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Arriving for an Appointment

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 300: Arriving for an Appointment.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 300. I’m your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.

Visit our website at eslpod.com, and download a Learning Guide for this episode. It contains all of the vocabulary, definitions, new sample sentences using each of the words in a different sentence, additional explanations of vocabulary that we don’t talk about on the podcast, cultural notes that help you understand U.S. culture better, a comprehension check, and a complete transcript of every word we use on this podcast.

This podcast episode is called “Arriving for an Appointment.” Let’s get started.

[start of dialogue]

I arrived a little early for my sales appointment with the office manager of Lyon Industries, and spoke to the receptionist.

Juri: Hello. I’m here for my 11:30 appointment with Sue Gibbons.

Receptionist: What is your name?

Juri: It’s Juri Lakoff.

Receptionist: I’ll let her know that you’re here. [Speaking into the telephone] Sue, this is Rhonda. Your 11:30 appointment is here. Should I send him up? Okay, I’ll do that. [Hangs up the telephone] Ms. Gibbons says that she’s running a little late and is tied up in another meeting right now. She should be wrapping things up very quickly and will be free in a few minutes. Would you like to wait in the reception area right over there?

Juri: Sure. No problem.

Receptionist: Can I get you something? Coffee or tea?

Juri: No, I’m fine. I was just wondering how many employees you have in this office.

Receptionist: I don’t know precisely, but I think we have about 80.

Juri: Oh, that’s a lot. Is the company planning on expanding?

Receptionist: I’m sorry, but I really don’t know. I’m sure Ms. Gibbons can answer those questions for you.

Juri: Right, right. I didn’t mean to pump you for information. I was just trying to get the inside scoop on the company before my meeting.

Receptionist: I understand. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to answer this call. Ms. Gibbons should be finished with her other meeting in no time.

Juri: Oh, sure. I didn’t mean to keep you. Sorry.

[end of dialogue]

Our dialogue begins with Juri saying that he arrived a little early for his sales appointment with the office manager at Lyon Industries. A “sales appointment” would be when someone who is selling something to a company would go and have a meeting. “Appointment” is often the same as a meeting. He’s going have a meeting with the “office manager,” the person who runs the office, the person who is responsible for the “day to day,” or the daily, operations of an office.

Before he can talk to the office manager, he has to talk to the receptionist. A “receptionist” (receptionist) is the person who receives those who are calling or entering the office. The word “receptionist” comes from the verb “to receive.” It’s the first person that you would talk to at an office. This receptionist answers the phones and talks to people who enter the office building. Usually, the receptionist is kind of like a secretary, though not always. In this case, the receptionist works for the office manager, and is the person who receives people who first enter into the office.

Juri says to the receptionist, “Hello. I’m here for my 11:30 appointment with Sue Gibbons.” The receptionist says, “What is your name?” Juri says, “It’s Juri Lakoff.” The receptionist says, “I’ll let her know that you’re here” – I’ll let Sue Gibbons know; I will tell her that you are here. She then talks to Sue Gibbons by telephone. She says, “Sue, this is Rhonda. Your 11:30 appointment is here.” Sometimes secretaries or receptionists might say simply, “Your 11:30 is here,” meaning your 11:30 appointment. The receptionist says, “Should I send him up?” To “send someone up,” in this context, means to give someone permission, usually, to go upstairs (up to a higher level in a building). If it’s on the same level of the building you would say, “Shall I send him in?” (into your office). So, if the receptionist is on the first floor and Sue Gibbons is on the fourth or fifth floor, Sue is upstairs (on a different level), so the receptionist says, “Shall I,” or “Should I send him up?” (up to your office). Again, if they were on the same floor (the same level), she would probably say, “Shall I send him in?” Sue says, “yes,” although we don’t hear Sue on the phone. Rhonda, the receptionist, says, “Okay, I’ll do that. Ms. Gibbons says (according to the receptionist) that she is running a little late.” To be “running late” means to be behind schedule. You are supposed to be somewhere at 11:00, for example, and it is already 11:15 and you have not arrived, you would be running a little late, arriving late or doing things later than what you had planned.

Ms. Gibbons “is tied up in another meeting right now.” To be “tied up” means to be busy doing something. To “tie someone up” (as a “phrasal,” or two-word verb) means to occupy someone’s time (to keep them busy). Here, Ms. Gibbons is tied up in a meeting. She’s busy in a meeting, another meeting, and cannot see Juri right away. Ms. Gibbons says she is wrapping things up very quickly. To “wrap (wrap) things up” means to finish something that you are doing now, usually so that you can go on and do something different. To end something – “let’s wrap this up” – lets end this discussion or this meeting.

