Listening: A Customer Service Call
A customer service call is a B1 listening text in the service-handling phone genre. The audio covers a customer calling to report a problem — a delayed delivery, a billing error, a faulty product, or a service complaint — and a service agent working to resolve it. Learners practise tracking the problem, the resolution offered, and any compromises reached.
This worksheet builds B1 listening comprehension through a customer-service phone call.
Worksheet preview
What’s inside:
- A customer-service call audio (~4 minutes) with annotated transcript
- Pre-listening vocabulary box with service-and-complaint terms
- Problem-resolution tracking: identify the issue, the offered resolution, and the agreed action
- Multiple-choice on customer tone and agent response
- Production task: role-play a customer service scenario you’ve experienced
- Full Answer Key plus Teacher Notes
Common challenges: Service-call language at B1: I’m calling about, I’d like to report, I’m not satisfied with, what can you do to resolve this. Agent register: I do apologise, I completely understand, let me see what I can do, would that be acceptable. Distinguishing measured complaint from aggression.
For: Adult and teenage learners (14+) at CEFR B1, in intermediate classes, 1:1 lessons, or self-study. Maps onto Cambridge B1 Preliminary (PET) Listening and B2 First (FCE) Listening. Part of the Phone & Customer Service collection — the natural next step is A Phone Call: Making Appointments, which returns to the transactional-phone entry.
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