📘 Part 3: Complaints

This episode's vocabulary

Scathing (adj.) - criticizing someone or something in a severe and unkind way.

Substitution (noun) - the use of one person or thing instead of another.

Customer service (noun) - the fact of treating customers in a polite and helpful way, which is considered an important part of running a good business.

To moan (verb) - to make a long, low sound of pain, suffering, or another strong emotion.

To whinge (verb) - to complain, especially about something that does not seem important.

Stingy (adj.) - unwilling to spend money.

To whine (verb) - If you whine, especially as a child, you complain or express disappointment or unhappiness repeatedly.

To address (verb) - to speak or write to someone.

Promptly (adverb) - quickly, without delay, or at the arranged time.

Palpable (adj.) - so obvious that it can easily be seen or known, or (of a feeling) so strong that it seems as if it can be touched or physically felt.

Awry (adj.) - not in the intended way.

To assess (verb) - to judge or decide the amount, value, quality, or importance of something.

To meet (verb) - to fulfil, satisfy, or achieve.

To handle (verb) - to deal with, have responsibility for, or be in charge of.

Questions and Answers

M: Who is more likely to complain, older or younger people?

R: Oh, I'd imagine that younger people are more likely to complain. Well, just considering they have access to all these channels to do so like social media or online reviews. It's easy to post a scathing comment and demand satisfaction these days if you know how to do it, which young people generally are more capable of doing. You'll also need to highlight to do so because substitution is fun.

M: What do people often complain about?

R: Well, I think most often go on about matters related to customer service, such as when a staff member is rude or product quality is bad when like when things aren't delivered as they were presented. Sometimes you'll moan about pricing. But that's more to do with inflation these days, rather than companies I suppose.

M: What products or services do people in your country like to complain about?

R: Oh, I think you would be hard-pressed to find something they didn't whinge about, frankly. If we speak about British people as a whole, then they allegedly go on about the weather rather a lot, because, frankly, it's rather miserable. And Scottish people in particular, can be really stingy and whine about the cost of things on the regular.

M: Which is better to complain in writing or talk to people?

R: I think that depends on the situation, doesn't it? Complaining and writing would definitely be more helpful for documenting and tracking the issue, while complaining in person could help establish a more personal connection, and ensure that the issue is addressed promptly. When you put a human face on a problem, it tends to make it more, I don't know, palpable and easier to relate to.

M: Is it necessary for companies to set up customer service?

R: Oh, 100%, it's essential. They provide a direct line of communication between the company and the customer to address issues and improve customer satisfaction. If they didn't have them, then it would be like talking to a brick wall when something goes awry, which never has a happy ending. Because no one's listening, and making an effort to resolve the issue, which just makes the frustration build up.

M: Will customers' complaints improve products or services?

R: I'd certainly say so. By addressing and resolving them and assessing the feedback companies can identify areas for improvement and make changes to better meet the needs of their customers. I think the most obvious example might be whenever an app gets an update, usually, it's to resolve some sort of issue and maybe add a new feature to better support customers.

M: Are there any disadvantages to setting up customer services?

R: I suppose one potential disadvantage of doing so is that it can be costly for companies to staff and maintain these services. If customer complaints are, well, if they're not handled effectively, it could damage a company's reputation and lead to loss of business as well.

M: Do you think that people will complain more in the future?

R: Well, if there are going to be more people and the population is increasing then the absolute number of complaints will increase. But when it comes to the percentage of the population during the complaining, I have no idea if that proportion will increase or decrease.

M: Thank you, Rory, for your answers!

R: No problem. Hopefully, there's nothing to complain about.

Discussion

M: So, dear listener, people complain about something... Нounger people are more likely to complain. So younger people will probably complain more about something, so are more likely to do something is a nice one than older people, because younger people have these channels. Channel? Like social media, Instagram, Telegram, TikTok. They write online reviews. So it's easier for them to post a scathing comment, scathing.

R: It's just like a really negative and, well, usually nasty remark about something.

M: Criticizing someone like a scathing, scathing criticism, like negative, unkind.

