Which word? customer/client/clientele/consumer/staff

Customer and client can be used to refer to either people or companies that buy things, while consumer and clientele are used about people. The word customer is usually used when the thing being sold is a standard product or service. Client is preferred when the thing being sold is specially prepared or designed, for example professional advice: They had advised their clients to buy the shares. It is now common for organizations providing public services, for example hospitals or bus companies, to refer to the people who use their services as customers or clients rather than patients, passengers, etc. This is because the words customer and client are thought to present a more professional image. The word consumer is used to describe any member of the public who buys things rather than a customer of a particular company. The word clientele describes all the people who use a particular shop/store, restaurant or service. Staff means all the people who work for a company or an organization. In BrE staff can be singular or plural, if it is the subject of a verb, this verb is plural. In AmE staff can only be singular. The plural form staffs is less frequent but is used in both BrE and AmE to refer to more than one group of people.

B. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate word from the text above.

1. They had no problem finding … for their new service.

2. She advises … on their investments.

3. The boutique has an exclusive … .

4. Interest rate cuts have persuaded … to spend more.

5. We have a … of 25.

6. He questioned the old cliché that the … is always right.

7. The agency’s … list includes Gucci and British Airways.

8. The restaurant’s regular … were mostly young business people.

9. Advertising is often aimed at those who influence … habits.

10. She joined the … in 2003.

11. This person is one of the shop’s biggest … .

12. A good hairdresser never lacks … .

13. The … has dropped 30% in recent weeks.

14. The new service has been slow to become popular among … .

15. We have 25 people on the … .

16. Phone companies are competing to sign up domestic … .

17. We try to build good relationships with our … .

18. The restaurant attracts a younger … .

19. Recently there have been some changes in … behaviour.

20. We want better communication between managers and … .

Ex. XII. Translate the sentences given below, paying attention to the word business, which means:

• the activity of making, buying, selling or supplying goods or services for money;

• a commercial organization such as a company, shop/store or factory;

• the amount of work done by a company, etc., the rate or quality of this work;

• work that is part of your job;

• what someone should be involved in;

• things to be dealt with;

• matter.

  1. We do business with a number of Italian companies.

  2. In order to stay in business, you must do better than your competitors.

  3. Carl began in the music business by running a recording studio.

  4. They don’t know how to run a business.

  5. Owners of small businesses will be hit hardest by these tax changes.

  6. We’re now doing twice as much business as we did last year.

  7. Business is slow during the summer.

  8. She’s in New York this week on business.

  9. We discussed the idea over a business lunch.

  10. It was not her business, she decided, to ask where the money came from.

  11. “Who’s that girl you were with?” – “Mind your own business (= Don’t ask questions about something that doesn’t concern you)!”

  12. “Are you going out with Kate tonight? – “That’s my business (= it doesn’t concern you, so don’t ask me questions about it).”

  13. Okay, let’s get down to business (= start doing or discussing something).

  14. Leon regards keeping fit as a serious business.

  15. Tanya found the whole business ridiculous (= absurd, silly).

Ex. XIII. INFINITIVE of PURPOSE. Make up sentences matching the facts (1-10) with the purpose for them (a-j).

Model: Most people play sports to relax, have fun and keep in shape.

1. Managers study the situation in the market.

2. Companies produce goods.

3. They raised salaries.

4. Business is the organized approach.

5.  Businessmen attend conferences.

6. Now I have enough money.

7. The human resources department organized training for workers.

8. We are working with suppliers.

9. We offer a system that allows employees to choose the benefits, such as health insurance, use of a car, etc.

10. Management must organize production.

    1. to sell them.

    2. to reduce staff turnover (текучесть кадров).

    3. to provide customers with the goods and services they want.

    4. to keep manufacturing costs low and to produce a profit.

    5. to cut costs by 30%.

    6. to make new business contacts.

    7. to know how many goods to produce.

    8. to start my own business.

    9. to increase productivity.

    10. to provide for the individual and changing needs of our employees.

Ex. XIV. Match the words and word combinations with their translation and memorize them.

1) to make a profit	a) должность
2) to operate (run) a business	b) покрывать расходы
3) operating costs	c) забота, уход
4) to cover costs	d) получать прибыль
5) service provider	e) производительность
6) primary occupation	f) управлять предприятием
7) basic necessities	g) бытовое обслуживание (услуги)
8) personal services	h) текущие расходы
9) caring/ care	i) cоциальный пакет
10) position	j) поставщик услуг
11) productivity	k) товары и услуги первой необходимости
12) compensation plan	l) основной род деятельности
13) benefit package	m) система оплаты труда

Read the text and translate it into Russian.

