Self-study activity:
Watch the beginning of the Fawlty Towers episode Communication Problems and think about the different techniques Polly, the receptionist, uses to deal with Mrs Richards.
If you wish, you can activitate the English subtitles on the YouTube video.
What would you have done in Polly's shoes?
Key:
1) She tries to be reasonable and polite; 2) she gives in to Mrs Richards' demands; 3) she ignores her; 4) she's ironic and involves another guest in the argument; 5) she gets rid of the problem by referring Mrs Richards to Manuel.
