商务谈判Task 14 抱怨、争议、索赔、理赔(一)

Task 14 Complains, Disputes, Claims and Settlement (I)
Role 1. Suppose you are Miss. Tang. You are going to answer the phone from Mr. Peterson consulting about the claim lodged against your Corporation. Try to complete the following dialogue according to the contexts.
(Telephone talking)
Mr. Peterson: Hello, can I speak to Mr. Ma, please?
Miss Tang: Sorry, he is not in.may I take a message?
Mr. Peterson: Well, is that Miss Tang speaking? This is Peterson from London. Miss Tang: Oh, hi! Mr. Peterson. How is everything going?
Mr. Peterson: Not so well. Miss Tang, I think you know what happened to the goods we order from you.
Miss Tang: Yes, (we have received your fax filing complaint with us.)
Mr. Peterson: But I would like you to find a way to solve the problem.
Miss Tang: (Before we delivered the goods, we had a very careful inspection.
We got the inspection certificate here. Nothing was wrong.) Mr. Peterson: But how can you explain that 20% are outdated?
Miss Tang: (We are trying to find out what caused the problem.) Mr. Ma has gone to the factory for the investigation.
Mr. Peterson: But you know we are in a very awkward position in London. Our customers need the goods for distribution during Christmas. Miss Tang: I hope you can take it easy. (If the problem was caused by us, we’ll
pay for your loss.)
Mr. Peterson: I know your company very well, but you can imagine how bad we feel in London.
Miss Tang: (You may take it from me that the last thing we want to do is to disappoint a customer),particularly an old customer like you. Mr. Peterson: When will we hear something from Mr. Ma?
Miss Tang: （Oh, in just a day or two, I think.）
Mr. Peterson: Ok. I’ll be in Guangzhou the day after tomorrow. I want to talk to him in person.
Miss Tang: Good. We’ll be expecting you. I sincerely hope that (we will settle the matter to our mutual satisfaction.)
Mr. Peterson: Me too. Well, see you then, Miss Tang.
Miss Tang: Bye-bye.
Role 2. Two days later, Mr. Peterson meets Mr. Ma and Miss Tang at Guangdong Native Produce Import and Export Corporation. Suppose you are Mr. Ma. Try to complete the following dialogue with some of the drills and expressions in part II and III. The Chinese in the brackets are for your reference only.
Mr. Ma: (As the claim you lodged with us involves two points, I propose to take them up one by one.)
Miss Tang: Which one shall we discuss first?
Mr. Peterson:The matter of outdated canned mushroom. How is your investigation, Mr. Ma?
Mr. Ma: Well, I went to the factory and found out that (the problem was caused by mislabeling. Some workers used the old labels for the new
products.)
Mr. Peterson: Do you mean the canned mushroom is not outdated, but the labels are?
Miss Tang: That’s right.
Mr. Peterson:But in London we can’t sell the mushroom with the “outdated labels”. The customs will fine us for importing outdated food. Mr. Ma: (We will send your company an official document for your explanation to the Customs.)
Mr. Peterson: But who pays for our loss? You know we have to hire workers to relabel all those outdated tins …
Mr. Ma: (Our company will pay all the extra expenses for relabeling plus 15% compensation fee.)
Mr. Peterson: Ok. So long as the food is not outdated, the problem is less serious.
Miss Tang: Thank you for your cooperation. We’ll send enough new labels for you to relabel those tins.
Mr. Peterson: Good. And how about the leaking problem?
Mr. Ma:(Have your people discovered what were the exact causes of the
problem? )
Mr. Peterson:They were evidently broken through careless handling while being loaded into ship’s hold.
Mr. Ma:(It was rather a singular case. We have never come across such a case, for large quantities of this product have been exported and this
seems to be the only case of having been damaged en route. ) Mr. Peterson: I’m sorry I have to say it was not en route. It was definitely damaged prior to loading.
Miss Tang: Have you brought any inspection certificate with you?
