📙 Part 2: Describe a product you bought, but returned in the end

You should say: what it is, when you bought it, why you returned it, and explain how you felt about it.

This episode's vocabulary

Planner (noun) - a document or software program that helps you plan something.

To have your eye on someone/something (idiom) - to be thinking about getting or intend to get something or someone.

Ruled paper (noun) - a writing paper printed with lines as a guide for handwriting.

To inundate (verb) - to give someone so much work or so many things that they cannot deal with it all.

Parcel (noun) - an object or collection of objects wrapped in paper, especially so that it can be sent by post.

Impatient (adj.) - easily annoyed by someone's mistakes or because you have to wait.

To get cracking (idiom) - to start doing something quickly.

To put up with something/someone (phrasal verb) -to accept or continue to accept an unpleasant situation or experience, or someone who behaves unpleasantly.

To refund (verb) - to pay back money received or spent.

Timely (adj.) - happening at the best possible moment.

Thrilled (adj.) - extremely happy about something.

Prompt (adj.) - (of an action) done quickly and without delay, or (of a person) acting quickly or arriving at the arranged time.

Questions and Answers

R: Well, it was Christmas recently, so I decided to wait until after that to buy my usual diary planner, just in case someone surprised me with one. And since no one did, I went ahead and ordered one online. It was a very fancy one that I'd had my eye on for ages. I'd actually seen it in Italy earlier in the year, so I was quite excited to get it. It came with an app, a narrow-ruled paper and pages for every day of the year, plus some extra for notes and financial planning. Anyway, I placed the order with the understanding that it would arrive the following day. Of course, I'd forgotten it was that time of year when the post office is inundated with gifts and returns and parcels. So it was naturally delayed. Normally, this wouldn't have been an issue, but I was quite impatient to get cracking with writing everything I needed to write in it. So I just went and picked one up from the local newsagents. It was about two-thirds of the price and roughly the same format. So it wasn't exactly a disaster that I had to buy this one. I actually shouldn't have had to return the original diary, since I tried to cancel the order multiple times, but apparently I was too late for Amazon's automated service, and the thing arrived regardless of my wishes. I did try and find a new owner for it, but no one's very interested in having a diary that you write in these days. So I sent it back using the local post office. As if it put out that I had to put up with the delay and then to be sent it, even though I tried to arrange otherwise. But it was hardly a disaster like I said, and I was refunded the money rather quickly. If it had arrived in a more timely manner, I'd have been thrilled, but at least I'll know I'll need to be more prompt with my order next year.

M: Do you often return things?

R: No, not really.

Discussion

M: Thank you, Rory, for your story! Oh, what a lovely story, dear listener! Rory and his diary planner, wow. You know that Rory is super organized, and his planner is like, wow, is a piece of art. Because he has all his life written down a year in advance, it's amazing. So what does he do for Christmas? He orders a new diary planner. Nice.

R: Well, what do I do after Christmas?

M: So the task is about a product you bought, but you returned it. So you kind of, want a refund. So you want your money back. You return the product, and you want your money back. It's called a refund. And the story is in the past. If you've never returned anything, you should lie. Rory, what products do people usually return?

R: Well, the ones that they don't want. I don't know. When I... Like, maybe clothes, things that don't fit them.

M: Yeah. Yeah, clothes, shoes, maybe tickets, you know? If you bought a ticket and then you just can't make it, you can return the tickets, usually, like, 10 days before the event, with a full refund, so the money is reimbursed.

R: Ooh...

M: Yeah. So Rory told us about his diary planner, and he ordered it online. It was a very fancy planner. Wow, Rory, look at you.

R: It was quite fancy. I wanted this thing for ages, and then it never arrived. Well, it did arrive, but it took ages to get there.

M: And Rory had had his eyes on the planner for ages, for a long time. To have my eyes on something means like, well, you want something, and you see it and you want it, so you have your eyes on it. And I was quite excited to get it. Yay. I ordered it. I was quite excited. It came with an app. Ooh... So a planner and an application, nice. And this planner is like a paper planner. So it's not like a calendar, right? It's just like an old book.

R: Well, it's kind of a combination between a calendar and a notebook, really, when you think about it.

M: Yeah, but it's not something like you put up on the wall, right?

R: No, no. It's something that you hold in your hand.

M: I placed the order. So you order something online, a ticket, clothes, shoes. So I placed the order with the understanding that it would arrive in the future, the following day. Oh, Rory, come on, the following day? Really?

R: Well, it said that.

M: Hmm...

R: It wasn't me that lied. It was Amazon.

M: A bunch of liars.

R: Amazon, please sponsor our podcast.

