剑桥商务英语第二版14a the call center

Unit14aThecallcentreUnit14aDirectserviceprovidersBackgroundinformationAcallcenterisacentralizedofficeofacompanythatanswersincomingtelephonecallsfromcustomersorthatmakesoutgoingtelephonecallstocustomers(telemarketing).Thecallcentersisabusinesssectorthatdevelopsmostrapidly.Moreandmorefinancialserviceprovider,suchasinsurancecompanies,banksallusetelemarketingasthemainwayofdoingbusiness.Unit14aDirectserviceprovidersListening1Sslistentoamanagertalkaboutwhyhiscompanyusescallcentersandcompletenotesaboutthecompany.Ssthenlistenagainandanswermultiple-choicequestions.Unit14aDirectserviceprovidersJ:DirectLinewasthefirstdirectproviderofinsuranceintheUKwhenitstarted13yearsago.Howmanycallcentersdoesthecompanynowoperate?G:Wehave6regionalcenterswhichemploybetween300and700peopleeach.Intotalwehaveabout3,000staffinourcenters.

Unit14aDirectserviceprovidersDirectadj.(going)straight;notcurvedorcrooked;notturnedaside直的;笔直的;径直的e.g.*adirectflight,iewithoutstoppingorchangingplanes直飞航班*adirecttrain,iethatgoestoapassenger'sdestinationwithoutstoppingbeforehand直达列车Unit14aDirectserviceprovidersJ:WhydidthecompanydecidetoofferitsproductsdirectlybyphoneandInternetratherthantheusedwaythroughinsurancebrokersorhighstreetshops?G:Well,themajorreasonwasprobablycost.Youseewithacallcenteryoudon’thavetopayhighrentsforgoodhighstreetlocationsorpaycommissiontobrokersandagents.Youcanthenpassonthesecostsavingstoyourcustomersthroughcompetitivepricingofyourproducts.Unit14aDirectserviceprovidersCommissionn.paymenttosbforsellinggoodswhichincreaseswiththequantityofgoodssold佣金;回扣;酬劳金e.g.Youget(a)10%commissiononeverythingyousell.你可从售出的每种货物中得到10%佣金.Sheisworkingforusoncommission,ieisnotpaidasalary.她按挣回扣方式为我们工作（没有薪水）.

Theyworkoncommission(=theyarepaidaccordingtohowmuchtheysell)andsotheytrytosellyoumore.Unit14aDirectserviceprovidersJ:Right.Andhowdoesacallcenteraffectthequalityofserviceacustomergets?G:Whenacustomercalls,theygetonaninstantresponse.Thecomputerdatabaseshowsallthecustomer’sdetails,whichsavesalotoftime.Thismeanswecanofferourcustomersgoodproducts,quickserviceandlowerpremiums.Unit14aDirectserviceproviderspremiumn.anextrapaymentaddedtothebasicratee.g.YouhavetopayahighpremiumforexpressdeliveryPremiumrentsarechargedinthecitycentre.

市中心要收取额外的租金Unit14aDirectserviceprovidersJ:AndwhatproductsdoesDirectLineoffer?G:Ourinsurancepoliciesincludemotor-we’retheUk’sbiggestdirectmotorinsurer-house,travelandlife.Wealsoofferfinancialservicessuchasmortgages,personalloans,savingandpensions.We’vealsorecentlystartedtoofferavehiclebreakdownservice.Unit14aDirectserviceprovidersJ:Gosh,somany.Areyouroperativeabletodealwithallthesedifferentproducts?G:Someoperativesonlydealwithoneproduct,whilstmulti-skilledstaffcandealwith2or3products.Butthesystemisprogrammedtoguideoperativesindealingwith80-90%ofenquiriesandclaims,sotheydon’thavetomakeanydecisionsthemselves.Unusualorlargerisksareassessedbysupervisors.Theimportantthingistogetasmuchinformationatyouroperative’sfingersaspossible.Themoreinformationtheyhaveinfrontofthem,thelesstrainingtheyneed.

