[Grammar] We are experiencing a high volume of customers contacting us at the moment.

[kadioguy]

Thank you for contacting Oxford University Press. Your query has been received and we will contact you as soon as we can.

We are experiencing a high volume of customers contacting us at the moment. This may mean a delay in our responding to you. You should receive a response within 5 days.
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Does the sentence in blue color mean a. or b.?
Could you tell me the reason?

a. We are experiencing a high volume of customers' contacting us at the moment.

b. We are experiencing a high volume of customers (that are) contacting us at the moment.

 

[Matthew Wai]

I think it means (a) because we experience something rather than someone.

 

[Matthew Wai]

Only nine examples are shown at my end.

 

[Rover_KE]

Aren't nine examples enough to demonstrate the point?

 

[kadioguy]

Aren't nine examples enough to demonstrate the point?

At my end, there are only eight examples shown; three of them are "experiencing a lot of Customers' orders".

Does it mean that this usage is unusual?

 

[kadioguy]

No.

But eight examples are a little few, aren't they?

 

[Matthew Wai]

I take 'experience a lot of people' to mean 'experience a situation where there are a lot of people (doing something)'.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

To me, it means B.

But as you can see, it's arguable. The problem is the Oxford writer's bad phrasing. How can you experience a volume? You can't. It's what we call "junk English": words (often of more than one syllable) that just take up space.

It should say something like:

- We have a large number of customers contacting us . . . .
- We have a long queue of customers to respond to . . . .
- We're responding to a large number of customers now . . . .

Moral: If you have something to say, come out and say it!

 

[emsr2d2]

It's more common to hear "We are experiencing a high volume of calls ..." on the phone or "We are experiencing a high volume of emails ..." on the net.

 

[kadioguy]

How can you experience a volume? You can't.

Pardon me, but I don't understand what you mean. Could you say it in a easier way or in detail?

 

[Matthew Wai]

A volume of something means an amount of something. How can you experience an amount? You can't.

That's how I understand it.

 

[kadioguy]

A volume of something means an amount of something. How can you experience an amount? You can't.

That's how I understand it.

In emsr2d2's opinion, we can say:

"We are experiencing a high volume of calls ..." on the phone or "We are experiencing a high volume of emails ..." on the net.

So I don't know why we cannot experience an amount (or a volume) (of something). :?:

 

[Matthew Wai]

Perhaps it is junk in AmE, which Charlie Bernstein speaks.