• two mistakes, two unhappy guests – and an important lesson from the General Manager

Tom works as a waiter in a five-star hotel. Today was a difficult day for him. He made two mistakes while serving guests.

The first problem happened during lunch. A family of four came into the restaurant. Tom showed them to their table and gave them the menus. They ordered food and drinks. Tom wrote down their order, but he was very busy and forgot to send it to the kitchen.

After twenty minutes, the family asked about their food. Tom checked his notes and saw his mistake. He said sorry and sent the order to the kitchen. The family was unhappy because they had waited a long time.

The second problem happened in the afternoon. A guest ordered tea and asked for milk on the side. Tom was in a hurry and brought the tea without the milk. The guest called him back and told him about the missing milk. Tom felt stressed. Instead of listening to the guest, he said that he was very busy and would bring the milk later. The guest became even more upset.

At the end of the day, the General Manager (GM) asked Tom to come to his office. He knew about the two problems and wanted to talk about them. Tom explained what had happened and accepted that he had made mistakes. The GM told him that good service was important, even when the restaurant was busy. He also said that Tom needed to listen carefully and check every order.

At home, Tom thought about the day. He decided to write down every order immediately and read it back to the guest. This would help him check that everything was correct and that he had not forgotten anything. Before sending an order to the kitchen, he would check it again.

He also decided to listen more carefully when guests ordered. When a guest had a problem, he would stay calm, listen without interrupting and say sorry if he had made a mistake.

Tom knew that everyone could make mistakes. But he wanted to learn from them and give better service the next day.

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Vocabulary:

Word / Expression	Simple A1 Definition
To check one’s notes	To look at what you have written.
To make a mistake	To do something wrong.
To be in a hurry	To need to do something quickly.
To feel stressed	To feel worried because something is difficult.
Instead of	In place of something or someone.
To be upset	To feel unhappy or angry about something.
To accept something	To say that something is true or OK.
Immediately	Now, without waiting.
To read something back to somebody	To say aloud what someone has told you or ordered.
To stay calm	To be quiet and not get angry or worried.
To interrupt somebody	To start speaking when another person is still talking.

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Irregular verbs:

Infinitive	Past Simple	Past Participle
be	was / were	been
make	made	made
come	came	come
give	gave	given
write	wrote	written
forget	forgot	forgotten
say	said	said
send	sent	sent
bring	brought	brought
feel	felt	felt
become	became	become
know	knew	known
tell	told	told
think	thought	thought

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There are three sentences in the text that use both the
Past Simple and the
Past Perfect Simple
in the same sentence.

Sentence from the text	Past Simple	Past Perfect Simple
The family was unhappy because they had waited a long time.	was	had waited
Tom explained what had happened and accepted that he had made mistakes.	explained, accepted	had happened, had made

Why are both tenses used?

1. The family was unhappy because they had waited a long time.

• Past Perfect: had waited – the waiting happened first.
• Past Simple: was – the family was unhappy afterwards.

2. Tom explained what had happened and accepted that he had made mistakes.

• Past Perfect: had happened / had made – the problems and mistakes came first.
• Past Simple: explained / accepted – Tom talked to the GM afterwards.

The rule: Use the Past Perfect for the earlier event and the Past Simple for the later event when talking about two points in the past.

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Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verbs in brackets.
Use the Past Simple or the Past Perfect Simple.

1. When Tom arrived at work, the restaurant __________ already __________. (open)

2. The family __________ unhappy because they __________ a long time for their food. (be / wait)

3. Tom __________ sorry because he __________ the wrong order to the kitchen. (say / send)

4. The guest __________ even more upset because Tom __________ the milk. (become / forget)

5. When the GM __________ Tom, he __________ already __________ about the problems. (call / hear)

6. Tom __________ that he __________ a mistake with the family’s order. (understand / make)

7. The manager __________ Tom why the guest __________ unhappy. (ask / become)

8. Tom __________ home after he __________ his talk with the GM. (go / finish)

9. The family __________ the restaurant after they __________ their meal. (leave / finish)

10. Tom __________ better the next day because he __________ from his mistakes. (work / learn)

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Answer key:

Past simple or past perfect simple – completed sentences

1. When Tom arrived at work, the restaurant had already opened.

2. The family was unhappy because they had waited a long time for their food.

3. Tom said sorry because he had sent the wrong order to the kitchen.

4. The guest became even more upset because Tom had forgotten the milk.

5. When the GM called Tom, he had already heard about the problems.

6. Tom understood that he had made a mistake with the family’s order.

7. The manager asked Tom why the guest had become unhappy.

8. Tom went home after he had finished his talk with the GM.

9. The family left the restaurant after they had finished their meal.

10. Tom worked better the next day because he had learned from his mistakes.

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Exercise 1 – Complete the sentences

Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense:
Past Simple or Past Perfect Simple.

