Is 'Power tea' the new lunch?

Most good hotels in big cities serve afternoon tea. Between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. tourists and tired shoppers enjoy traditional sandwiches, cake and tea. Now a different type of customer is joining them. The Ritz Carlton Hotel menu in New York has a $38 “Power tea”. The new customers are businesspeople and executives.

Some businesspeople now prefer afternoon tea to a traditional business lunch. Executives want shorter afternoon meetings. A business lunch is often too long and expensive. Many people like to have meetings outside the office. But they do not want to be out of the office for more than two hours.

Peter Richard, the manager of Browns in London, says that afternoon tea meetings are “quicker, easier and less expensive. Lunch can take two or three hours, but tea is over in an hour.”

Not all cultures prefer afternoon tea meetings. David Solomons from Culture Shock! Consulting says that people in some countries are happy to have shorter meetings - for example, the US, Switzerland and Germany. But the Middle East, Latin America, Southern Europe and Turkey usually prefer a longer meeting followed by a long lunch.

From FT.com

1. Complete the sentences with the correct number(s).

a) Tea is usually between ……… and ……...

b) The “power tea” at the Ritz Carlton Hotel costs $......

c) Many people do not like to be out of the office for more than……..hours.

d) Lunch usually takes……….. or………… hours.

e) It is possible to finish tea in…………… hour.

2. Correct the wrong information in each sentence.

a) Afternoon tea is sandwiches, chips and tea.

b) The Ritz Carlton Hotel is in Seattle.

c) A business lunch is too quick.

d) Browns is in Rome.

e) The US, Switzerland

Over to you

Which meals do you think are OK for a business meeting? Write them in the order that you prefer. What meals are not OK? Why? Compare your ideas with a partner.

Unit 5 Food and entertaining

A successful business lunch

Level of difficulty **

Before you read

Use a dictionary to match the opposites.

1. format a) forget

2. open b) interesting

3. remember c) easy

4. complicated d) informal

5. boring e) close

Reading

Read this article adapted from the Guardian and answer the questions.

How to ... Have a successful business lunch

Business lunches are an enjoyable way to do business - but they can be complicated. What should you talk about? Is it better to be formal or informal? How important is it to listen?

How can you have a good business lunch? Mark Addison works for an advertising agency. He says that it is important to remember that business lunches are also business meetings. He thinks that it's a good idea to keep things formal the first time that you meet someone. But you don't have to talk about business all the

time. Addison says, “You can't talk about work for two hours, so it's a

good idea to have some other topics to talk about.”

It is also important to listen. Sandra Hughes, who manages a PR company, says, “I have lunches with clients who open their mouth to order and don't close it until the bill is paid.” It can be very boring if someone dominates the conversation and talks non-stop.

What other things are important for a successful lunch? If you don't know what to do, then watch what your host does. If they have a starter then you can, too; if they drink water, then you do, too. Choose food that is easy to eat. You can enjoy the conversation without worrying about how to eat the meal.

From the Guardian

1. Choose the correct alternative.

a) Something that is complicated is

i) difficult to understand. ii) easy to understand.

b) A topic is

i) a phrase. ii) a subject that you talk about.

c) At the end of the meal you pay i) the client. ii) the bill.

d)Someone who talks a lot about uninteresting things is

i) charming. ii) boring.

e) If someone dominates a conversation they i) talk all the time. ii) don't talk.

f) The host is the person who

i) invites you to lunch, ii) you invite to lunch.

g) If you worry about something, you are i) relaxed, ii) nervous.

2. Use words from the text to complete the sentences.

a) When you meet someone for the first time, it's better to keep things……….

b) It isn't necessary to talk about……………all the time.

c) ……………..is important - don't talk all the time!

d) Order something that is………….. to eat.

Over to you

Write a list of three things you do and three things you don't do at business lunches in your country. Compare your list with a partner.

Do Don't

I usually shake hands with I never talk about my family

the host.

Unit 6 Sales

Mail order entrepreneur

Level of difficulty ***

Before you read

Match the word or phrase to the correct definition.

1.entrepreneur a) money needed to start a company

2. warehouse b) clients buy from the same company again and again

3. catalogue c) book with photographs and information about products

4. customer loyalty d) someone who starts a new company

5. start-up costs e) not together

6. separately f) a large building to store things to sell

Reading

Read this article adapted from the Financial Times and answer the questions.