Amin and Salma notice that their restaurant bill is higher than expected. They reconstruct the order with Nabil and check the corrected total before paying.
01Read the Arabic conversation
الِاسْتِفْسَارُ عَنْ مَبْلَغٍ غَيْرِ مُتَوَقَّعٍ فِي الْفَاتُورَةِ
أَمِينٌ: عُذْرًا، هَلْ يُمْكِنُنَا مُرَاجَعَةُ الْفَاتُورَةِ مَعَكَ؟ الْمَجْمُوعُ أَعْلَى مِمَّا تَوَقَّعْنَا عِنْدَ الطَّلَبِ.
نَبِيلٌ: بِالتَّأْكِيدِ، سَأُرَاجِعُهَا مَعَكُمَا. أَيُّ بَنْدٍ فِيهَا تَرَيَانِ أَنَّهُ يَحْتَاجُ إِلَى تَوْضِيحٍ؟
سَلْمَى: طَلَبْنَا طَبَقَيْنِ مِنَ الْحَسَاءِ، وَطَبَقَ أَرُزٍّ وَاحِدًا، وَزُجَاجَتَيْنِ مِنَ الْمَاءِ. هَذَا مَا وَصَلَنَا.
نَبِيلٌ: تَظْهَرُ هَذِهِ الْأَصْنَافُ كُلُّهَا، وَهُنَاكَ عَصِيرُ بُرْتُقَالٍ بِاثْنَيْ عَشَرَ رِيَالًا فِي السَّطْرِ الْأَخِيرِ.
أَمِينٌ: هَذَا هُوَ الِاخْتِلَافُ. لَمْ نَطْلُبْ عَصِيرًا، وَلَمْ يُقَدَّمْ لَنَا أَيُّ كَأْسٍ مِنْهُ.
سَلْمَى: نَعَمْ، شَرِبْنَا الْمَاءَ فَقَطْ. رَأَيْتُ النَّادِلَ يَضَعُ الْعَصِيرَ عَلَى الطَّاوِلَةِ الْمُجَاوِرَةِ لِطَاوِلَتِنَا.
نَبِيلٌ: رُبَّمَا سُجِّلَ الْعَصِيرُ عَلَى رَقْمِ طَاوِلَتِكُمَا بِالْخَطَأِ. سَأَتَحَقَّقُ مِنَ الطَّلَبِ الْأَصْلِيِّ فِي النِّظَامِ.
أَمِينٌ: حَسَبْتُ الْحَسَاءَ بِعِشْرِينَ رِيَالًا، وَالْأَرُزَّ بِثَلَاثِينَ، وَالْمَاءَ بِعَشَرَةٍ. أَلَيْسَ الْمَجْمُوعُ سِتِّينَ رِيَالًا؟
نَبِيلٌ: حِسَابُكَ صَحِيحٌ. الْفَاتُورَةُ الْحَالِيَّةُ بِاثْنَيْنِ وَسَبْعِينَ رِيَالًا، وَالْفَرْقُ هُوَ ثَمَنُ الْعَصِيرِ.
سَلْمَى: أَرَدْتُ التَّأَكُّدَ فَقَطْ: إِذَنْ هَذَا الْمَبْلَغُ ثَمَنُ عَصِيرٍ، وَلَيْسَ رُسُومَ خِدْمَةٍ مُنْفَصِلَةً؟
نَبِيلٌ: صَحِيحٌ. رَاجَعْتُ الطَّلَبَ، وَالْعَصِيرُ لِلطَّاوِلَةِ الْمُجَاوِرَةِ. سَأَحْذِفُهُ مِنْ فَاتُورَتِكُمَا وَأَطْبَعُ نُسْخَةً جَدِيدَةً.
أَمِينٌ: شُكْرًا لِلتَّحَقُّقِ. لَمْ نَدْفَعْ بَعْدُ، وَلِذَلِكَ يُمْكِنُنَا مُرَاجَعَةُ النُّسْخَةِ الْجَدِيدَةِ قَبْلَ الدَّفْعِ.
نَبِيلٌ: هَذِهِ الْفَاتُورَةُ الْمُصَحَّحَةُ، وَمَجْمُوعُهَا سِتُّونَ رِيَالًا. أَعْتَذِرُ عَنِ الْخَطَأِ الَّذِي حَدَثَ.
سَلْمَى: الْكَمِّيَّاتُ صَحِيحَةٌ الْآنَ، وَلَمْ يَعُدْ سَطْرُ الْعَصِيرِ مَوْجُودًا. شُكْرًا عَلَى التَّصْحِيحِ.
