Chapter 2 - 8

08 Service Encounter

Listen to a conversation between a student and a university employee. Fill in the diagram with the information that you hear.

W: Excuse me, sir. Can I talk to you for a moment?

M: Absolutely. How can I help you?

W: Well, this is kind of embarrassing, but, uh, I’m having some problems with your weightlifting machine. I, uh, I think I might have broken it.

M: Which one? We have two machines.

W: The one over there in the corner.

M: What happened? How did you break it?

W: I’m not really sure. I was lifting weights, and everything was going fine. It was working properly, but then… I don’t really know what happened. It just stopped working right.

M: Can you be more specific?

W: There might be something wrong with the steel cable that connects the, you know, the bar thing with the weights. You know how you pull the bar down, and the cable lifts the weights up?

One minute it was going fine. I pulled the bar down, and the weight seemed to lift up fine. But the next time… well, I did yank the bar down really hard, but that shouldn’t have caused it to break, right?

M: I don’t think so. Still, you need to be careful with the equipment.

W: I was. I didn’t yank it down that hard, but the second time, the bar just came down easily. It wasn’t pulling any weight. And I had that thing set at twenty pounds.

I tried pulling it down again and again, but nothing. No, uh, resistance at all. The cable just doesn’t seem to be connected to the weights anymore.

M: Sounds like the cable may have snapped.

W: Well, is there a place you can go to get it repaired?

M: Maybe. It depends on how damaged it is. I’d better go have a look.

W: Yeah, but before you do that, can I ask you how much this is going to cost?

M: Well, as I said before, it depends on how damaged it is. We’ll probably have to have a repairman come and assess the cost. I’m guessing, what with the cost of the wire and the repairman’s time, it’ll cost at least $100.

W: $100? Just for a simple repair? What if you can’t repair it?

M: I guess we’ll have to look into getting a new machine.

W: And how much will that cost?

M: Well, it’s a pretty valuable weightlifting machine. Better than the other one we have. But as a school, we’ll probably get some kind of discount. I would say somewhere in the $1,200 range.

W: $1,200? If the entire machine is broken, I’m going to have to come up with $1,200 to replace it?

M: What? Of course not. Accidents happen, we expect that. That’s why the school has insurance for the equipment. You won’t have to pay the entire cost for a new one.

W: Oh, That’s a relief!

M: However, you will have to pay a slight fee for repairs and damage.

W: How much?

M: $50.

W: That’s still a lot, but it’s much better than $1,200. Do you have a form I have to fill out or something?

M: Yes. Let me just get you one. Here it is. Now, this is what we use whenever a student happens to damage or lose part of our exercise equipment.

You need to write your name, address, and a student ID number on the form. Then you fill out right here on this line which piece of equipment has been damaged and how.

Now, you said the steel cord on the weight lifting machine snapped?

W: Uh, I think so. I didn’t actually see the snapped cord, but it has to be that. I mean, why else won’t it pull up the weights?

M: Hmm. Well, we’d better go over and check. Let’s see here. Uh, the cord looks fine.

W: You’re right. I didn’t actually stop to look at it before I came over to talk to you. Something else must have broken.

M: Uh, I think I found your problem, and the good news is, it’s easily fixable.

W: It is? What was the problem?

M: Here−the pin that holds the weights together fell out. That’s why you weren’t pulling up any weight. The pin just needs to be re-inserted.

W: This is so embarrassing. I can’t believe I didn’t stop to check if the pin was still in. I’m sorry that I wasted your time!

M: Not a problem. It’s better than having a broken machine.

W: Thanks for all your help.

1) What is the student’s problem initially?

2) What is required of students who break gym equipment? Choose 2 answers.

3) What is the cause of the problem with the machine?