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UBICACIÓN

SHOPPING You will hear part of a radio programme about shopping. For questions 1-10, answer the questions. _____________________________________________________________________ 1. What was Dr Walsh buying when he first became angry? 2. When will there be more cakes on sale? 3. Who is afraid of him? 4. Who laughed at him? 5. Where did he force some shops to close? 6. How does he feel about the people who lost their jobs? 7. What does he like at his local supermarket? 8. How often does he go shopping abroad? 9. Who, according to Dr Walsh, never complain? 10. What angers him most about some of the products on sale?

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Departamento de Educación y Ciencia

Escuela Oficial de Idiomas nº 2 de Zaragoza

KEY: 1. meat 2. tomorrow/Saturday morning 3. everyone 4. a checkout girl 5. America 6. it’s their fault 7. cherry pies 8. twice a month 9. the British 10. they are overpriced/expensive

TAPESCRIPT Pres: Today in Consumer Watch we’ll be talking to one of life’s great complainers. His name is David Walsh and he spends all day in supermarkets like this one, passing judgement on every item from soft fruit to own-brand washing powder, and calls himself a consumers’ crusader. Dr Walsh, how did you get involved in this? Walsh: I think it all started at the meat counter. I asked why British beef was so much more expensive than Australian meat, and was met with this “take it or leave it” attitude. Then I started looking closely at everything on sale and realized that I wasn’t getting value for money. And as for customer service, forget it! Look at this! Only one cake left at 2 pm on Friday and they won’t restock the shelves until tomorrow morning – what sort of service is that? I come every day in the hope that they may have pulled their socks up. They haven’t managed to get rid of me, but they’d love to. Pres: Yes, I was going to ask, what do the staff think of you? Walsh: There’s nobody, from the manager on down, who doesn’t tremble in terror when I’m in because they don’t know what I’ll get up to next. They think I’m mad, but not one of my complaints has ever been unsubstantiated. Pres: So what sort of reception do you get? Walsh: Not always as warm as I would like. One manager had the cheek to tell me off for complaining, and one of his staff just laughed in my face, when I asked – she was a checkout girl – when I asked to see her superior. I can’t remember what the issue was, but their manner left a lot to be desired. Pres: But do you get results? Walsh: Yes, I certainly do. It’s not just empty complaining. I shut several stores down by persuading people not to shop there while I was working in America. In another town in the US a manager agreed to assemble his staff, and I walked down the line pointing out those people whose work wasn’t good enough. I think they got the sack. Pres: Don’t you feel at all guilty over their dismissal? Walsh: Not at all. It’s their fault because if they are not up to the job, then somebody else should be doing it. Pres: Tell me. Do you ever actually buy anything in supermarkets? Walsh: I make it a rule never to buy more than half a dozen items on my daily visit here, though I must admit that their cherry pies are very good. But I do my main shopping in France. Everything there is so much better and so much cheaper, and I cover my travelling costs on what I save – everything from peppers to kitchen towel is less expensive, so I go twice a month. Pres: So why do you drive yourself crazy here every day? Could you possibly have become obsessed, a little unbalanced even? Walsh: It has never crossed my mind that I might be going mad, never once. But this struggle has caused me a lot of stress – some staff have been insulting – but I will still be coming back, day in, day out. The problem is that we accept whatever is put in front of us without complaint. That’s the trouble with us British. Well, not me. Pres: But don’t you get fed up with being so unpopular’ Walsh: Of course I don’t like it that they treat me with contempt. The staff think that I am a troublemaker because I point out that their shelves aren’t restocked often enough, unless it’s with expensive items or junk food. And of course I get angry. Above all what really annoys me is when goods are overpriced and the staff couldn’t care less about the customers. It’s a stressful mission that I’ve chosen, but somebody’s got to do it. From Knockout First Certificate, by Peter May. O.U.P. © O.U.P. This material may only be used for individual study; multiple copying and distribution are prohibited.