(1) Business is the organized approach to provide customers with the goods and services they want. The word business also refers to an organization that provides these goods and services. Most businesses seek to make a profit - that is, they aim to achieve revenues that exceed the costs of operating the business. Prominent examples of for-profit businesses include Mitsubishi Group, General Motors Corporation, and Royal Dutch/Shell Group. However, some businesses only seek to earn enough to cover their operating costs. Commonly called nonprofits, these organizations are primarily nongovernmental service providers. Examples of nonprofit businesses include such organizations as social service agencies, foundations, advocacy groups, and many hospitals.

(2) Business plays a vital role in the life and culture of countries with industrial and postindustrial free-market economies such as the United States. In free-market systems, prices and wages are primarily determined by competition, not by governments. In the United States, for example, many people buy and sell goods and services as their primary occupations. In 2001, American companies sold over $10 trillion worth of goods and services. Businesses provide just about anything consumers want or need, including basic necessities such as food and housing, as well as luxuries such as whirlpool baths and wide-screen televisions, and even personal services such as caring for children and finding companionship.

(3) Businesses, especially large corporations, are run efficiently and effectively by a variety of operations. Common business operation divisions include (1) production, (2) marketing, (3) finance, and (4) human resource management.

(4) Businesses rely on effective human resource management (HRM) to ensure that they hire and keep good employees, and that they are able to respond to conflicts between workers and management. HRM specialists initially determine the number and type of employees that a business will need over its first few years of operation. They are then responsible for recruiting new employees to replace those who leave and for filling newly created positions. A business’s HRM division also trains or arranges for the training of its staff to encourage worker productivity, efficiency, and satisfaction, and to promote the overall success of the business. Finally, human resource managers create workers’ compensation plans and benefit packages for employees.

Ex. XV. Search the text for the words, which are similar in meaning to:

• merchandise, try to find, to run a business, outstanding, usually, to comprise; (paragraph 1)

• mainly, to regulate, to supply; (paragraph 2)

• to be in charge of a business, activities, to contain; (paragraph 3)

• to guarantee, to employ, staff, to take the place of, for completing, to guide or teach, to organize, to create a job, personnel. (paragraph 4)

Ex. XVI. Go back to the text and find the English equivalents to the following Russian phrases:

превышать расходы; предприятия, работающие с целью получения прибыли; некоммерческие предприятия, не предназначенные для получения прибыли; учреждения социального обслуживания; общественные организации, выступающие в защиту чего-л./кого-л.; важная роль; экономика свободной торговли; профессия; обеспечение жильем; предметы роскоши; вихревая ванна (для водолечения); управлять разумно и эффективно; управление трудовыми ресурсами; реагировать на противоречия; вновь созданные должности; обучение персонала.

Use of English

Read the text and grasp its main idea.

People may ask you about your job and you can answer in different ways:

What do you do? I’m (+ job)

What’s your job? I work in (+ place or general area)

What do you do for a living? I work for (+ name of company)

The word work is usually an uncountable noun, so you cannot say "a work". If you want to use the indefinite article, you must say “a job”. Work is also the place where you do your job.

When people ask you to explain your work/job, they may want to know your main responsibilities, or something about your daily routine. They can ask like this: What does your job involve?

If these are your main responsibilities, you can answer

I’m in charge of (=responsible for) all deliveries out of the factory.

I have to deal with any complaints.

I run the coffee bar and restaurants in the museum.

If these are daily duties/routines, the answer will be:

I have to go to/attend a lot of meetings.

I visit/see/meet clients.

I advise clients.

My job involves doing quite a lot of paperwork (writing letters, filling in forms, sending e-mails, answering the phone, etc.).

The word combination responsible for/in charge of is used for part of something (department or some of the workers). The word run is used for control of all of something (a company or a shop).

Most workers are paid every month and this pay goes directly into their bank account. It is called a salary. Salary - money that employees receive for doing their job, especially professional employees or people working in an office. Wage - a regular amount of money that you earn, usually every week, for work or services. The answer to the question: How much do you earn? is: My salary is $60,000 a year. / I earn $60,000 per year.

With many jobs you get holiday pay and sick pay. If you want to ask about holidays, you can say:

How much holiday do you get?

How much weeks’ holiday do you get?

The total amount of money you receive in a year is called your income. This could be your salary from one job, or the salary from some different jobs you have. And on this income you have to pay part to the government or income tax.

