listen-this-way4-unit1

Part I Getting ready

A.

B. seen in text book

C.

Consumers who want to shop online are suggested to bear the following things in mind:

Evaluate the site. Always buy goods from well-known and trustworthy companies. Deal with companies which offer customer service, a complaints procedure and have a refund policy.

Talk to merchant. E-mail and wait for reponses. Take down the addresses and phone numbers of those companies and make sure they are real by calling them up before buying any products and services.

Ensure secure connection. Since buyers must submit personal information like number and expiry date of the card there are fears over security. Deal with sites that apply strict safety measures that require shoppers to give specific data known only to card holders before making the transaction.

Be extra careful at a cybercafe or other public connection.

Part II Net shopping under fire

There is an urgent need for e-commerce rules to boost confidence in buying online. Consumers International, a federation of 245 consumer organizations —including the UK's Consumers Association —said its survey showed that there were still obatacles to shopping online with complete trust. The study, funded by the European Union, involved buying more than 150 items from 17 countries. Each consumer organization taking part tried to find one site in its own country and one abroad to buy a selection of items. These included a dictionary, a doll, jeans, a hairdryer, computer software and hardware, chocolates and champagne.

The key findings were:

●Eight of the items ordered took more than a month to reach their destination and at least

11 (eight percent) never arrived.

●Many sites did not give clear information about delivery charges.

●Only 13% of the sites promised that they would not sell customers' personal information on

to a third party.

●Only 53% of the companies had a policy on returning goods.

●Only 65% of the sites provided confirmation of the order and only 13% told customers when

their goods had been dispatched.

●In two cases,customers are still waiting for their money back more than four months after

returning their goods.

Louis Sylvan, vice-president of Consumers International, said, "This study shows that, although buying items over the Internet can benefit the consumer by offering convenience and choice, there are still many obstacles that need to be overcome before consumers can shop in cyberspace with complete trust."

Chris Philips, Marketing Manager at a London based e-commerce security company commented, "This study confirms the difficulties of establishing consumers' trust in the Internet as a shopping experience. With statistics like these and Visa claiming 47% of disputes and fraud cases were Internet-related, it is little wonder that Internet commerce is not producing the profits predicted two or three years ago. Trust takes time to build, and the Internet will not mature as a retail channel until trusted brands, like the banks for example, start to offer ways of supporting trust relationships with guarantees payment and service." In September, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development will hold a meeting to discuss a set of international guidelines for electronic commerce.

Part III Banking at home

Many people dislike walking to the bank, standing in long lines, and running out of checks. They are dissatisfied with their bank's limited hours, too. They want to do some banking at night, and on weekends. For such people, their problems may soon be over. Before long, they may be able to do their banking from the comfort of their own home, any hour of the day, any day of the week.

Many banks are preparing "online branches," or Internet offices, which means that people will be able to take care of much of their banking business through their home computers. This process is called interactive banking. At these online branches, customers will be able to view all their accounts, move money between their accounts, apply for a loan, and get current information on products such as credit cards. Customers will also be able to pay their bills electronically, and even e-mail questions to the bank. Banks are creating online services for several reasons. One reason is that banks must compete for customers, who will switch to another bank if they are dissatisfied with the service they receive. The convenience of online banking appeals to the kind of customer banks most want to keep —people who are young, well-educated, and have good incomes. Banks also want to take advantage of modern technology as they move into the twenty-first century. Online banking may not be appropriate for everyone. For instance, many people do not have computers at home. Other people prefer to go to the bank and handle their accounts the traditional way. Even though online banking may never completely replace a walk-in bank, it is a service that many customers are going to want to use.

Part IV More about the topic: Secret of Good Customer Service

In Britain they ask you, "Are you being served?" Whilst in America they tell you to "Have a nice day." But what is the secret of good customer service? From Harrods in London and Saks New York, we're going to find out the dos and don'ts of selling protocol.

The reason that Harrods has been so successful over a hundred and fifty years is two fold. First of all they've offered their customers the products they want to buy in a pleasant environment. But secondly and more importantly, the level of customer service that they've given their customers, before sale, during sale and after sale, has been second to none. I think it's fair to say that if you compare the British with our cousins elsewhere in the world that we are actually quite a reserved lot. To a certain extent there are a lot of shrinking violets in this country who would rather just do their own thing. They'd rather wander around and browse and if they do need any help eventually, ask for it. So I think the way that we approach our own U.K. based customers is

actually slightly different to the way we know we need to approach. For example, an American customer, or indeed a Japanese customer, or a Middle Eastern customer, who all have different ways of doing things.

