General Listening Quiz

Listen to the recording on store return policies and read along with the conversation. Review the key vocabulary and the sample sentences.

Store Clerk: Hi. How can I help you?

Customer: Yes, I’d like to return this sweater for a refund. I bought it a week ago.

Store Clerk: Well, first of all, what seems to be the problem?

Customer: Well, isn’t it obvious by just looking at it? [Hmm] The first time I washed and dried it, the thing shrank at least five sizes. It wouldn’t even fit an emaciated snake.

Store Clerk: Uh, I see what you mean, but did you follow the washing instructions? [Huh?] I think it says here . . . yeah . . . right here on the label to hand wash it and then to dry it on low heat.

Customer: How was I supposed to know that? The label’s written in Chinese! And something else: The stitching is coming undone and the color faded from a nice dark blue to a seaweed green. And, what kind of merchandise are you trying to sell here anyway?

Store Clerk: Listen, sir. We take a lot of pride in our clothing. What I can do is allow you to exchange the sweater for another one.

Customer: I don’t want to exchange it for anything! I just want my money back!

Store Clerk: Well, I can give you credit on your next purchase [No, no . . . ] , and since the item you purchased was on clearance [No wonder!], we can’t give you a refund.

Customer: A clearance item! There wasn’t anything on the price tag or on the clothing rack that said anything about that.

Store Clerk: I guess you didn’t read the fine print in our ad. [Wha . . .] Probably can’t read anyway. Look. Here’s the ad, and the information about the clearance sale is right here at the bottom on the back page.

Customer: Where? [Here] There? What? That small print. You’d need an electronic microscope to see all those words, and I want to talk to the manager.

Store Clerk: Uh, he’s not here at the moment.

Customer: Look, uh, this is ridiculous.

Store Clerk: And anyway, you can only return items with a receipt within six days, and unfortunately, that was yesterday in your case.

Customer: But, your store was closed yesterday [Sorry] because of the national holiday. [Sorry] What a . . . what a rip off. Listen. I give up. Your store policies are completely unreasonable [Yeah, right], quality of your merchandise is shoddy at best [Sure], and your service, well, is non-existent [You noticed.]. And how do you expect people to shop here?

Store Clerk: You did . . . Ha, ha . . .

Customer: Oh . . . here. Take your sweater. You should open up a pet store and sell it as a dog sweater.

• refund (noun, also verb): return money to a payer, pay back)
  – I asked for a refund because the radio didn’t work properly.
• obvious (adjective): clear)
  – The pants had obvious defects, and that is why the clothing was on sale.
• shrink (verb): decrease in size)
  – That sweater will shrink if you put it in the dryer.
• stitching (noun): fastened or joined by sewing
  – I decided to return the pants because the stitching was poorly done.
• merchandise (noun): products
  – That store deals in used merchandise, so you might find some good bargains.
• allow (verb): give permission
  – Customers are allowed to return merchandise within 30 days of purchase.
• fine print (noun): small writing
  – Be sure to read the fine print on any contract before you sign your name.
• ad (noun): advertisement
  – The ad says that the holiday sale will last through this weekend.
• ridiculous (adjective): silly, stupid, or unreasonable
  – You paid $100 for that shirt? That’s ridiculous. You could buy the same thing for $5 down the street on the corner.
• rip off (adjective, also verb): the act of stealing
  – That vendor ripped you off. That watch isn’t real gold at all!