أَمِينٌ: سَأَدْفَعُ الْمَبْلَغَ كُلَّهُ بِبِطَاقَتِي. هَلْ تَحْتَاجُ إِلَى الْفَاتُورَةِ الْقَدِيمَةِ أَيْضًا؟
نَبِيلٌ: نَعَمْ، مِنْ فَضْلِكَ، حَتَّى لَا تَخْتَلِطَ النُّسْخَتَانِ. أَمَّا النُّسْخَةُ الْمُصَحَّحَةُ فَهِيَ لَكُمَا.
أَمِينٌ: تَفَضَّلْ. وَأَرْجُو أَنْ يَظْهَرَ مَبْلَغُ سِتِّينَ رِيَالًا عَلَى الْجِهَازِ قَبْلَ تَمْرِيرِ الْبِطَاقَةِ.
نَبِيلٌ: هُوَ ظَاهِرٌ الْآنَ عَلَى الشَّاشَةِ. يُمْكِنُكَ التَّأَكُّدُ مِنْهُ، ثُمَّ إِتْمَامُ عَمَلِيَّةِ الدَّفْعِ.
سَلْمَى: تَمَّ الدَّفْعُ، وَنُرِيدُ إِيصَالَ الْعَمَلِيَّةِ مَعَ الْفَاتُورَةِ الْمُصَحَّحَةِ لِمُرَاجَعَةِ مَصْرُوفَاتِ رِحْلَتِنَا لَاحِقًا.
نَبِيلٌ: تَفَضَّلَا الْإِيصَالَ وَالْفَاتُورَةَ. أَشْكُرُكُمَا عَلَى تَوْضِيحِ الْمُشْكِلَةِ بِهُدُوءٍ، وَأَتَمَنَّى لَكُمَا مَسَاءً طَيِّبًا.
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Amin — diner: Excuse me. Could we review the bill with you? The total is higher than we expected when ordering.
Nabil — waiter: Certainly. I will review it with you both. Which item do you think needs clarification?
Salma — diner: We ordered two bowls of soup, one dish of rice, and two bottles of water. That is what we received.
Nabil — waiter: All those items appear, and there is orange juice for twelve riyals on the last line.
Amin — diner: That is the difference. We did not order juice, and no glass of it was served to us.
Salma — diner: Yes, we only drank water. I saw the waiter put the juice on the table next to ours.
Nabil — waiter: Perhaps the juice was recorded against your table number by mistake. I will check the original order in the system.
Amin — diner: I calculated twenty riyals for the soup, thirty for the rice, and ten for the water. Is the total not sixty riyals?
Nabil — waiter: Your calculation is correct. The current bill is seventy-two riyals, and the difference is the price of the juice.
Salma — diner: I just wanted to make sure: so this amount is for juice, rather than a separate service charge?
Nabil — waiter: Correct. I checked the order, and the juice belongs to the neighbouring table. I will remove it from your bill and print a new copy.
Amin — diner: Thank you for checking. We have not paid yet, so we can review the new copy before paying.
Nabil — waiter: Here is the corrected bill, totalling sixty riyals. I apologise for the mistake.
Salma — diner: The quantities are correct now, and the juice line is no longer there. Thank you for correcting it.
Amin — diner: I will pay the whole amount with my card. Do you need the old bill as well?
Nabil — waiter: Yes, please, so that the two copies do not get mixed up. The corrected copy is for you both.
Amin — diner: Here you are. And please let the device show sixty riyals before I use my card.
Nabil — waiter: It is now shown on the screen. You can check it and then complete the payment.
Salma — diner: The payment is complete, and we would like the transaction receipt with the corrected bill to review our trip expenses later.
Nabil — waiter: Here are the receipt and bill. Thank you both for explaining the problem calmly, and have a pleasant evening.
02Useful words and expressions
| Arabic in the conversation | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| مُرَاجَعَةُ الْفَاتُورَةِ | reviewing the bill |
| أَعْلَى مِمَّا تَوَقَّعْنَا | higher than we expected |
| فِي السَّطْرِ الْأَخِيرِ | on the last line |
| الطَّلَبِ الْأَصْلِيِّ | the original order |
| الْفَرْقُ | the difference |
| رُسُومَ خِدْمَةٍ مُنْفَصِلَةً | a separate service charge |
| الْفَاتُورَةُ الْمُصَحَّحَةُ | the corrected bill |
| الْكَمِّيَّاتُ | the quantities |
| تَخْتَلِطَ النُّسْخَتَانِ | the two copies get mixed up |
| إِيصَالَ الْعَمَلِيَّةِ | the transaction receipt |
03Check your understanding
Choose one answer for each question. Look back at the Arabic conversation for evidence. Open the English question support or a hint when you need help.
What to remember
- Identify the unexplained line and reconstruct what was actually ordered.
- Check the corrected amount and distinguish a bill from a payment receipt.
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