The failure to complain is everywhere.

Australians call the British “wingeing Poms” because they complain so much. But a new study suggests that Brits should whinge more, not less. A team led by Chris Voss of the London Business School found that service quality in Britain is typically worse than in America. One reason, the research suggests, is that British customers complain less about bad service than hard-to-please Americans do.

The failure to complain is everywhere in Britain. Hunter Hansen, an American who runs the Marriott Hotel in London’s Grosvenor Square, notes that a British guest would make a fuss only about a significant problem – and even then, would do so in a roundabout way. Americans are critical of even small mistakes.

The result, Mr Voss finds, is that Brits suffer. But so do companies in Britain’s service industries: they do not receive much feedback, and so lose a chance to improve service quality. Indeed, they may spend more than they need on service-quality improvements, because they do not direct help from customers.

Management gurus know more about how companies respond to complaints than about why the British are phlegmatic. In America, well-run companies have “service recovery” strategies. Staff at the Marriott Group are trained in the LEARN routine-Listen, Empathise, Apologise, React, Notify. The final step ensures that there is a record of each complaint. The Ritz-Carlton hotel chain, another with a good reputation for handling complaints from customers, trains its staff not just to say “sorry” but “please accept my apology” and gives them a budget to reimburse angry guests.

When Brits finally complain, they get what they want. Mr Voss told his doctor that he would like to have the results of tests more quickly. “The next time, I got them sooner,” he says, in surprise.

Vocabulary:

whinge – жаловаться

pom (Aus) – житель Великобритании (неофицальн.)

make a fuss – злиться на что-то

a roundabout way – непрямой (обходной) путь (способ)

phlegmatic - флегматичный, спокойный, невозмутимый

Ex. 1.4. Являются ли утверждения из текста верными или ложными:

1. Australians are correct when they say that the British complain too much.

2. The British aren’t very direct when they make complaints.

3. Americans only complain when there is a big problem.

4. British companies don’t spend much on service.

5. The Marriott Hotel Group trains its staff to follow a fixed routine when handling complaints.

6. Complaining about bad service in Britain doesn’t bring any results.

II Dealing with complaints

Ex. 2.1. Сопоставьте шаги 1-5 компании «LEARN routine» с их описанием:

1. LISTEN	aShow that you understand how the customer is feeling.
2. EMPATHISE	bTell management about the problem
3. APOLOGISE	cDon’t interrupt when the customer explains the problem
4. REACT	dPromise to do something
5. NOTIFY	eSay “Sorry”.

Ex. 2.2. Замените слово в каждом предложении, выделенное курсивом, словом или фразой с таким же значением.

1. It’s a significant problem and a lot of people are complaining about it.

a. minor b. typical c. important

2. Our business is suffering as a result of poor service.

a. doing badly b. recovering c. failing

3. If the service is poor, the company will reimburse you.

a. ask you for money b. recover the money c. refund your money

4. The hotel has a good reputation.

a. has had a good report b. is known to be very good c. is very expensive

Ex. 2.3. Вычеркните одно слово в каждом ряду, которое не сочетается с данным глаголом:

1. make a complaint / a customer / an apology

2. deal with a service / a customer / a problem

3. handle a query / a need / a complaint

4. offer a refund / an apology / a complaint

5. satisfy a need / a customer / a complaint

Ex. 2.4. Выберите в тексте один из вариантов слов, выделенных курсивом.

If a company doesn't ¹ satisfy / offer a customer’s needs and he or she ² makes / offers a complaint, the company should respond immediately and ³ deal with / satisfy the customer’s problem. Businesses that don’t try to ⁴ satisfy / handle their customers usually receive more complaints. If the company ⁵ offers / deals with a refund, the complaining customer will often come back. But if the company fails to even ⁶ make / handle an apology, the customer will not only change to another company, but may also tell other people about his bad experience.