R: But it's not just like a little negative and unkind. A scathing comment is like really quick cutting.

M: Yeah, it's really, it's really negative, really bad. So lots of young people post scathing comments on YouTube, for example.

R: Not on our YouTube.

M: No, no, our YouTube is clean. It's like super positive like people send their love and joy. And thank you very much, dear listener, if you posted a nice comment on our YouTube channel.

R: I should say I answer the comments quite frequently. So if you would like to give a model answer of what you would say in response to the question, I will be very happy to provide you with a little bit of feedback.

M: Oh, how nice of you, Rory.

R: Now that I've said that, of course, we're going to get hundreds of people messaging with their, with their, with their examples. So like I say, a little bit of constructive feedback. I'm not going to assess the whole thing, but I will give some feedback. I like doing that.

M: Yeah, check out our YouTube and write some comments. So, you can say that it's easier for young people to post a scathing comment and demand satisfaction if you know how to do it. How to do it? It refers to posting a scathing comment, a negative comment. So it is a substitution to avoid repetition, we use it instead of repeating posts and negative comments.

R: And on the subject of substitution, there is another example, they have access to all these channels to do so meaning to make the complaint. So to do so is a kind of substitution. And if you want to learn more about substitution, then, well, you can organize classes with me now. So that's always helpful.

M: And now he's advertising his classes in our premium. Dear listener, I'm sorry, I apologize for this Rory boy. He's out of control.

R: I'm not apologizing at all. My classes are awesome.

M: So we complain about customer service, about situations when a staff member, a member of the staff, like a flight attendant or a waiter. So when a staff member is rude or product quality is poor. So usually we complain about services and products and other people, and just life in general. The weather. A good synonym is moan. So people moan about prices, people moan about the weather. Moan is like "The weather is bad, I don't have any money. People are horrible". So I moan about everything, I complain about everything.

R: And notice they share the same preposition. Complain about, moan about, whine about something.

M: Whine about is another synonym. So complain about moan about, whine about the weather, whine about prices, or whinge. Whinge about the weather. Whinge is very informal. Okay? Very informal. So "complain about" is neutral, "moan about" I also think it's kind of it's neutral, right?

R: It's more on the informal side, I would say. Moaning, whinging and whining. I think they're all... They're all degrees of describing the way that somebody talks. So if you're moaning about something, it's just like, you're always going on about it. Whereas whining and whinging, those are irritating noises. And like it's going progressively higher on the scale of being annoyed by whatever's happening.

M: So many people whinge about their life. They complain about their life and are dissatisfied with their lives. And then in your country, the question could be about your country, so be ready to talk about things people complain about in your country. And Rory tells us like, if we speak about British people, they go on about the weather. So if structure, if we speak about, I don't know, Italian people, they go on about food. Go on about is another synonym for complain about.

R: Well, I think Italian people go on about people making a mess of the food that comes from Italy.

M: And for Scottish people in particular, they can be really stingy. So stingy - with money. Like they are not generous. They don't tip generously, they kind of save up, they're stingy.

R: My best friend was in a taxi recently. And the taxi driver complained that he'd booked the taxi using the app instead of making a phone call. So the taxi company or the taxi drivers have to pay a fee when this is done. But I don't understand the purpose of complaining to a customer about that.

M: Oh, yeah.

R: But that just goes to show and I should say the fee is, like it's 2% of the cost. So it's nothing. That should give you an example of the kinds of things that Scottish people complain about. But also, if you're going to complain about something, don't complain to your customers about it. I mean, what kind of impression does that give of your company?

M: So people can be really stingy and whine about the cost of things on the regular. So kind of on the regular. Regularly. Or quite often.

R: Did I say on the regular?

M: On the regular, yeah.

R: Oh, very nice, very informal, but still clear.

M: We can complain in writing or we can talk to people. And Rory's answer is "it depends on the situation", dear listener. Of course, it depends on the situation. So when you write, it's helpful for documenting and tracking the issue. Okay? So documents, for documenting the information, for tracking the issue.

