An order that doesn't arrive in Spanish
A call to an online store: deadlines, delivery, payment in Spanish. 9 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Buenas, llamo por un pedido de la tienda online. Lo hice hace diez días.» — Hi, I'm calling about an order from the online store. I placed it ten days ago. Every line can be played right on the page. The conversation is predictable: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a call to an online store: deadlines, delivery, payment. The conversation is short and predictable — which is exactly what makes it good for a first try: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
- Buenas, llamo por un pedido de la tienda online. Lo hice hace diez días.Hi, I'm calling about an order from the online store. I placed it ten days ago.
- Dígame el número y le miro el plazo de entrega.Tell me the number and I'll check the delivery time for you.
- Aquí lo tengo. Ponía tres días y ya van diez.Here it is. It said three days and it's been ten already.
- Tiene razón. El proveedor se retrasó y nadie le avisó.You're right. The supplier was late and nobody notified you.
- ¿Y los gastos de envío? Los pagué por adelantado.And the delivery cost? I paid it in advance.
- Se los devolvemos. O se lo mandamos contra reembolso, como prefiera.We'll refund them. Or we'll send it cash on delivery, whichever you prefer.
- Prefiero contra reembolso. Así pago cuando lo tenga en la mano.Cash on delivery, please. That way I pay when I have it in my hands.
- Perfecto. ¿Me confirma el nombre del destinatario y la dirección?Perfect. Could you confirm the name of the recipient and the address?
- Se lo confirmo ahora por correo. Y quiero todo esto por escrito.I'll confirm it now by email. And I want all this in writing.
Lines one by one
| Spanish | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Buenas, llamo por un pedido de la tienda online. Lo hice hace diez días. | — | Hi, I'm calling about an order from the online store. I placed it ten days ago. |
| Dígame el número y le miro el plazo de entrega. | — | Tell me the number and I'll check the delivery time for you. |
| Aquí lo tengo. Ponía tres días y ya van diez. | — | Here it is. It said three days and it's been ten already. |
| Tiene razón. El proveedor se retrasó y nadie le avisó. | — | You're right. The supplier was late and nobody notified you. |
| ¿Y los gastos de envío? Los pagué por adelantado. | — | And the delivery cost? I paid it in advance. |
| Se los devolvemos. O se lo mandamos contra reembolso, como prefiera. | — | We'll refund them. Or we'll send it cash on delivery, whichever you prefer. |
| Prefiero contra reembolso. Así pago cuando lo tenga en la mano. | — | Cash on delivery, please. That way I pay when I have it in my hands. |
| Perfecto. ¿Me confirma el nombre del destinatario y la dirección? | — | Perfect. Could you confirm the name of the recipient and the address? |
| Se lo confirmo ahora por correo. Y quiero todo esto por escrito. | — | I'll confirm it now by email. And I want all this in writing. |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and it gets in the way badly. It is one of the most reliably measured findings in the entire field.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Spanish in this situation?
“Buenas, llamo por un pedido de la tienda online. Lo hice hace diez días.” — Hi, I'm calling about an order from the online store. I placed it ten days ago.. The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.