For many people in Britain working hours are 8.30-9.00 a.m. to 5.00-5.30 p.m. Consequently, people often talk about nine-to-five job with regular working hours. Some people have flexi-time, and some have to do shiftwork. Some people also work overtime. Some people are paid to do/work overtime, others are not paid. A full-time job is for the whole of the normal working week, a part time job is for less time than that. You can say that someone works full-time or part-time. A permanent job does not finish after a fixed period; a temporary job finishes after a fixed period. You talk about temporary and permanent work.

Ex. I. Match the verbs in the box with the nouns or phrases given below. Make up sentences with these word combinations.

earn work pay go to deal with run have do involve be responsible for

overtime, meeting, a shop, writing reports, clients, £500, income tax, under a flexi-time system, a business, a nine-to-five job, paperwork, a salary, shiftwork, filling in forms, full-time, solving problems, human contacts, long hours, team work, traveling a lot, in shifts.

Ex. II. Starting with the words you are given, rewrite each of these sentences using vocabulary from the text. The basic meaning must stay the same.

Model: I’m a banker. → I work in banking.

1. What do you do? → What’s … ?

2. I earn $50,000 a year. → My … .

3. I get £20,000 from my teaching job and another £10,000 from writing. → My total … .

4. I’m a programmer. → I work for … .

5. In my job I have to look after and maintain all the computers in the building. → My job involves … .

6. I’m responsible for one of the smaller departments. → I’m in … .

7. My boss takes all necessary actions if there are some complaints from our clients. → She has to … .

8. Do you have to work extra hours in your job? → Do you have to … ?

9. Is your Dad paid to do overtime? → Is he paid to … .

10. How long have you been managing this stall? → How long have you been … ?

11. I must leave, I have to go to a very important meeting. → I have to … .

12. My job involves meeting clients and advising them on their financial problems. → I’m … .

13. Could you tell me what your duties are? → Could you tell me what your … ?

14. I work in a public library in the afternoons from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m. → I have ….

15. In my company we can work when we want, within certain limits. We can start at any time before 11a.m., and finish as early as 3 p.m., as long as we do enough hours each month. → There’s a system of … .

Ex. III. A. Make up questions, paying attention to word order.

1. living / do / do / what / for / you / a?

2. you / do / much / how / earn?

3. tax / you / pay / do / have / income / to?

4. much / do / get / holiday / you / how?

5. overtime / in / you / do / work / job / have / to / your?

6. pay / you / do / holiday / get?

7. pay / get / sick / you / do?

8. your / what / involve / does / job?

B. Match the questions above with the following answers:

1. Yes, if we are very busy.

2. Yes, up to six months’ full salary.

3. €40,000 per year.

4. Yes, I pay 40% a year to the government.

5. I deal with overseas clients, mainly.

6. 28 days.

7. I work for an international bank.

8. Yes, it’s included in my salary.

Ex. IV. Five people are talking about their jobs. Match the jobs (1-5) to the people (a-e) and put the words in brackets into the correct grammar forms.

1. an accountant, 2. a postwoman, 3. a conductor, 4. a software developer, 5. a teacher.

1. Obviously, my work involves (travel) a lot. It can be quite physically (tire), but I enjoy (deal) with customers, except when they become violent. Luckily this doesn’t happen often.

2. I like (work) with figures, but my job is much less (bore) and routine than people think. The work (involve) a lot of human contact and teamwork, working with other managers.

3. Of course, it involves getting up quite early in the morning. But I like (be) out in the open air. And I get a lot of exercise!

4. You’ve got to think in a very logical way. The work can be mentally (tire), but it’s very satisfying to write a program that works.

5. I love my job. It’s very (stimulate) and not at all (repeat): no two days are the same. It’s good to see the children learn and develop.

Ex. V. Find grammar mistakes and correct them.

1. I’m builder and I work to a big company in the city of London.

2. Unfortunately, I haven’t got a work at the moment, but I hope to find one soon.

3. I work on a hospital in the X-ray department.

4. What your job involves, exactly?

5. I have to deal the delivery problems in my company.

6. I make a lot of paperwork, which involves fill in a lot of forms.

7. I am pay a very good salary.

8. I have to advice clients a lot in my job.

Ex. VI. Choose the most suitable word and translate the sentences.

1. The building workers were paid their income/ salary/wages every Friday.

2. She’s only been here three weeks. It’s a/an overtime/temporary work.

3. Apparently she earns/ gains/wins over £60,000 a year.

4. While the boss is away, Sue will be in charge/ in control/in place of the office.

5. Could I have two days away/off/out next week to visit my mother?

6. How much exactly do you do/make/take in your new job?

7. If you have to travel on company business, we will pay your costs/expenses/needs.

8. Terry has a different job/work/occupation now.

9. A good boss looks after every employer/employee/personnel in the company.

Ex. VII. Decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each space.