R: For tracking? That just means that you've, you know what like the time and place that it happened.

M: While complaining in person, while or whereas, or by contrast. Complaining in person, when you talk to people. You establish a more personal connection. So you talk to a person face to face, and it helps the issue to be addressed promptly. So the issue is addressed, is sorted out promptly, promptly, like fast. And then Rory added, "if you can put a human face to a problem". So we put a human face to a problem, not just email, but your face. If you can put a human face to a problem, it makes it more palpable, Rory.

R: Palpable just means that it's something that you can touch, something that you have a connection to, as opposed to something that you don't have a connection to, and so you're less likely to relate to it. For example?

R Well, palpable usually refers to physical touch. But if we talk about complaints, like I suppose. Well, like I say complaining in person makes the issue palpable because you could see the person that you're talking to.

M: So palpable means obvious that it can be easily seen or known, for example, a feeling. And it's quite strong. For example, a palpable effect, or Rory's joy. Joy. He's happy. Rory's joy was palpable. Could you give us another example with palpable? Maybe some other context.

R: When I got my last mobile bill, my outrage was palpable, because it was so high that I was just like, what is this.

M: Feelings, and emotions are palpable. Customer service, many companies should set up customer service. Set up? Like establish, have customer services, or a customer service there. And this provides a direct line of communication between the customer and the company. So the article, yeah? The customer and the company. And customer services help to address issues. And improve customer satisfaction. So customer service, customer satisfaction, no apostrophe, no customers satisfaction, no, but just customer satisfaction, how happy customers are about a product or a service. And then the second conditional, let's imagine companies didn't have customer services. Yeah? If companies didn't have them, it would be like talking to a brick wall. So imagine, there is no customer service. So you don't like something, You want to complain and there's nobody to complain to. So if companies didn't have customer services, it would be like talking to a brick wall. When everything goes how?

R: Awry. It's like when things go wrong, or when things don't go according to plan, then they go awry.

Yeah, a very nice word to use about complaints, awry. Not in the intended way. Anything that goes awry goes wrong. Yeah? Or things went awry in the office. So everything went wrong. Or, for example, my plans went awry. And usually, people make complaints when everything goes awry, then you can also use the phrase resolve the issue. Customer services help us to resolve the issues with a service or product.

R: Well, ideally they do. Sometimes they just make the problem even worse.

M: Yeah, true. And then you can talk about customer feedback. So customer services, receive customer feedback, and reviews, and make improvements. Well, hopefully, they make improvements. They can improve their products or services, make changes, they can make changes to better meet the needs of their customers. So this is your phrase, to meet the needs of customers. So the service meets my needs. So you can say yes, customer complaints help companies to make changes, to better meet the needs of their customers. Yay. And then Rory gives an example. A very good idea is to give an example to illustrate your point is like in an essay. And here, for example, if an app application gets an update. An update usually resolves some kind of issue and adds a new feature to better support customers. So disadvantages to setting up customer service. What are the disadvantages?

R: That's a difficult question.

M: It is, yeah.

R: Because, of course, they're supposed to be designed to make things better. So immediately, you think, oh, my God, like what? But then you can think, oh, money, things cost money. That's my Scottish heritage. I don't want to spend money.

M: So if you're struggling to find an answer - money. So you can say it can be quite costly for companies, they have to pay the staff, they have to maintain certain things. And some customer complaints cannot be handled effectively. So we address the issue. We handle, handle complaints. So complaints are dealt with effectively, or complaints are handled effectively, or are not handled effectively. So they're not addressed. And if this happens, it could damage a company's reputation. Yeah? Too many dissatisfied customers.

R: And your company is done.

M: Is done, yeah.

R: Rightly so.

M: Right, dear listeners, now you do have synonyms. Complain, moan about, whinge about.

R: Whine about.

M: Go on about. Make sure you use them.

R: Well, when you talk about complaints.

M: Thank you very much for listening! And we'll get back to you in our new premium episodes. For now, take care. Bye!

R: Bye!

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