1. Tom __________ sorry because he __________ to send the family’s order to the kitchen. (say / forget)
2. The family __________ unhappy because they __________ a long time for their food. (be / wait)
3. The guest __________ upset because Tom __________ the tea without the milk. (become / bring)
4. Tom __________ stressed because he __________ very busy all afternoon. (feel / be)
5. The GM __________ Tom about the mistakes he __________. (ask / make)
6. Tom __________ what __________ to the guests. (explain / happen)
7. Tom __________ that he __________ mistakes. (accept / make)
8. Tom __________ home after he __________ his talk with the GM. (go / finish)
9. Tom __________ about the problems that __________ that day. (think / happen)
10. Tom __________ to do better because he __________ from his mistakes. (want / learn)

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Exercise 2 – Choose the correct form

Choose the correct verb form in brackets.

1. The family was unhappy because they (waited / had waited) a long time for their food.

2. Tom said sorry because he (forgot / had forgotten) to send the order to the kitchen.

3. The guest became upset because Tom (brought / had brought) the tea without milk.

4. The GM asked Tom about the mistakes he (made / had made).

5. Tom felt stressed because he (was / had been) very busy.

6. Tom explained what (happened / had happened) to the guests.

7. Tom accepted that he (made / had made) mistakes.

8. Tom went home after he (finished / had finished) his talk with the GM.

9. Tom thought about the problems that (happened / had happened) that day.

10. Tom wanted to do better because he (learned / had learned) from his mistakes.

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Exercise 3 – Join the sentences

Join the two sentences using
__after__ or __because__.
Use the Past Simple and Past Perfect Simple.
Do not change the meaning.

_______

Example:

0. Tom finished work. He went home.

YOU WRITE:
Tom went home after he had finished work.
_______

1. Tom wrote down every order. He decided to read it back to the guest.

2. The family waited a long time. They became unhappy.

3. Tom forgot the milk. The guest became upset.

4. The GM heard about the two problems. He asked Tom to come to his office.

5. Tom made two mistakes. The GM talked to him.

6. Tom finished his talk with the GM. He went home.

7. Tom thought about the day. He made a new plan.

8. Tom did not listen carefully. The guest became even more upset.

9. Tom wrote down the family’s order. He sent it to the kitchen.

10. Tom learned from his mistakes. He wanted to give better service.

_______________________

Answer key

Exercise 1

1. said / had forgotten
2. was / had waited
3. became / had brought
4. felt / had been
5. asked / had made
6. explained / had happened
7. accepted / had made
8. went / had finished
9. thought / had happened
10. wanted / had learned

Exercise 2

1. had waited
2. had forgotten
3. had brought
4. had made
5. had been
6. had happened
7. had made
8. had finished
9. had happened
10. had learned

Exercise 3 – Possible answers

1. Tom decided to read every order back to the guest after he had written it down.
2. The family became unhappy because they had waited a long time.
3. The guest became upset because Tom had forgotten the milk.
4. The GM asked Tom to come to his office after he had heard about the two problems.
5. The GM talked to Tom after he had made two mistakes.
6. Tom went home after he had finished his talk with the GM.
7. Tom made a new plan after he had thought about the day.
8. The guest became even more upset because Tom had not listened carefully.
9. Tom sent the family’s order to the kitchen after he had written it down.
10. Tom wanted to give better service because he had learned from his mistakes.

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Remember how babies
learn a language:

Babies learn a language by listening.
They use their ears to hear sounds.
Their brain remembers these sounds.
Babies connect sounds with people and things.
They listen to their parents.
Then they copy the sounds they hear. They imitate words.
Slowly, babies learn to speak.

So,
LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN………………

SMFrockZ@gmx.a