very grateful. The number is 56 (that’s the area code) 52 60 44. All right? C Transcript Mr Santini: This is Byron Santini (BYRONSANTINI) calling from Sunrise Electronics of Toledo, Ohio. As you know, we arranged to upgrade four of your Sunrise 3 Drives to incorporate the new hardware options and my understanding was that you would ship these to us at your expense and that we would then carry out the upgrades here for the nominal charge of $250 pet unit and ship them back to you at our own expense. You confirmed this arrangement in your fax to us of July 7. Now the problem is that we’ve received only one of the drives and, according to the documentation, our agents in your country have been charged for the airfreight and insurance! What we propose is that we carry out the upgrade on this drive (its serial number is R 9290004) and we’ll charge you for airfreight and insurance from us to you. Can you confirm that this is acceptable? I’d also like to know: did you send the other three drives at the same time? If so, they may have got lost in transit if they haven’t arrived yet. If you haven’t, then please send them right away but at your expense, in accordance with our original agreement. Can you call me in my office tomorrow before 6 pm our time (the number is 419 897 4567) or send us a fax (the number is 419 897 0982) to let us know how you wish to proceed? If you don’t get in touch, we will hold the one drive we have received until we hear from you and we will withdraw our special price of $250 for the upgrade. So the ball’s in your court, my friend. OK? 8.4 After-sales 1. minor 2. inferior 3. comprehensive 4. claim 5. install 6. arisen 7. shortage 8. warranty 9. guarantee 10. emergency 11. spare 12. regardless 13. maintaining 14. covers 15. merchandise 16. repair or replace 8.5 Apologies Suggested answers 3. I’m terribly sorry I didn’t call you back yesterday. 4. I’m awfully sorry, Mr Brown. I’m afraid I misunderstood your instructions and mailed the wrong documents to our supplier. 5. Excuse me, Mr Brown, but you know those sales figures you gave me? Well, I seem to have mislaid them. 6. I’m very sorry about this, but I’m afraid we put the wrong date on the invoice we sent you, so we’re sending you a new one. 7. That’s quite all right. I’ve only been waiting about a quarter of an hour. 8. You remember that instruction manual I asked you to send us? Well, it still hasn’t arrived. Could you send it quickly, please? 9. Excuse me, Mr Brown, you said you’d call our clients in Dallas. Is there still time this afternoon? 10. Oh, I’m very sorry to hear that, Ms King. I’ll check it myself personally and call you back before lunch. 8.6 Bean sticks to its back yard 1. mail order 2. quality 3. many 4. others Bean 5. return replacement refund 6. satisfying 7. sorry / unhappy 8.7 Prepositions 2. negotiating with 8. I object to 3. make a large profit to 9. merged with 4. put pressure on 10. notify us of 5. placed an order for with 11. looking forward to 6. lack of 12. order larger quantities from 7. proportion of