18．Suggesting times and dates
How about/What about the following week?
Shall we say 14 February?
19．Asking for suggesting
When would suit you?
Did you have a time/place in mind?
20．Saying we are unavailable
I’m afraid I’m busy then.
I’m sorry but I can’t make it then.
21．Complaining about poor performance
I’m calling/phoning/writing to complain about…
There’s some sort of delay/hold-up/problem.
There seems to be a problem with…
Things are in a mess.
Something has gone wrong somewhere.
There seems to be a problem in the system.
I’d like to make a formal complaint.
What’s going on?
Can you tell me what’s happening?
Who’s in charge of this?
Could you look into this?
22. Responding to complaints
I’ll look into this and get back to you.
My colleague Mr./Ms X deals with this. I’ll get him/her to call you back.
I’m afraid there’s been a problem with…
I’m sorry about this. We’ve changed our procedures so it won’t happen again.
We apologise for the mistake. It won’t happen again.
Our apologies for the mix-up. We’ve sorted things out now.
We’ve looked into your complaint and it seems to be justified. Can we offer you some sort of compensation?
23．Here are some ways of talking about where something is:
Is the golf course far from Khania?
Is the Athena Hotel a long way from the golf course?
Where exactly is the hotel Located/situated?
Where is the hotel in relation to the golf course?
Which is the most convenient hotel for the course?
The khania Palace Hotel is in Ayios Marina, not far from the center of the town.
The Athena is in the middle of Khania, right on the port.
The Apollo is in a place called Kolimval, about 25 km west of the golf course.
The Helena is (right) opposite the entrance to the golf course.
This hotel is very convenient for the course. In fact, it’s right next door.
24．Prepare the listener for the message
This is Frank Larsen from Scandinavian Conferences.
It’s 9.30 on Wednesday morning.
I’m ringing about the sales report.
25．Make requests simple and polite
Could you send me the report, please?
Could you please call me back?
26．Give clear contact information
I’m in Helsinki until Friday.
My telephone number is 346 766.
27．Talking messages
The following phrases are useful for taking messages.
28．Offering help
I’m afraid she’s not here today. Can I help you?
I’m afraid he’s visiting a client. Can I take a message?
29．Asking for information
Could I ask who’s calling, please?
Could you give me your fax number, please?
30．Checking information
Could you spell that, please?
So, that’s 27 November.
