To make a shop complaint in French, say what you bought, explain the fault, then respond to the solution offered. A refund, an exchange and a repair lead to different replies. Start with a short situation you can describe clearly, and let the shopkeeper answer before stating your preference.
The practice below uses a bag bought yesterday with a broken zipper. First work through its complete conversation. Then change the preferred solution and try two other offers. Each offer is a separate practice situation; the example shopkeeper’s answer describes that scene.
Know which solution you are discussing
| French word | Meaning in this conversation | What happens to the item |
|---|---|---|
| une réparation | a repair | Someone fixes the item. |
| un échange | an exchange | You choose another item. |
| un remboursement | a refund | You get the money back. |
After Je préfère…, use a complete noun phrase: une réparation, un échange or un remboursement. The article belongs to the noun. For the original purchase, use the French shopping guide to practise price and size questions before moving to this later conversation.
Practise the complete bag conversation
The five players use Parle’s existing whole generated French reference recordings, created through the OpenAI speech service. The voices are synthetic. Each player contains its complete printed line, and the files are unchanged. This first-party guide was prepared with AI assistance.
Try each customer reply before opening its model. You can study a model first, close it, then make another attempt. Closing stops and rewinds that recording; starting another stops the previous one. Native Pause keeps your place. Give yourself about eight quiet seconds to answer, or take longer. The webpage does not record your voice.
1. Say what you bought and when
You are the customer. Greet the shopkeeper and explain that you bought this bag yesterday.
Reveal the customer’s opening after your attempt
Bonjour, j'ai acheté ce sac hier.
Hello, I bought this bag yesterday.
2. Explain the specific fault
Listen to the shopkeeper’s question. Keep your reply hidden and say that the zipper is broken.
Hear the shopkeeper’s question
Quel est le problème ?
What is the problem?
Reveal the broken-zipper reply after your attempt
La fermeture éclair est cassée.
The zipper is broken.
3. Listen to the offer, then state your preference
The shopkeeper offers two solutions. For this first attempt, you prefer a refund. Say that preference politely before revealing the last customer line.
Hear the repair-or-refund offer
Je peux le réparer ou vous rembourser.
I can repair it or refund you.
Reveal the refund preference after your attempt
Je préfère un remboursement, merci.
I prefer a refund, thank you.
Models are hidden until you open them. Try your reply first.
4. Change the preference to a repair
Return to the same repair-or-refund offer. This time you want the bag repaired. Keep the refund model closed and say the preference that fits. The reply below is a written variation.
Reveal one possible repair preference
Je préfère une réparation, merci.
I prefer a repair, thank you. This changes the noun phrase after Je préfère; there is no new recording.
5. Respond to a different offer
In a separate written practice scene, the shopkeeper says Je peux le réparer ou l'échanger. — “I can repair it or exchange it.” You would prefer another item. Say which of those two choices you prefer.
Reveal one possible exchange preference
Je préfère un échange.
I prefer an exchange. This separate scene comes from the Course task “Ask for a solution.” Its lines are written here, rather than added to the five bag recordings.
6. Adapt when the first choice is unavailable
In another written scene, you ask for a refund. The shopkeeper answers Désolé, seulement un échange. — “Sorry, only an exchange.” Imagine you have chosen another bag in front of you. Accept the exchange and choose “this one.”
Reveal the exchange-only response after your attempt
D'accord, je prends celui-ci.
Okay, I’ll take this one. Celui-ci refers to the bag you have selected. This is a separate written scene from “Negotiate a solution,” with no added recording.
For another attempt, ask your partner to choose one of the three offers. Keep the examples closed and respond to the offer they actually give. If you still want something else, you can ask a follow-up question; the examples here practise choosing an offered option.
Compare the descriptions of the fault
La fermeture éclair est cassée. identifies the zipper as the part that is broken. Fermeture is feminine, so the written adjective is cassée. Larousse’s entry for fermeture identifies the noun as feminine and includes a bag-closure example.
For a masculine noun, a written example is Le sac est cassé. — “The bag is broken.” Choose the sentence that matches what you observed. A broken zipper is a more specific description than saying the whole bag is broken. The player provides the complete zipper model; these extra written examples do not add audio.
With an electronic device, a different written description is L’appareil ne s’allume pas. — “The device does not turn on.” That sentence tells the listener what happens when you try to use it. The original bag recording still describes a zipper.
Understand le réparer and vous rembourser
In the offer Je peux le réparer ou vous rembourser, le refers back to the bag, le sac. Vous is the customer receiving the refund. You can hear the two choices linked by ou — “or.”
The OQLF table of complement pronouns includes le and vous. In this particular model, connect each pronoun to the thing or person receiving that action.
Réparer is the verb “to repair.” Une réparation is the noun “a repair,” used in the written preference above. Larousse’s definition of réparation describes fixing something damaged. After Je préfère, the noun phrase gives you a short way to name your choice.
Keep the shopkeeper’s offer separate from your preference. Je peux… says what the speaker can offer in the scene. Je préfère… says what the customer would rather have. In a real conversation, ask which solutions are available for your situation.
Continue with the exchange-only task
Use the free website’s Negotiate a solution role-play for the situation where a refund is refused and you choose another item. It is a separate task from the five-turn bag conversation, whose shopkeeper does offer a refund.
In Parle on iPhone or iPad, the guided sequence is Course → A2.1 → Problems and solutions. “Ask for a solution” is the second mission, “Negotiate a solution” the third, and “Solve a problem” the fourth. The unit is Premium. All 35 Sounds and the first four First Contact missions are free; Premium opens the current 120-mission course.
The App lets you record and replay model attempts. Phrase Match reports recognized model words; it does not grade your complaint, decide whether the requested solution is reasonable or score your accent. Use the French small-talk guide for a greeting and closing around your own conversation.