At outlet（出口）/'autlet/ number seven, Olivia put a brand-new（崭新的；全新的）/ˈbrændˌnu/ beverage（饮料）/'bevәridʒ/ maker on the counter（在柜台上）/ɔn ðə ˈkaʊntər/. A deep dent（凹痕）/dent/ crossed its silver stripe（斑纹、条纹）/straip/, and a thin layer（层、产卵鸡）/'leiә/ of mold（模子、模型）/mәuld/ hid（语境补充词）/hɪd/ beneath an almost invisible（看不见的、无形的）/in'vizәbl/ veil（面纱、面罩）/veil/ near the water tank. The cashier（出纳员）/kæ'ʃiә/, Ben, checked the trademark（商标）/'treidmɑ:k/, coupon（息票、赠券）/'ku:pɒn/, and banknote（钞票）/'bæŋknәut/ on her receipt. The commodity（农产品、商品）/kә'mɒditi/ had cost fifty buck（元、雄鹿）/bʌk/ plus a dime（10分硬币(美、加)）/daim/ and a penny（便士；一小笔钱）/ˈpɛni/, but the coupon was now marked invalid（病人、残废者）/in'vælid/. “I want a refund（偿还）/'ri:fʌnd/, not a so-called（所谓的）/ˈsoʊˈkɔld/ store credit. This defect is plain to see（显而易见）/pleɪn tɪ si/.”

“Our retail（零售）/'ri:teil/ rule requires the original bundle（原包装组合）/ðə ərˈɪʤənəl ˈbəndəl/ and paste-on（语境补充词）/paste-on/ label, whereas（然而、鉴于）/hwєәr'æz/ you brought neither.” Olivia said her mom（妈妈）/mɑm/ had thrown（语境补充词）/θroʊn/ the wrapping away. She began to fuss（大惊小怪、小题大作）/fʌs/, arguing that no customer should undergo（遭受、经历）/.ʌndә'gәu/ such grief（伤心、忧愁）/gri:f/ over faulty（有过失的、有缺点的）/'fɒ:lti/ stock（库存；存货）/stɑk/. Ben was accustomed（使习惯于）/ә'kʌstәm/ to tense commerce（商业、商务）/'kɒmә:s/, yet the dispute（争论）/dis'pju:t/ felt（毛毯、毡）/felt/ irrational（无理性的、不合理的）/i'ræʃәnәl/: the machine should not exceed（超过、超越）/ik'si:d/ ninety degrees centigrade（摄氏度的）/ˈsɛntəˌgreɪd/, but it had overheated（过热的）/ˌəʊvəˈhi:tɪd/ on its maiden use（首次使用时）/ɔn ɪts ˈmeɪdən juz/. He called the duty manager, Fatima, before anger could scatter（消散、分散）/'skætә/ through the queue.

“The foremost question（首要问题）/ðə ˈfɔrˌmoʊst kˈwɛʃən/ is whether the fault existed before the sale. Let us test it together（一起检测它）/tɛst ɪt təˈgɛðər/.” A grocer（食品商）/'grәusә/ from the next counter offered clean water. Fatima saw that the tank would not hold even a millimeter（毫米）/'milimi:tә/ of water around the seal. Furthermore（此外、而且）/'fә:ðә'mɒ:/, a loose wire ran（语境补充词）/ræn/ parallel（平行、对比）/'pærәlel/ to the heater. The evidence made a manufacturing exception（例外、除外）/ik'sepʃәn/ probable（很有希望的候选人、很可能的事情）/'prɒbәbl/, not a loophole（枪眼、小窗）/'lu:phәul/ invented by the customer. Olivia's thirst（口渴、渴望）/θә:st/ for an immediate answer eased as Fatima explained each step.

The store also sold（语境补充词）/soʊld/ a Mammal（哺乳动物）/mæmәl/ Maiden（年轻未婚女子、少女）/'meidn/ lunch box, a skyscraper（摩天楼、三角形天帆）/'skaiskreipә/ puzzle, and other items whose odd names could inhabit（居住于、占据）/in'hæbit/ a crowded catalog, but those products were irrelevant（不恰当的、无关系的）/i'relәvәnt/. Fatima would not accustom staff to ignoring evidence. She refused to exert（发挥、运用）/ig'zә:t/ pressure on Olivia to accept a substitute. Instead, she recorded the serial（分期连载作品、连载小说）/'siәriәl/ number, photographed the dent, and asked the vendor（计算机销售商）/'vendә/ to inspect its entire stock. This record was indispensable（不可缺少的、责无旁贷的）/.indis'pensәbl/ for a fair decision（公平的决定）/ə fɛr dɪˈsɪʒən/ and would prevent similar complaints（诉苦、抱怨）/kәm'pleint/. “I can return the purchase in the original currency（货币、通货）/'kʌrәnsi/ and restore the coupon（恢复优惠券）/rɪˈstɔr ðə ˈkuˌpɔn/ as an exception.”

Olivia accepted. She called the solution terrific（非常好的、极端的）/tә'rifik/ and apologized for calling the policy nonsense（无意义的事、荒谬言行）/'nɒnsәns/. Ben counted the cash, and Fatima gave her a copy of the complaint（诉苦、抱怨）/kәm'pleint/. The staple（主要产物、常用品）/'steipl/ lesson was simple, namely（即、就是）/'neimli/ to test first and explain the decision. The team did not marvel（惊异于）/'mɑ:vl/ at its own service; it learned from the failure. A calm test, a written（书面的、写成文字的）/'ritn/ reason, and a practical remedy had turned a noisy argument into a result that both customer and retailer could defend.