Joy English · Nivel C1 · Estilo TOEICjoy-english.com

Lectura estilo TOEIC: una revisión trimestral y una respuesta

Nombre:Fecha:

Práctica independiente al estilo de la lectura del TOEIC, no es un examen oficial: lee una revisión trimestral y la respuesta del director, y luego contesta preguntas de inferencia y de detalle.

Customer Support Review: Third Quarter (extract)

Summary. In the third quarter the support team handled 14,200 requests, an increase of nine per cent on the previous quarter. Average first-response time fell from six hours to four and a half, and the proportion of enquiries resolved at the first contact rose from fifty-eight to sixty-four per cent. These improvements, however, were achieved largely in the first eight weeks. In September, response times lengthened again as two experienced agents left the team and their replacements had not yet completed training.

Customer satisfaction. Survey scores averaged 4.1 out of 5, unchanged from the second quarter. Satisfaction among customers whose queries were resolved at first contact was considerably higher (4.5) than among those who contacted us twice or more (3.2). Comments suggest that the main source of dissatisfaction is not the quality of individual answers but the need to repeat information to different agents. Several customers also mentioned that the online help pages did not match the advice they were given by telephone.

Cost. Spending on temporary staff exceeded budget by eleven per cent, mostly because of the September departures. The new ticketing software, introduced in July, has not yet produced the savings projected in the original business case, although it has made it easier to track repeat contacts. The finance team advises that a fair assessment of the software should wait until at least two full quarters of data are available.

Recommendations. First, offer retention incentives to experienced agents before the busy winter period. Second, reorganise the help pages so that they reflect current procedures. Third, postpone any decision on extending the software licence until the second quarter of next year.

Email: Next steps after the third-quarter review

From: Haruto Sato, Operations Director. To: Support team leaders. Subject: Next steps after the third-quarter review.

Dear all, thank you for the thorough work behind the quarterly review. I have read it carefully and would like to respond to its recommendations before our meeting on Thursday. I agree that the help pages need attention, and I have asked Carla Dominguez in the content team to treat this as a priority.

I am less convinced by the suggestion on incentives. While I understand the concern about winter workloads, I would prefer to see what we can do about training times first, since it took the two replacements nearly three months to work independently. If we can shorten that period, the effect of any future departure would be smaller. Please send me your ideas on this by Wednesday, together with any figures you have on how long each stage of training takes.

On the software, I am happy to wait, although the licence supplier has indicated that the current price will only be held until the end of the year. I will find out whether that deadline is firm. Finally, I would like to thank those agents who covered extra shifts in September. Their effort was noticed, even if it does not appear in the figures. Best regards, Haruto Sato

Inferencia y actitud

Lee el informe y el correo electrónico. Elige la mejor respuesta para cada pregunta.

What can be inferred about the improvement in response times?
- a) It lasted for the whole quarter.
- b) It was not maintained until the end of the quarter.
- c) It was caused by the new software.
- d) It was smaller than expected.
According to the report, what mainly upsets dissatisfied customers?
- a) Incorrect answers from agents
- b) The price of the service
- c) Having to give the same information more than once
- d) The design of the ticketing software
What does the report suggest about the new ticketing software?
- a) It has caused costs to rise sharply.
- b) It should be replaced next quarter.
- c) Customers prefer it to the old system.
- d) Its overall value cannot yet be judged fairly.
Why did spending on temporary staff exceed the budget?
- a) Request numbers fell unexpectedly.
- b) Two experienced agents left the team in September.
- c) The software licence became more expensive.
- d) Training for the new agents was too short.
What is Mr Sato's attitude to the recommendation on retention incentives?
- a) He is doubtful that it should be the first step.
- b) He rejects it for budget reasons.
- c) He fully supports it.
- d) He has not yet read it.
What does Mr Sato imply about the two replacement agents?
- a) They were not suitable for the job.
- b) They received no training at all.
- c) It took them a long time to become fully independent.
- d) They have already left the company.
Why does Mr Sato mention the licence supplier?
- a) To recommend a different supplier
- b) To suggest that waiting may involve a price risk
- c) To announce that the licence has been extended
- d) To complain about the software
Why does Mr Sato thank the agents who covered extra shifts in September?
- a) To request more extra shifts
- b) To announce changes to staff pay
- c) To criticise the figures in the review
- d) To recognise effort that the report does not show

Preguntas de detalle

Contesta cada pregunta con información del informe y del correo electrónico. En los ejercicios con hueco, escribe una respuesta corta.

Average first-response time fell from six hours to ___ hours.
Who has been asked to give priority to the help pages?
- a) Haruto Sato
- b) Carla Dominguez
- c) The finance team
- d) The licence supplier
Team leaders must send their ideas on training by ___.
Customers whose queries were resolved at first contact gave an average satisfaction score of ___.
On which day will the meeting take place?
- a) Monday
- b) Tuesday
- c) Wednesday
- d) Thursday
By how much did spending on temporary staff exceed the budget?
- a) Nine per cent
- b) Eleven per cent
- c) Fourteen per cent
- d) Fifty-eight per cent

Respuestas

Inferencia y actitud

b) It was not maintained until the end of the quarter.El informe dice que las mejoras se lograron sobre todo en las primeras ocho semanas y que los tiempos volvieron a alargarse en septiembre.
c) Having to give the same information more than onceLa principal fuente de insatisfacción es tener que repetir la información a distintos agentes.
d) Its overall value cannot yet be judged fairly.Todavía no ha producido los ahorros previstos, pero finanzas aconseja esperar a tener datos de al menos dos trimestres completos.
b) Two experienced agents left the team in September.El informe dice que el sobrecoste se debió sobre todo a las salidas de septiembre.
a) He is doubtful that it should be the first step.Dice que está menos convencido y que preferiría examinar primero los tiempos de formación.
c) It took them a long time to become fully independent.Menciona que tardaron casi tres meses en trabajar de forma independiente y quiere acortar ese periodo.
b) To suggest that waiting may involve a price riskDice que el precio actual solo se mantiene hasta final de año, lo que supone cierta presión para decidir esperar.
d) To recognise effort that the report does not showDa las gracias a los agentes por cubrir turnos adicionales y dice que su esfuerzo no aparece en las cifras.

Preguntas de detalle

four and a half / 4.5 / 4 and a half / four and halfEl resumen da como nuevo promedio cuatro horas y media.
b) Carla DominguezEl Sr. Sato ha pedido a Carla Dominguez, del equipo de contenidos, que trate las páginas de ayuda como una prioridad.
WednesdayEl correo electrónico pide ideas y cifras para el miércoles.
4.5 / four point fiveLa sección de satisfacción del cliente da 4.5 para la resolución en el primer contacto.
d) ThursdayEl Sr. Sato se refiere a la reunión del jueves.
b) Eleven per centLa sección de costos indica que el gasto superó el presupuesto en un once por ciento.