Unit14aDirectserviceprovidersOperativen.worker,espamanualone工作者;（尤指）体力劳动者,工人e.g.factoryoperatives工厂工人.Unit14aDirectserviceprovidersSupervisorn.apersonwhoisinchargeofsb/sthandmakessurethateverythingisdonecorrectly,safely,etce.g.Allworkisdoneundertheguidanceofasupervisormyimmediatesupervisor(=thepersonjustaboveme)Unit14aDirectserviceprovidersAtone’sfingertips:立即可以得到，近在手边。例e.g.Withbusinessinformationatourfingertips,wecansolveyourproblemseasily.我们掌握了商业消息，可以迅速地为你们解决问题这里的atone’sfingertips有双关的意思，一是员工在工作是靠手指尖操作电话电脑，二是暗示信息的获取轻而易举，就在指尖敲击键盘的瞬间Unit14aDirectserviceprovidersJ:Howdoyouseethefutureforcallcenters?G:They’redefinitelyheretostay.Butasmoreandmorenewcallcentersaresetup,it’llprobablybecomehardertofindgoodstaff,socompanieswillhavetoofferbetterconditions.Inthefuture,staffmightevenworkfromhomeonclosedcomputernetworks.Unit14aDirectserviceprovidersSuggestedanswer1.62.30003.costs4.premiums5.response6.house7.loans8.pensions9.findgoodstaff10.workfromhomeBCCBUnit14aDirectserviceprovidersSpeakingSsdiscusstheadvantagesandpopularityofcallcenters.Unit14aDirectserviceprovidersProvidingservicesdirectlybytelephonehastheadvantagessuchas……Direct,quickandefficient直接，迅速和高效率Reducecosts降低各种成本Noneedpaycommissiontobrokersoragents不必向经纪人或代理支付佣金Withoutthelimitationoftimeandplace不受时间和地点限制Don’thavetopayhighrentsforlocations不必为（营业）地点支付高额的租金Customersalsobenefits24hourscallservice顾客24小时都能受益Unit14aDirectserviceprovidersListening2Ssdecideifstatementsaboutacallcentrearetrueorfalsethenlistentothemanagerandchecktheiranswers.Unit14aDirectserviceprovidersJ:George,wesometimesreadnegativestoriesaboutworkingconditionsincallcenters.Isittrue,forexample,thatyouknowexactlywhereworkersareforeveryminuteoftheirshifts?G:Yes,thecomputersystemdoesmonitorwhetheroperativesareattheirdesks,butwemakesurethattheygetanhourforlunchandplentyofotherbreaks.Unit14aDirectserviceprovidersJ:Doesthemonitoringaffecttheirpay?G:Yes,butinapositiveway.Operativesreceivebonusesbasedonthenumberofcallstheytake,theproductstheysellandthemistakestheymake.Thiswaywerewardgoodwork.J:Sowhatkindofhoursdotheoperativeswork?G:Theyworkflexibleshiftsof35hoursaweek.Plusovertimeiftheywantit.Unit14aDirectserviceprovidersFlexibleadj.easilychangedtosuitnewconditions易适应新情况的;可变通的;灵活的e.g.Ourplansarequiteflexible.我们的计画十分灵活OurplansneedtobeflexibleenoughtocaterfortheneedsofeveryoneUnit14aDirectserviceprovidersJ:Whatdoyoumeanbyflexibleshifts?G:Well,thecomputersystemworksoutashiftplanbasedonthecallsitexpectsandplansexactlytherightnumberofoperativesforeachtimeofday.Soshifttimesareflexible.Unit14aDirectserviceprovidersJ:So,dotheoperativesalsoworkevenings?G:We’reopenfrom8till8MondaytoFridayandfrom9till5onSaturdays.Alotofouroperativesareyoungmothersorstudents,sothey’rehappytoworkeveningshifts.Unit14aDirectserviceprovidersJ:Andwhataboutjobsatisfaction?G:Somepeoplebelievethatworkinginacallcenterisn’tthemostexcitingjobintheworld–soit’sveryimportanttorememberthatyouroperativesarehuman.Soweorganizethemintoteams.Theteamthatsellsthemostpolicies,forexample,winsaprize.WealsoorganizefuncompetitionsduringbigsportingeventsliketheWorldCuportheOlympics.

Unit14aDirectserviceprovidersSuggestedanswers1.T2.T3.F4.F5.F6.T7.TUnit14aDirectserviceprovidersReadingSslookatdescriptionsofpeopleandsaywhomightbeinterestedinworkinginacallcentre

Unit14aDirectserviceproviders1.

ZoeConolly,22I’vejustfinisheduniversityandI’mlookingforajob.I’vegotadegree

inbusinessstudiesbutI’mnotreallysurewhatIwanttodo.I’dliketotakesometimeoff

andtravelaroundtheworldbutIdon’thaveanymoney.Unit14aDirectserviceproviders从上边的情况看来，左伊也许需要呼叫中心的工作，因为他需要钱，而且愿意做一些临时性工作。Possibly.Heneedssomemoneyandmightlikeatemporaryjob.

Unit14aD