6 Minute English ’11 – Complaining

Dan: Hello, I’m Dan.
Alice: And I’m Alice.
Dan: And this is 6 Minute English! Hmm, I’ll just have some coffee. Ugh, this coffee is disgusting! That cafe over the road serves the worst coffee!
Alice: Oh, you should complain! Tell them you’re not satisfied.
Dan: Hmm, you’re right; I should complain. But I don’t want to make a fuss.
Alice: Ah, you don’t want to make a fuss – very British!
Dan: Maybe I should though! Traditionally, British people have been very bad at complaining. We don’t want to cause unnecessary problems for anyone; we don’t want to make a fuss or make a scene. But apparently we’re getting better at complaining about problems. And that’s the topic of this week’s 6 Minute English – complaining. Are you a good complainer Alice?
Alice: Oh I’m a very good complainer – I’ll let you know when I don’t like something.
Dan: Right, I’ll watch out for that. But first, this week’s question for you Alice, is:
According to the Wall Street Journal, what was the cause of most airline complaints in the US in 2010? Was it:
a) Delayed or cancelled flights
b) Rude staff
c) Lost luggage
Alice: Mmm, I’m not sure: I’ll go for c) lost luggage.
Dan: OK, well, we’ll see if you’re right at the end of the programme. Now let’s hear now from Ben Page, from the surveying company Ipsos MORI. Here he is talking about some of the reasons British people don’t complain and why it might be changing. He uses the phrases ‘formal complaint’ and ‘annoy’ here Alice, so I wondered if you could explain those?
Alice: Sure. A formal complaint is a written document of your complaint. It’s usually a letter or email, and can sometimes be used as a legal document. And to annoy is another term for ‘to irritate’. Both mean ‘to make you a bit angry’.
Dan: Also listen out for the phrase ‘riled up’; what do you think it means here?
Ben Page, Ipsos MORI
Most Brits still won’t complain unless it’s something that’s really important, and that’s because they just don’t think it would make any difference. I think it is changing, slowly; there are more channels; it’s easier to whack off an email or a tweet to an organisation that’s annoyed you. But overall it’s still… a formal complaint still takes somebody to feel pretty riled up.
Dan: So British people need to feel pretty riled up if they’re going to make a formal complaint.
Alice: To get riled up means to become angry or annoyed. So if an organisation has annoyed you and you’re riled up, you can now complain using new technology, such as email or Twitter, so it’s much easier to complain now than it used to be.
Why else are British people complaining more now, Dan?
Dan: Ah, well some people say we’ve developed more a culture of complaining, and that’s in part because of television programmes that encourage people to take action when things aren’t right. A television programme called ‘That’s Life!’ was regularly broadcast in the UK from the early 1970s right up to the 1990s.
It made sure that people weren’t ripped off, and encouraged people to complain if they were.
Alice: To be ripped off means to pay too much for something.
Dan: So here’s the programme’s host, Esther Rantzen, who says that being able to complain is a fundamental democratic right. What phrase does she use to encourage people to complain?
Esther Rantzen
I think being able to complain is a fundamental democratic right. There are people around who will be on your side, but it’s really up to you to grasp the nettle and complain. Keep going!
Alice: She said we should ‘grasp the nettle and complain’. A nettle is a plant that stings you when you touch it. But if you grab it quickly it doesn’t hurt so much.
So as a phrase, if you grasp the nettle, it means you do an unpleasant task quickly, and then it won’t hurt as much.
Dan: So British people should grasp the nettle and complain when something’s not right.
Alice: As long as they’re polite about it!
Dan: Quite right! OK Alice, back to today’s question: According to the Wall Street Journal, what was the cause of most airline complaints in 2010? Was it:
a) Delayed or cancelled flights
b) Rude staff
c) Lost luggage
Alice: And I guessed c) lost luggage?
Dan: Well actually, the answer was delayed or cancelled flights. Often, lost luggage is the main cause of complaints throughout the year, but you’ll remember that in 2010, with the ash cloud and some very extreme weather, there were lots and lots of cancelled flights, so it’s not very surprising that was the major cause for complaint. So before we go, let’s hear some of the words and phrases we’ve used in today’s programme:
Alice: OK, we had:

To make a fuss – To become angry or upset about something, often unnecessarily
To make a scene – To complain very loudly and lose your temper
To annoy – To make someone angry with you
To irritate – To provoke anger or displeasure
Formal complaint – Official, sometimes written, statement of dissatisfaction,
made to a person or organisation
Riled up – Made angry or dissatisfied
Nettle – Wild plant which stings you if you touch it
To grasp the nettle – To deal with an unpleasant problem or situation in a bold, decisive way
Dan: Thanks, Alice. I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s programme and you’ll join us again for more 6 Minute English next time. I’m off to complain about this coffee!
Alice: Oh, I hope you get a good result!
Both: Bye!