Describe An Occasion When You Heard Someone Complaining About Something In A Restaurant: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

When and where it happened?
What did he/she complain about?
What was the result?
How did you feel about the experience?

4 unique answers with expert feedback

Show all 4 answers

Cue 1:When and where it happened?

Begin by setting the scene, mentioning the restaurant's name and location.
Include the time of day and the occasion for being at the restaurant.

Example

It was a Saturday evening, and I was dining at a popular Indian restaurant in my city called 'Spice Junction'. I was there with my family to celebrate my sister's birthday.

Cue 2:What did he/she complain about?

Describe the specific complaint made by the person, focusing on details.
Mention how the complaint was expressed, whether it was loud, polite, or frustrated.

Example

While we were enjoying our meal, I noticed a couple at the next table complaining about their food. The woman was particularly upset because her biryani was cold and lacked flavor. She raised her voice slightly, making it clear she was not satisfied.

Cue 3:What was the result?

Explain how the restaurant staff responded to the complaint.
Mention any actions taken to resolve the issue, such as offering a replacement or an apology.

Example

The waiter quickly approached their table after hearing the complaint. He apologized sincerely and offered to replace the dish with a freshly made one. The couple seemed to appreciate the prompt response and agreed to try a different dish.

Cue 4:How did you feel about the experience?

Share your personal feelings about witnessing the complaint.
Reflect on how the restaurant handled the situation and its impact on your dining experience.

Example

I felt a bit uncomfortable at first, as I didn’t want the atmosphere to be ruined. However, I was impressed by how the restaurant staff handled the situation. Their quick response made me feel confident about the service, and it didn’t affect our celebration.

Conclusion

Example

Overall, witnessing that complaint taught me the importance of good customer service. It showed me that even when things go wrong, how a restaurant responds can make a significant difference in a customer's experience.

Following this structure will ensure you cover all the essential points while providing a clear and engaging response to the cue card topic.

Tips to answer this Cue Card

1: Vague Descriptions

Avoid being too vague in your answers. Providing unclear details can make your response less engaging and informative.

Tip

Use specific examples and descriptive language to clearly convey the situation, including the setting and the nature of the complaint.

2: Ignoring Emotional Impact

Neglecting to express your feelings about the experience can make your response less personal and relatable.

Tip

Share your emotions regarding the complaint and how it affected your perception of the restaurant experience.

Lack of Structure

A disorganized response can confuse the listener and weaken your overall message. Structure is key.

Tip

Follow a clear structure: start with when and where, then describe the complaint, the result, and finally your feelings about it.

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Answer

I like to taste different types of cuisine. Here I would like to talk about my favorite dish at my traditional festival of Onam which is Sadya. Sadya is popular in my city. We are experimenting these cuisines on Onam festival day. Onam is a famous festival in my city. All family members get together in my home and we make a delicious Sadya. There are many ingredients includes that Sadya. Moreover, we make a big feast that day as well as we create a lot of memories together and we wear that day the traditional dress called Sari and men wear the Dhotis. That festival is really important to us because the whole day we are conducting different kinds of games at our homes and all the family members came together. It's a memorable day in my life. This is the festival. We are making the Sambar and Aviyal. These all the kinds of foods are making with the vegetables.

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Reported by

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Sector 34 Test Centre, Chandigarh

Answer

The toy which I liked in my childhood was a panda doll, which makes me pleasant and makes me more blush. The pandas are the most beautiful creatures of the world, which looks gigantic and has pooshy cheeks and they are like stars in the clouds and they dream in me. Furthermore, these have been given by my father. My father is a very very beautiful artistic person, who makes me think of that. Every day you will face every difficulties and make you suffer and move forward. Pandas are always seen in Japanese countries. It is my lifelong dream to visit a Japanese country and click a photo with the original pandas, which makes sounds better.

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Anonymous student Band 6.5

Whitefield Test Center, Bengaluru

Answer

As India is a very large country full of diversity, so there are many places which have their own language and speak their native language. The place which I visited and I didn't know about their language was Leladakh, which is about 300 km away from my hometown and it is a very good place as it consists of different kind of trees, animals and have many scenic views and I visited over there last year in summers as it was the best time to visit because it has many, it was cold over there and we had summers in our area so it was the best time to visit over there and I went over there with my whole family.

