EFE learning modules / Correcting Service Mistakes

Correcting Service Mistakes

Common Expressions Back to Catalog

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Set things right

/ሰት ቲንግስ ራይት/

ነገሮችን ማስተካከል

To correct a mistake or improve a situation.

ስህተትን ማረም ወይም ሁኔታን ማሻሻል።

In Practice

"I noticed a small error on the bill; could we set things right?"
"I’m sure we can set things right with the order."
Fluent Tip

Used when politely asking for a correction in a professional manner.

Get wires crossed

/ጌት ዋየርስ ክሮስድ/

አለመግባባት መፈጠር

To have a misunderstanding about what someone has said or done.

ስለተባለው ወይም ስለተደረገው ነገር የተሳሳተ ግንኙነት ወይም አለመግባባት መኖር።

In Practice

"I think we got our wires crossed regarding the side dish."
"It seems our wires got crossed on the pickup location."
Fluent Tip

Perfect for softening the blame when there is a service error.

Iron out the wrinkles

/አይረን አውት ዘ ሪንክልስ/

ችግሮችን መፍታት

To resolve minor problems or mistakes.

ጥቃቅን ችግሮችን ወይም ስህተቶችን መፍታት።

In Practice

"Let’s iron out the wrinkles in this invoice."
"We just need to iron out the wrinkles with the booking."
Fluent Tip

Used when dealing with administrative or billing errors.

Off the mark

/ኦፍ ዘ ማርክ/

ትክክል ያልሆነ

Inaccurate or incorrect.

ትክክል ያልሆነ ወይም የተሳሳተ።

In Practice

"This total seems a bit off the mark."
"The estimated time was a bit off the mark."
Fluent Tip

A polite way to say a calculation or estimate is wrong.

Drop the ball

/ድሮፕ ዘ ቦል/

ስህተት መስራት ወይም ግድየለሽ መሆን

To make a mistake or fail in one's responsibilities.

ስህተት መሥራት ወይም ኃላፊነትን መወጣት አለመቻል።

In Practice

"I think someone dropped the ball on my reservation."
"It looks like the kitchen dropped the ball on this order."
Fluent Tip

Used to point out a service failure, often implying a process error.

Slip of the pen

/ስሊፕ ኦፍ ዘ ፔን/

የጽሁፍ ስህተት

A small mistake in something that has been written.

በተጻፈ ነገር ላይ የተፈጠረ ትንሽ ስህተት።

In Practice

"Perhaps it was just a slip of the pen on the receipt."
"I believe there was a slip of the pen regarding the price."
Fluent Tip

Specifically used for errors on bills, menus, or receipts.

Clear the air

/ክሊር ዘ ኤር/

ሁኔታውን ማብራራት/ማጥራት

To remove doubt or misunderstanding.

ጥርጣሬን ወይም አለመግባባትን ማስወገድ።

In Practice

"I’d like to clear the air about what I requested."
"Let's clear the air so the service goes smoothly."
Fluent Tip

Used when there is tension due to a misunderstanding.

Square the circle

/ስኩዌር ዘ ሰርክል/

የማይቻልን ነገር ለማስታረቅ መሞከር

To try to do something that is very difficult or impossible.

በጣም አስቸጋሪ ወይም የማይቻል ነገር ለማድረግ መሞከር።

In Practice

"I'm trying to square the circle between what I ordered and this bill."
"Can we square the circle on these different prices?"
Fluent Tip

Used to describe the difficulty of aligning the service provided with the request.

Out of whack

/አውት ኦፍ ዋክ/

ትክክል ያልሆነ/የተዛባ

Not in the proper state or condition; incorrect.

በትክክለኛ ሁኔታ ላይ ያልሆነ፤ ስህተት።

In Practice

"The final total is a little out of whack."
"My order seems out of whack compared to the menu."
Fluent Tip

Informal but polite way to say things are not aligned.

Miss the mark

/ሚስ ዘ ማርክ/

ግብን አለመምታት/መሳሳት

To fail to achieve a result or be incorrect.

ውጤትን አለማግኘት ወይም መሳሳት።

In Practice

"The service today missed the mark slightly."
"This dish missed the mark on what was described."
Fluent Tip

Used to express dissatisfaction with quality or accuracy.

Back to the drawing board

/ባክ ቱ ዘ ድሮይንግ ቦርድ/

ከመጀመሪያው መጀመር

To start over because a previous attempt failed.

የቀድሞው ሙከራ በመክሸፉ ምክንያት እንደገና መጀመር።

In Practice

"I think we need to go back to the drawing board with this order."
"The bill is so wrong, we might need to go back to the drawing board."
Fluent Tip

Used for complex errors requiring a complete redo.

Spot on

/ስፖት ኦን/

ፍጹም ትክክል

Exactly correct (often used to confirm the correction).

በትክክል ትክክለኛ (ብዙውን ጊዜ እርማቱን ለማረጋገጥ ያገለግላል)።

In Practice

"Now the bill is spot on, thank you."
"The correction you made is spot on."
Fluent Tip

Positive reinforcement after a mistake is fixed.