节目资讯
刊物:美国行
日期:2009-12-04
难易度:Low
关键字:better save than sorry, cash register, exchange, p
(Music).
Hi, friends.
Welcome to Studio Classroom Worldwide.
My name is Steve.
Well, you might have heard the saying:
Knowledge is power.
And that’s certainly true when anything that relates to money.
The more you know about how systems and policies work, the more you are able to
wisely spend and save your money.
Today Studio Classroom wants to empower you by giving you the ins and outs of
getting a refund.
Sometimes we buy something and it’s really not what we want or it’s defective,
and so we want to return it.
How do people in America do that?
We’ll find out after we look at the idiom:
better safe than sorry.
Take an umbrella in case it rains.
Better safe than sorry.
OK. Let’s get out our magazines and turn to page sixteen as we begin the lesson:
Can I get a refund?
Can I get a refund?
You can get your money back if you’re not satisfied.
It happens to everyone.
You buy something and a few days later, you’re not happy with the product or
service.
What can you do?
You can usually return the product or cancel the service and get your money
back.
Many companies have good refund policies.
But before buying anything, find out about a company’s policy - better safe than
sorry.
In addition, be sure of the company is reputable.
In the United States, you can check with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to get
that information.
Hi, friends.
I’m Esther.
And I’m Chip.
And thanks for joining us for this month’s American Culture Corner article.
We’re talking about getting a refund.
And our article is entitled:
Can I get a refund?
Or will you give me a refund?
And what is a refund?
Well, our deck helps us understand what a refund is.
Our deck says:
You can get your money back if you’re not satisfied.
Now Esther, what does that mean?
Well, in the West, if you buy something and you are not happy with the product
or the service,
then you can ask the company to give the money back to you.
You can ask them to give you a refund.
Let’s see what our text says.
It happens to everyone.
You buy something and a few days later, you’re not happy with the product or
service.
So friends, for example, maybe you buy a computer or a telephone or even a pair
of pants,
and after a few days, you don’t want it or you don’t think it’s what you want or
maybe there’s something wrong with it.
What can you do?
What can you do?
Well, our article says that you can usually return the product or cancel the
service and get your money back.
So you get your money returned to you.
And uh, some services that you might cancel might be um, canceling your cable
service or your Internet service or maybe a phone plan.
These would be services that you could stop or cancel in order to get your money
back.
And again, these products aren’t limited to small products.
These include large products, so large... purchases like large home appliances.
Maybe you bought... bought a refrigerator or a washing machine,
and after a few days, you find out, well, it’s not working right or it’s not the
model you want it or you just don’t like it very much,
you can usually get a refund.
Now Esther, it seems to me that this would be bad for a company.
It seems like if a... if a company chooses to give people their money back if
they don’t like the product,
then it seems like a company would lose a lot of money that way.
Right.
And companies do consider this.
And I believe that they know that people will return products, but they also
want to keep their reputation.
They also want people to think that they are a big company and that they offer
good services.
That’s right.
I guess they would want to keep their customers happy.
And our article says that many companies have good refund policies,
because it’s important for a company to keep a good reputation and to keep its
customers happy.
So it’s very important before we buy something, we need to find out what the
company’s refund policy is.
And how would you find out?
Well, you can always ask the salesperson.
Or when you’re making the purchase at the checkout counter, you can ask them:
Can you tell me about your refund policy?
And it’s... it’s a very good idea to ask that question before you buy something
because it’s better safe than sorry.
Now that’s a great phrase or saying or maybe an idiom.
And it simply is a short way of saying it’s better to be safe than to be sorry.
So help us understand that, Esther?
Right.
If we say better safe than sorry,
it means it’s better to spend more time looking to details or go into more
trouble to find out what the real situation is than to find out later that you
regret the decision you made,
or that you’re not happy with what you bought or what you decided to do.
So it’s very important when we buy things to be better safe than sorry.
It might take more time to ask the person at the counter:
What is your refund policy or can you explain your refund policy to me?
But if you know the refund policy, it will be good for you if you do want to
return your product or cancel your service.
Right. And if you don’t find out, you might be sorry.
So in addition or also, be sure the company is reputable.
Now that word reputable means:
Make sure the company has a good reputation.
Make sure the company is well-known for its quality products and quality
service.
And if you live in the United States, you can check with a government
organization called the better Business Bureau, BBS...
BBB, excuse me, to get back information. So you can check online or you can call
them.
And this will help you know if this company has a good reputation.
Well, let’s visit today’s Chat Room and then we’ll take a break.
Hi, friends.
Welcome to the Chat Room.
I’m Ken.
And today, we’d like to welcome Doris.
Welcome, Doris.
Well, it’s great to be here in the Chat Room.
So how are you today?
Well, I’ve never been better.
You’ve never been better?
What do you mean?
Well, it just means that I’m doing really well.
If someone asks you, ”How are you?” you can respond to them by saying I’ve never
been better.
You know, that reminds me of the idiom in our lesson today:
better safe than sorry.
Are these... are there any other useful idioms that use the word:
better?
Yes, there are several.
For instance, ”better late than never” means it’s better to do something late
than not to do it at all.
And if you forget to pay a bill, it’s better to pay as soon as you remember,
even if it’s late.
So if you don’t pay the bill, you might get into trouble?
That’s right.
So when it comes to paying bills, the sooner the better.
The sooner the better.
Yes.
Pay as early as possible.
Then you won’t have to worry about it.
I see.
(Chinese).
You know, Doris.
Now that we’re in the holiday season, we often hear people say it’s better to
give than to receive.
Can you explain that sentence?
OK.
Do you like to receive gifts, Ken?
Yeah. I... I do like to receive gifts.
Well, it’s certainly nice to receive gifts.
But it’s sometimes more rewarding to give something to someone.
When they receive the gift, it makes them happy, excited or touched.
And you can a certain satisfaction from giving.
I see.
(Chinese).
And here’s another statement that uses ”better”.
We’d better take a break.
But we’ll be back soon.