Describe a time when your friend damaged something you owned

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7

Begumpet Test Centre, Hyderabad

Answer

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Describe a book you recently read

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7.5

CBD Belapur Test Centre, Navi Mumbai

Answer

It Ends With Us is a book I read recently. It's by the author Colleen Hoare. It's mainly a story about two teenagers, Atlas and Lily, and how they just handle their life going through high school, adolescence, and just domestic violence at home. Both of them come from very, very different families. However, they have one common determining factor between them, which is domestic violence. The abuse that they've seen their moms go through is just insane, and they connect through that on a different level. They're actually in the same high school, but they never speak to each other until Atlas actually crashes into an empty house next to Lily's villa. When Atlas is homeless and he doesn't have anywhere to go, he just comes and breaks into the house next to Lily's, and Lily helps him with all the daily necessities like clothes and food, medicines and stuff. Furthermore, their friendship blossoms into love, but it doesn't really fructify as Atlas has to leave. This book really gave me a lot of knowledge about domestic abuse and how to deal with it.

All Answers

Here are all the answers by real-users practicing speaking for IELTS Cue Cards on our IELTS Prep App.

Band 6-7

The situation I am going to describe is about the occasion I faced in a Maitreya restaurant in Hyderabad on 10th of May. The complaint is about the taste of the food, chicken 65, a starter. So the lady, she complained that the taste of the chicken 65 is little bit salty. So immediately the management of hotel, restaurant, they took back the food which they placed to her and gave her another chicken 65 recipe keeping the old one away and the feedback of this was good from her. From this, it was like I learnt that we have to be very bold to our opinion. Since we are paying amount to them for the food we are eating, so it should be in our desired way so that we can have a good food and good time in the restaurant. Overall it was a good lesson.

Band 6-7

Recently, one month ago, when I went to the restaurant called as ITC Narmada, the person who was sitting in the table in front of me, complained about how the food quality was not at par as before and he was very angry because the restaurant was rated as 5 star and according to it, the food has to be the best. So he called the manager and said about this situation. So after hearing, the manager was deeply concerned about the quality and also requested the customer to please wait there while he brings the new fresh plate of food. And also he ensured that next time if it happens, the whole bill of food will be on the restaurant. So I feel that the managers and the restaurant is very responsible about their actions and also worked upon it very well.

Band 6-7

So, an occasion where I actually heard someone complain was during my visit to a restaurant which is actually a restaurant cum bakery and it happened last week and apparently it's called the Orange Bakers and it is located at Angamaly. Now the thing that happened on that particular day was that the server was down and because of this the UPI service was not working but in addition to this also at the same time which would be quite a coincidence was that the restaurant did not actually have change. So, a person who was rather in a hurry wanted to give the money fast and leave but then he had a I believe he had to pay less than 500 it was around 240 rupees but then he had a 500 rupees note and then the person didn't have the change for that. So, it was a disagreement they were fighting with each other you know one person is not listening to the other and they created quite a commotion in the place. So, I decided that at least if I step in then the problem might reduce itself. So, I offered to help what I did was that I told to the person that okay fine you do a thing you send me the money through UPI and I will pay it along with my money. So, in that way it will be in some way or the other the change problem will be reduced because I think that day I consumed around 320 rupees worth food. So, with 320 plus that person's money would be enough as a change. So, there won't be a change problem in this situation. And I would say that this event was quite eye opening to myself because you know when I saw this event in the third party perspective I thought that why were these two fighting why can't they solve it. But when I came closely I understood that they were fighting because of this I understood different perspectives and I felt over the moon that I was able to assist them. And yes and oh yeah that's it that's all.

Band 5-6

The day before yesterday, me and my friend went to one of restaurant in our area. We ordered our menu and waiting for our order. That time suddenly we heard someone yelling at waiter. I heard carefully, then I realized a lady yelling on waiter, complaining to manager as she get different order. Waiter trying to explain her that because of rush in restaurant, it happened mistakenly and he apologized. But the woman not understand. I feel bad about that waiter as that woman try to understand his situation.