For non-native English speakers · Retail & hospitality
Sound sure of yourself
in retail & hospitality.
Greet, recommend, handle the room, fix the problem. Your grammar is not the problem. What makes English sound confident is which word takes the weight, where the pause goes, and where the voice rises and falls — and nobody teaches that. Below are real lines for this situation with those three things marked. Hear each one said well, record yours, and see how close you came. Free, no account.
gold = the word that takes the weight · ‖ = a pause · ↗ the voice rises · ↘ the voice lands · → stays up, more to come
8 of 100 lines in this path
Lines people actually say.
Marked by the same engine that marks your own script in the app. The gold word is the one to lean on; everything else is lighter than you think.
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easyGreeting and seating
A warm welcome
Evening.
Table for two?
Follow me, I have got a nice one by the window.
Hear this line said well → -
easyRecommending
When they cannot decide
Have both.
Get the small one to start and the fish after.
You will not regret it.
Hear this line said well → -
mediumProblems
When you cannot refund
I cannot refund it, and I can replace it or give you a credit.
Which is more use to you?
Hear this line said well → -
mediumBusy service
When the kitchen is behind
The kitchen is about fifteen minutes behind.
I would rather tell you now than let you wonder.
Hear this line said well → -
easyTeam and everyday
Asking about a rota
Is the rota up for next week?
I need to know before Thursday if I can.
Hear this line said well → -
easyHospitality service
Taking a drinks order
What can I get you?
Anything from the bar or shall I give you a minute?
Hear this line said well → -
hardDifficult front-of-house
A customer blaming staff
It was my decision, not hers.
If you want to be annoyed with someone, it should be me.
Hear this line said well → -
mediumBehind the scenes
Handling a mistake in the kitchen
Table nine got the wrong main.
Not blaming anyone.
Just refire it and I will go and apologise.
Hear this line said well →
What this path covers
The moments inside it.
- Greeting and seatingWarm in five seconds
- Making a recommendationConfident, not pushy
- A complaint at the tableFix it there and then
- When it is chaosStay calm, buy time honestly
One last thing
Hear it in a voice like yours,
then in yours.
Pick the accent closest to yours and hear one voice say a line flat, then confident — same words, same accent. Then practise any of these lines against it. Your own voice takes a ten-second read and a free account. No card.