Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. an ad
    • ex. I saw an ad for a big sale at the mall.
  2. be fed up with (someone/something)
    • ex. I was fed up with my boss, so I quit my job.
  3. be disappointed with (someone/something)
    • ex. I was disappointed with the new restaurant’s slow service.
  4. sluggish
    • ex. Traffic on the highway is very sluggish today. Most cars are only driving 50 kph.
  5. meet (one’s) expectations
    • ex. The new employee meets my expectations. I’m so happy that she joined my team!

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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A California man paid $10,000 for ad space in the Wall Street Journal to complain about his internet company’s service. Aaron Epstein, a 90-year-old resident of North Hollywood, has been a customer of AT&T since the 1960s. In his newspaper ad, he wrote that he was fed up with the slow internet speed in his neighborhood.

Epstein’s ad said that the residents of his neighborhood were disappointed with AT&T. He explained that while AT&T offered up to 100 mbps for other neighborhoods in the area, the fastest internet speed in North Hollywood was only 3 mbps. According to Epstein, AT&T promised to improve his neighborhood’s sluggish internet speed many times in the past, but it never happened.

On the day that his ad appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Epstein received a call from AT&T, who later sent two workers to his home. He now has a faster internet connection and said that it meets his expectations. A spokesperson for AT&T said that the company had upgraded its internet service in Epstein’s neighborhood and planned to offer faster internet speeds to 2 million more customers later this year.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Customer Complaints

  • Do you think it was a good idea for Epstein to pay $10,000 to complain about his internet service? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Should customers always complain about bad service? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Do you think customer complaints have a big impact on a company? Why or why not? Discuss.

The Need for Internet

  • Do you think that internet service is a basic need like water and electricity? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Why do you think AT&T took a long time to upgrade the internet service in Epstein's neighborhood (ex. to focus on other areas, to save money)? Discuss.
  • Should internet companies provide the same level of service to their customers in all areas? Why or why not? Discuss.