Confirming Early Closing/Late Opening
A customer notices a sign or heard a rumor about the store having special hours for a specific event, maintenance, or staff meeting, and calls to confirm.
Dialogue
Listen and follow along with the conversation
Vocabulary
Essential words and phrases from the dialogue
confirm
To confirm means to check or make sure that something is true or correct. Use it when you want to verify information, like store hours.
rumor
A rumor is information that people talk about but may not be true. It's useful when asking about something you heard but aren't sure about.
closing early
Closing early means the store stops business sooner than usual. Say this to ask about shorter operating times on a specific day.
staff meeting
A staff meeting is a gathering of employees to discuss work. It's common in business contexts to explain changes in schedule.
resume
To resume means to start again after a pause. Use it for returning to normal activities, like regular store hours.
clarifying
Clarifying means making something clear or easier to understand. Thank someone for clarifying when they explain details to you.
You're very welcome
This is a polite response to 'thank you,' meaning it's no problem at all. Use it in customer service or everyday conversations.
Key Sentences
Important phrases to remember and practice
I'm calling to confirm your store hours for tomorrow, Tuesday.
This sentence uses 'calling to' for stating the purpose of a phone call. It's useful for politely asking to verify information; the structure 'for [day]' specifies the time period.
I heard a rumor that you might be closing early?
This introduces uncertainty with 'I heard a rumor' and 'might be,' turning it into a question. Use it to check unconfirmed information without sounding accusatory.
Yes, that's correct. We will be closing early tomorrow at 3 PM for a staff meeting.
This confirms information with 'that's correct' and explains the reason. The future 'will be' is for planned actions; useful in responses to provide details.
Our usual hours will resume on Wednesday.
'Usual hours' refers to normal schedule, and 'will resume' means return to normal. This pattern is great for explaining when things go back to routine.
We'll be opening at our regular time, 9 AM. So it's just the early closing that's different.
'We'll be' is future continuous for scheduled events; 'that's different' highlights the change. Use this to clarify only specific variations in plans.
Okay, 9 AM to 3 PM. Got it. Thanks so much for clarifying!
'Got it' means understood; repeating times shows confirmation. This is a natural way to end a query politely, useful in conversations for acknowledgment.
You're very welcome. Is there anything else I can help you with today?
This is a standard polite closing in service talks, offering more help. The question encourages further interaction; grammar is simple present for offers.