M: If you just, you know, if you want us to say good things about you. Just, you know, feel free. I love your audiobooks, Audible. Oh, that's free advertising. Oh, my God.

R: What are we doing?

M: Yeah, Audible, if you want to sponsor any of us, just, yeah. I listen to all Harry Potter books and so many books on Audible. Yeah, Audible, get in touch.

R: Asking for all the advertising now. What's next?

M: McDonald's, Audible, yeah, Nike. Nike.

R: I meant what's next in terms of grammar and vocabulary.

M: Gucci. You've used a lot of Past Perfect here, actually. Like I ordered the planner; I had had my eyes on it, and here you said, like, I had forgotten that was the time of year, Christmas. So I placed the order, but I had forgotten that it was Christmas. See, Past Perfect. And when you order something online, you get a parcel. What's a parcel?

R: It's a package.

M: Package. Right, so they kind of wrap it and you, you get a parcel delivered... To your door, Rory? You ordered it to get delivered to your house or to someplace where you pick it up?

R: I... Oh, I think I ordered it to my home.

M: Sometimes you can order things to a special place, to the delivery point, and then you go there and pick it up, so you take it from there. I was impatient to get cracking with writing, so I was impatient to start using my planner, but it was not delivered on time. And I needed it on this day. Like a typical situation, dear listener, yeah? They tell you that, well, five days for the delivery, but it takes 15 days, and during the holidays, it never arrives, and they cancel the order. Rory could not wait any longer, so he picked one up from the local newsagents. A local kiosk.

R: Or a local shop.

M: So he picked a local shop. He picked one up? He chose one from the local shop. I tried to cancel the order multiple times. So many times I tried to cancel, but I was too late. And the product arrived regardless of my wishes. So despite my attempts to cancel the order, it still arrived. So they didn't give you the money back?

R: Well, I'd already paid for it at that point, so I applied for a refund and I got it after I returned it. It didn't take too long, actually. So thank you, Amazon for being efficient, but maybe you could be more efficient with cancelling the order next time.

M: Yeah, so I sent it back using the local post office. So I returned it and got a full refund. A very common question is to describe your feelings, and how you felt about it. So pretty much in every speaking part two question, they ask you about your feelings, you know? And Rory told us that I was a bit put out. So if you are put out...

R: Slightly annoyed by something.

M: Yeah, I was slightly annoyed. I was put out. I was a bit put out that I had to cancel it, or I was a little bit annoyed because it was delayed, I was irritated. And the phrasal verb is to put up with the delay. So I had to tolerate the delay, but it wasn't a big disaster. I was refunded the money. So you see, here, the key vocabulary is to get a full refund. It is a situation when they give the money back to you. You return a product, you get the money back. So I was refunded the money quickly. Or the money was reimbursed, and I got a full refund.

R: And that means everything came back to me.

M: Yeah. Any synonyms for "return the product"? So I canceled my order...

R: Handed it back, gave it back.

M: I gave it back, I handed it back. So hand it back, like your hand, give it back. What helped you to structure your answer?

R: Well, having a terrible delivery helped me structure my answer. I had to say what it was, but I actually described the time of year first when I bought it, which was just after Christmas. And then I launched into what it was, and I described it in a bit more detail. And then I switched over to why I returned it, which is really the big part of the story. And then I moved on to my feelings, which were a smaller part of the story, again, because when you have to return something, obviously you're not happy, but maybe you're not too annoyed, you're just like, oh, well, it could have been more timely.

M: And now Rory's vocabulary show.

R: Part of the show where I ask Maria about different kinds of vocabulary I used. So, Maria, I used a special word to describe the kind of lines on the paper of my diary. But what was that word?

M: Ooh, it's a narrow ruled paper.

R: Yes, nicely done. This is very important for me. I cannot write on anything but narrow-ruled paper. And then I talked about how it was that special time of year when there are lots and lots and lots of parcels, almost too many overwhelming in their number. But I didn't say it was overwhelming for the post office. I said it was something else. This special word for saying way too much of something.

M: Inundated.

R: Nice, inundated.

M: Oh my god.

R: Then I said that I had to return it, and I was a little bit annoyed, but it wasn't a huge problem for me. But I didn't say it wasn't a huge problem. What did I say instead?

M: It wasn't a disaster.

R: Oh my gosh, you're doing so well with this. And then, while it wasn't a disaster, I did say that this happened even though I did not want it to happen. But I didn't say even though I didn't want it to happen, I said something else.

M: It happened regardless of my wishes. Very good for your essay.

R: So if something happens regardless, it doesn't make a difference, it's still happening. But nicely done, Maria, 100%, band nine.

M: Yay! Thank you very much for listening, and we'll get back to you in our speaking part three about shopping. Bye!

R: Bye!

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