Mr. Peterson: Yes, I have brought along with me the certificate issued by the London Health Officer. Here, it speaks for itself. The leakage of juice
was brought about by damaged tins.
Miss Tang: As Mr. Ma said just now, the whole business is most unfortunate.
We have never come across such a case of damage during
loading.
Mr. Peterson: You may think it a singular case, yet the fact remains. I have to remind you that our terms are CIF London port. I’m afraid we
have to file a claim on you.
Mr. Ma: (Please be assured that provided you have evidence and the evidence is convincing, we’ll handle your claim appropriately according to
international practice.)
Mr. Peterson: You know, about 5% of the cans were leaking. So your company
should pay us 5% as compensation fee.
Miss Tang: Now that the certificate issued by your Health Department is available, I think everything will be in order.
Mr. Ma: Well, Mr. Peterson，（as we have every reason to respect the findings of your Inspection Bureau and in view of our friendly business
relation, we are prepared to meet your claim for the 5% as
compensation fee.）
Mr. Peterson: Thanks ever so much for your cooperation. That settles the first problem. Now, shall we take up the second point or …
Miss Tang:I suggest we take a break and have a cup of coffee before we proceed to the next point.
Mr. Ma & Mr. Peterson: Great idea!
Role 3. After solving the matter of outdated canned mushroom, Mr. Peterson raises the issue of mouldy dried mushrooms. Suppose you are Mr.
Peterson. Try to complete the following dialogue with some of the drills and expressions in part II and III. The Chinese in the brackets are for your reference only.
Mr. Peterson: （Shall we proceed to the next point?）
Mr. Ma: All right. Go ahead.
Miss Tang: You wish to take up the subject of the dried mushrooms don’t you? Mr. Peterson: That’s right. You see, they reached us two weeks ago. To our
astonishment, 10% of them were mouldy and there even small
brownish bugs crawling in and out of the half-eaten
mushrooms. （Closer inspection by the Health Officers
showed that the contents were considered unsalable and unfit
for human consumption.）
Miss Tang: Is that so? So far we haven’t had any complaint of this kind. Our mushrooms have enjoyed a good reputation for their superior
quality for years.
Mr. Ma: Have you any evidence?
Mr. Peterson: （Here’s a survey report by a well-known notary lab in London, whose testimony is absolutely reliable.）
Miss Tang: Though everything may be as you say, there are many factors involved.
Mr. Ma: What’s more your surveyors have not mentioned any cause for the damage.
Mr. Peterson: (The external conditions of goods at the time of survey are all sound and intact. So it is obvious the cause of the damage is that
the goods were not completely dried before packing.)
Mr. Ma: As you know, before shipment, the goods in question were inspected by the Guangzhou Commodities Inspection Bureau.
Miss Tang: They concluded that the goods were well dehydrated (使脱去水分) from fresh and selected material and up to standard for export.
Mr. Peterson: (The Inspection Bureau at your end, when effecting inspection, only selected few packages at random, but not all the lot.)
Mr. Ma: As we’ve agreed upon beforehand, the inspection certificate, which is based on a random selection of 20% of the consignment, is
considered final and binding to both parties.
Miss Tang: You ordered the goods at FOB Huangpu price and on shipping quality, not on landing quality. So we think your claim should be
referred to the insurance company, as the loss occurred after
shipment.
Mr. Ma: In my opinion, the accident may be attributable to the effects of dampness during the long voyage. You can approach the insurance
company for settlement.
Miss Tang: If you have covered this risk in your coverage.
Mr. Peterson: To my regret, we fail to cover this risk. （This is an unfortunate oversight on our part and a lesson to us.）
Miss Tang: Otherwise the insurance company would no doubt have entertained your case.
Mr. Peterson: (Live and learn. It seems your proposal is reasonable. We’ll have to waive the claim.)
Mr. Ma: It’s most unfortunate and we’ll do our best to remedy it.
Mr. Peterson: (We appreciate your cooperation in settling this unfortunate
affair and we look forward to a further extension of pleasant business relations)。