Shadowing Practice: Poor vs Great Customer Service - Learn English Speaking with Video
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59 sentences
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1
Hi, I've been trying to get in touch with your office to return these but nobody seems to be answering the phone.
2
Have you tried emailing us?
3
Yes, I have emailed.
4
Okay, well that's all you can do.
5
You have to email it through and someone will get back to you when they can.
6
And what would be the timeframe?
7
Well, it's up to them.
8
That's not in my department.
9
I can't help you.
10
You need to do it online.
11
So is there someone that you might be able to ask?
12
No, sorry.
13
Can't help you it's all done online within our online team
14
I don't know what more you want me to do is there maybe you could ask somebody
15
if they could help with well no because I'm the only one here
16
and I haven't had lunch and I can't leave
17
so you're just gonna have to go back online wait for someone to call you
18
and go from there this isn't my area
19
if you want to buy something I can help you okay
20
this is terrible customer service is there not a manager
21
or someone that I We do have an online chat room that you can lodge a dispute with,
22
but I don't have anyone here that you can speak with.
23
Okay, well I'll need to follow this up with someone then.
24
Thank you for not being helpful.
25
Okay, great.
26
Thank you so much.
27
That's not a problem.
28
Have a lovely day.
29
Bye.
30
Hello, how are you?
31
Good, thanks.
32
How are you?
33
Good, thank you.
34
I'm just wondering if I could return this please.
35
I've bought one for my husband on the weekend and he's already received it.
36
So is it possible that I could get a refund for that?
37
Yeah, absolutely.
38
Had you lodged something online yet?
39
I did, but nobody seems to have gotten back to me yet.
40
So I thought I'd just pop into the office.
41
Okay, sorry about that.
42
Usually our turnaround is 24 hours, but I can definitely help you with that.
43
Okay, great.
44
Thank you.
45
Okay, I'll just look up some of your details here.
46
What was your name?
47
Sheree Montgomery.
48
Perfect.
49
I can see you purchase that on the weekend with the credit card.
50
And would you like that refund back onto the credit card?
51
That would be wonderful.
52
Wonderful.
53
I can take care of that from here and you'll receive that within 10 business days.
54
Is there anything else I can help you with?
55
No, that's been wonderful.
56
Thank you.
57
Perfect.
58
Have a great day.
59
Bye.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Poor vs Great Customer Service”. This video has 59 sentences and 427 words to shadow. The speech runs for 1:57. The speaker talks fast, about 219 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 89% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow. 10 of its 59 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| lodge verb | /lɑd͡ʒ/ | To be firmly fixed in a specified position. |
| refund noun | /ɹɪˈfʌnd/ | An amount of money returned. |
| helpful adjective | /ˈhɛlp.fl̩/ | Furnishing help; giving aid; useful. |
| dispute noun | /dɪˈspjuːt/ | An argument or disagreement; a failure to agree. |
| turnaround noun | /ˈtɜɹnəˌɹaʊnd/ | The act of turning to face in the other direction. |
| email noun | /ˈiˌmeɪl/ | A system for sending messages and datas by means of a computer network, primarily the Internet, using the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol and the Internet… |
| lunch noun | /lʌnt͡ʃ/ | A light meal usually eaten around midday, notably when not as main meal of the day. |
| customer noun | /ˈkʌs.tə.mə/ | A person or company who purchases or receives a product or service from a business or merchant or intends to do so. |
| chat verb | /ˈt͡ʃæt/ | To be engaged in informal conversation. |
| detail noun | /ˈdi.teɪl/ | A part small enough to escape casual notice. |
| wonderful adjective | /ˈwʌndəfl̩/ | Tending to excite wonder; surprising, extraordinary. |
| credit noun | /ˈkɹɛdɪt/ | Reliance on the truth of something said or done; faith; trust. |
| nobody noun | /ˈnoʊ.bə.di/ | A person dismissed as unimportant. |
| weekend noun | /ˈwiˌkɛnd/ | The break in the working week, usually two days including the traditional holy or sabbath day. Thus in Western countries, Saturday and Sunday. |
| husband noun | /ˈhʌzbənd/ | A man in a marriage or marital relationship, especially in relation to his spouse. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| get back to verb | Return to (an activity) | |
| go back verb | To return to a place or state after having been there at a previous time. | |
| look up verb | /ˌlʊk ˈʌp/ | To have better prospects. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Have you tried emailing us?
- That's not in my department.
- I'm just wondering if I could return this please.
- Had you lodged something online yet?
- Is there anything else I can help you with?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | Have you tried · have emailed · haven't had |
| Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction | will get · I'll need · I'll just look |
| Obligation: must / have to / need to saying that something is necessary | have to email · need to do · have to go |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 17 contractions and reduced forms, such as can't, don't, I'll. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- Long words — get the stress right: absolutely /ˌæb.səˈlut.li/, definitely /ˈdɛf.ɪ.nɪt.li/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like lodge, refund, helpful.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.