Well in serving different, I guess, nationalities, you do take very different approaches. With Europeans, for example, you do kind of let them take a look at everything. See what's being on offer and then ask them if they need any help. I think they'd probably much more prefer to come to you, rather than you so much to go to them. The American customer very much expects you to go to them, approach them, show them alternatives. Well I think maybe the more European or British customer can be almost turned off by that if someone is seen to be too aggressive, maybe too anxious to make a sale.

It's most important that the first contact, the first initial meeting with the customer is a good and successful one because on that basis, the customer will make up their mind what they want to do next.

I quite like the English sales assistants because they definitely have better thing to do than talk to you, which I like. It's very terrifying when you go to America. "Can I help you?" they're like licking you. You're just like, "No, I'm fine. I just want to look." That puts me off. I love the English sales assistant.

So where have you experienced the very best in customer service?

Umm, probably America. In terms of best as in, they give you so much attention it's almost embarrassing. They treat you, you know, the "have a nice day" thing. They' want to help you. They want you to buy, 'cause they often work on a commission basis. That's if you like best. But I prefer the ... like, being ignored.

Tamara:

I think England's still way behind in terms of, like America for example. I can call in America from London and they'll track the item down. It's not like, "Sorry madam we don't have that in your size." I just got the Gucci boots, which mine had actually broken. And in England they said, "Sorry" you know, that's it. So this woman in Los Angeles tracked them down and, in fact got them for me. That's because they work on commission. And the sooner we learn that, the better the service will get.

So what do the Americans have to say? They may speak with a different accent. But is the sales pitch a foreign language to the rest of the world?

I think part of the reason Americans are known as experts is that we tend to focus a lot more in the human side of selling, not the mechanical side, which is the register and knowing about the product. We really want to know about your lifestyle. We want to know about your family. We want to know about your income. We want to know about your occasions in your life. And that's very different outside of the United States. Our consumer actually is comfortable with forming a partnership with a sales associate and giving up that information, very personal information, very

personal information. I think that best part about Saks sales associate training that we actually develop customers, five different types of customers and we videotape them and put them up in front of every new sales associate and say, "This is our customers." They're very different. Each one of them is a top customer at Saks but they shop in a very different way. A lot of stores in this industry really measure selling effectiveness by sales and quite frankl y that's not what Saks is about. I think the way you measure good quality staff is by repeat business. Obviously if you have someone on your selling floor that has a clientele, that is the measure of a good sales associate.

Part V Do you know…?

"Everybody loves a bargain, "this is a common American saying. A bargain is something you buy for less than its true vale. It is something you might not buy if it costs more.One person's useless ugly object can be another person's bargain. So many Americans put it outside with a "for sale" sign on it and they have a yard sale. Just about anything can be sold at a yard sale: clothing, cooking equipment, old toys, tools, books and chairs, even objects you think are extremely ugly or useless. You may have an electric light shaped like a fish. You may greatly dislike its looks, but it may be beautiful to someone else. Usually the seller puts a price on each object. But the price can almost always be negotiated. The price of a table, for example, might be marked $10. But the seller may accept 8. If the table has not been sold by the end of the day, the seller probably will take much less. Some people go to yard sales because it is part of their job. They earn their livings by buying old things at low prices then selling them at higher prices. Many others, however, go to yard sales just to have fun. They say it is like going on a treasure hunt. Sometimes they really do find the treasure.

Ned Jaudere did. The Boston Globe newspaper says Mr. Jaudere has been collecting native American Indian objects since he was a young man. Last year, he stopped at a yard sale in the northeastern city of Worcester, Massachusertts. He paid $125 for what everyone thought was an old wooden club. Mr. Jaudere thought it was something else. Two days later, he confirmed that the club had been used by the Wampanoag Indian leader known as King Philip. King Philip used it during his war with the white settlers at eastern Massachusetts in 1675. The historic weapon had been stolen from a museum in 1970 and had been missing ever since. Mr. Jardere learnt the war club was valued at about $150 000 but he did not sell it or keep it. Mr. Jaudere returned the club to the museum near Boston Massachusetts from which it was stolen.

Questions:

1. Which of the following is a common American saying?

2. What can be sold at a yard sale?

3. Why do people go to a yard sale?

4. When was the old wooden club stolen?

5. What was the real value of the club?

6. Why was the club at a great value?