Creepy Cows

 

There are four gaps in the text. Each one should contain a quotation. Choose a quotation from the list (A-D) below to fill each gap. Write the correct letter in the space.

A. 'No, she was angry because the cows used to stop and look in at her as they went past the window.'

B. 'particularly suitable for families with children'

C. 'they should try and sort it out with a holiday company representative there and then.'

D. 'The fact that their hotel is next to a road. How do they expect to get to their hotel if it's not next to a road?'

 From the next few weeks, tour operators will be sorting through the annual deluge of complaints. Rolando Sánchez, head of customer relations for Colombia's biggest holiday company, which took mor than a million abroad this summer, says, 'Holidaymakers are complaining about petty, silly little things.' Such as? 1 -

Perhaps one of the most common complaints is that the holiday fails to live up to the brochure promises. A family from Bogota with two young children were attracted by a two-week package in a three-star hotel that was described as 'friendly' and 2 - . It offered 'cots, baby minding, high chairs and early suppers'. When they arrived, the hotel was not up to three-star standard, the staff were rude and the promised facilities for children were practicaly non-existent.

An initial complaint which had been sent to the holiday company by the family was answered with an 'ex-gratia' payment of $40. With the help of a consumer magazine, the family issued a summons claiming $600 - which the holiday company eventually met in full.

One of the big travel successes of recent years has been the 'gite' holiday; a gite is self-catering accomodation in Medellin, often on a farm. The director of the Gite de Medellin's office recently received a call from one cliente furious about the cows that passed in front of her gite. Was she complaining about the mess? 3- .

Colombia's biggest seller of long-distance holidays says that the majority of its complaints come from people who have chosen the wrong sort of holiday. People who fail to do their research could find themselves in Cancún during the hurricane season.

Mr. Sánchez says that if someone really wants action over a spoilt holiday, 4- . Those who complain to the tour operator on their return and are unhappy with the response can take their case to the Association of Colombia Travel Agents (ACTA) which will provide conciliation facilities free of charge.

Enable JavaScript

True-False Question

Read the article again and mark the following statements as either true or false.

Question 1

1. Ron Wheal thinks that most of the complaints his company receives are reasonable.

Question 2

2. The most frequent complaint is that a holiday is of a lower standard than expected.

Question 3

3. The family from Berkshire expected that someone would be available to look after their young children.

Question 4

4. The first thing they did was to write a letter of complaint to the company.

Question 5

5. The company paid $500 as soon as they received the letter

Question 6

6. If you stay at a gite, you have to prepare your own meals.

Question 7

7. The long-distance holiday company suggests that holidaymakers should find out about the area they intend to visit.

Question 8

8. Mr. Wheal suggest that people with complaints should contact ABTA as soon as they return home.

DropDown Activity

Find the word or phrase in the text which means the same as the following:

1. large quantity (usually of water) (paragraph 1)                                                

2. unimportant (paragraph 1)                                                                                  

3. holiday including travel and accomodation (paragraph 2)                            

4. beds for small children (paragraph 2)                                                              

5. almost unavailable (paragraph 2)                                                                    

6. sent out an order to appear in court (paragraph 3)                                        

7. paid completely (paragraph 3)                                                                          

8. very angry (paragraph 4)                                                                                    

9. storm with strong wind (paragraph 5)                                                              

10. a service which helps to bring agreement

 between two people or groups of people (paragraph 6)                                  

Enable JavaScript

Design by CASL