PROGRESSIVE - 04

The Wrong Shelf

At a grocery store, Priya was training a new worker named Sam while Nina and Carlos restocked the shelves.

Nina stopped beside the drink section. “Sam, did you put these sugar-free drinks here?”

“Yes,” Sam answered. “The bottles look almost the same, so I placed them with the regular drinks.”

“We need to keep them separate,” Nina explained. “Otherwise, customers could get mixed up and choose the wrong one.”

Sam studied the labels. “I saw the different words, but I thought this shelf was close enough.”

Carlos set down a box. “Close enough can cause problems here. Some customers choose sugar-free products for an important reason.”

“I didn’t think about that,” Sam admitted.

Priya pointed to the shelf labels. “Let’s get on the same page before we restock anything else. Sugar-free drinks go on the left, and regular drinks go on the right.”

Sam nodded. “Understood. I’ll move them now.”

A customer nearby picked up a sugar-free bottle. “Thank you for separating these,” she said. “I almost grabbed the wrong one.”

Sam looked at the similar bottles again. “Now I understand why the details matter,” he replied. “I’ll check the labels more carefully from now on.”

SPEAK

Answer in complete sentences.

  1. What mistake did Sam make while stocking the shelves?

  2. Why did Nina say that customers could get mixed up?

  3. What did Carlos mean when he said, “Close enough can cause problems here”?

  4. What did Priya want the workers to agree on?

  5. Do you think Sam was careless, or did he simply need more training? Why?

LISTEN

Listen to the recording and respond in complete sentences.

play

katie The wrong shelf.m4a

  1. What did the speaker say?

  2. Do you agree or disagree with the speaker? Why?

WRITE

Write 3–4 sentences.

What did Sam learn from his mistake?

You may begin:

Sam learned that…

Review Phrases

  1. get mixed up
    To become confused or confuse one thing with another.

    Customers could get mixed up if the drinks were together.

  2. close enough
    Almost correct and considered acceptable.

    Sam thought the shelf was close enough.

  3. cause problems
    To create trouble, confusion, or difficulty.

    Putting the drinks together could cause problems for customers.

  4. get on the same page
    To understand and agree on the same plan.

    The workers needed to get on the same page before restocking.