MicroMax公司销售部主管Fred 给客户Tom打电话，讨论涨价的事情。
Susan (secretary): Hello, Tom Grossman’s office. How may I help you?
Fred Lim: Hi, Susan. This is Fred Lim from MicroMax. Is Tom available for a second?
Susan: One moment, please. I’m connecting you now.
Tom: Hey, Fred. What’s up?
F: Well, I was going to send you an email, but I thought it might be better for me to call.
T: Uh, oh. Sounds serious.
秘书Susan帮Fred接通Tom的电话。Tom拿起电话来问，Hey, Fred, what’s up?这是熟人之间见面，或是打电话一上来很常见的说法。直截了当，又很亲切。Fred说，本想发个电子邮件，后来觉得还是电话里说好，是什么重要的事呢？
F: It’s about the last order your company placed with us.
T: Let’s see…you mean the order for six containers of chipboards?
F: Yep, that’s the one. Now I know we originally agreed on the price, but there’s a little problem. Yesterday one of our major suppliers notified us that they are raising prices.
T: That’s never good.
订货要用动词place, to place an order. 供货商昨天电话通知Fred的公司，要涨价they are raising prices. 这可不是好消息。
F: Also, due to recent jumps in energy prices, our shipping agent is also upping fees. I guess what I’m getting at is that we just can’t offer our product at the original price anymore.
T: But Fred, this order is already in! I made it two weeks ago! You can’t change prices on me like this.
F: I understand your position, Tom. But if we fill your order as is, we lose money. If we can’t find some kind of compromise, I’m afraid our company might have to cancel the order all together.
Fred抱怨说，油价贵了，运费也水涨船高，What I’m getting at is that….归根结底要涨价。Tom不同意，因为the order is already in. 货已经定好了，怎么还能涨价呢？Fred表示，if we fill your order as is, 如果按原样供货，就会赔钱。如果谈不拢，就只好cancel the order, 取消定单。
T: Well, how much more are you asking for?
F: We need to ask for another – are you sitting down? – 25%.
T: 25%! That’s a huge increase, Fred!
F: Tom, you are one of our most valued customers. Your business is important to us, but this situation is out of our hands.
T: I understand that your company needs to make a profit. But it’s going to be very hard for me to pass on these increases to our customers.
Tom听说要取消定单，口气软了下来，但觉得涨25%还是太多。Fred和Tom接下来如何讨价还价，我们下次再听。