The receptionist says Ms. Gibbons “will be free in a few minutes.” “Free,” here, means available (not busy – unoccupied). “Are you free?” – are you busy – are you doing something? Ms. Gibbons will free in a few minutes, the receptionist asks Juri if he would “like to wait in the reception area over there.” A “reception area” is a place where people sit when they are waiting for their appointment. If you go to a doctor’s office, for example, there’s usually a reception area where you wait for the doctor – who’s often late, of course! At least, my doctor is always late.

Juri says, “Sure. No problem.” The receptionist says, “Can I get you something? (Something to drink, in this case.) Coffee or tea?” Juri says, “No, I’m fine. I was just wondering how many employees you have in this office.” The receptionist says, “I don’t know precisely.” “Precisely” (precisely) means exactly, when you need to be very accurate – “precisely.” The receptionist doesn’t know precisely (or exactly) how many office employees they have. She thinks they have about (approximately; around – all those mean the same thing) 80.

Juri says, “Oh, that’s a lot (that’s many employees). Is the company planning on expanding?” To “expand” (expand) means to grow (to get bigger). The receptionist says, “I’m sorry, I really don’t know. I’m sure Ms. Gibbons can answer those questions for you.” Juri says, “Right, right (meaning oh yes, of course – okay). I don’t mean to pump you for information.” To “pump someone for information” means to try to get a lot of information from someone – to use someone as a source of information. I am going to pump you for some information about using ESL Podcast: How do you use it? How often do you listen to it? I ask you lots of questions – I’m pumping you for information. It’s a somewhat informal expression. Juri says, “I was just trying to get the inside scoop” (scoop). To “get the inside scoop” is an idiom which means to get information that isn’t available to most people; to get information that only a few people have. If you are working for a company and you have a secret project, and someone says, “Tell me about your secret project, I want to get the inside scoop” (information that only few people know).

The receptionist says, “I understand. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to answer this call.” The expression “if you’ll excuse me” (if you will excuse me) is a polite phrase used to ask for permission, of the other person, to end a conversation so you can go and do something else. So, if someone is talking to you at your office and you need to go back to your desk and answer your phone, you could say, “If you’ll excuse me, I have to answer my phone now.” It’s a polite way of leaving someone – of saying you have to stop your conversation with them.

“Ms. Gibbons,” the receptionist says, “should be finished with her other meeting in no time.” “In no time” means very soon, in a very short period of time. Juri says, “Oh, sure. I didn’t mean to keep you.” To “keep” someone means to prevent them from doing something else because you are keeping them busy by taking up too much of their time. You’ll usually hear the verb “to keep” with this meaning when someone uses the expression “I don’t mean to keep you” (I don’t mean to take up too much of your time). The verb “to keep” has several different meanings; look at our Learning Guide for some additional explanations.

Now let’s listen to the dialogue, this time at a native rate of speech.

[start of dialogue]

I arrived a little early for my sales appointment with the office manager of Lyon Industries, and spoke to the receptionist.

Juri: Hello. I’m here for my 11:30 appointment with Sue Gibbons.

Receptionist: What is your name?

Juri: It’s Juri Lakoff.

Receptionist: I’ll let her know that you’re here. [Speaking into the telephone] Sue, this is Rhonda. Your 11:30 appointment is here. Should I send him up? Okay, I’ll do that. [Hangs up the telephone] Ms. Gibbons says that she’s running a little late and is tied up in another meeting right now. She should be wrapping things up very quickly and will be free in a few minutes. Would you like to wait in the reception area right over there?

Juri: Sure. No problem.

Receptionist: Can I get you something? Coffee or tea?

Juri: No, I’m fine. I was just wondering how many employees you have in this office.

Receptionist: I don’t know precisely, but I think we have about 80.

Juri: Oh, that’s a lot. Is the company planning on expanding?

Receptionist: I’m sorry, but I really don’t know. I’m sure Ms. Gibbons can answer those questions for you.

Juri: Right, right. I didn’t mean to pump you for information. I was just trying to get the inside scoop on the company before my meeting.

Receptionist: I understand. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to answer this call. Ms. Gibbons should be finished with her other meeting in no time.

Juri: Oh, sure. I didn’t mean to keep you. Sorry.

[end of dialogue]

The script for this podcast, and all of our podcast episodes, is by Dr. Lucy Tse. Thank you, Lucy, for your great work!

From Los Angeles, California, I’m Jeff McQuillan. Thanks for listening. Come back and listen to us for another 300 podcasts here at ESL Podcast.

English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr. Lucy Tse, hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan. This podcast is copyright 2007.