Learn how to use the correct salutations, from a conversation between a hotel staff member and a guest
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Eric: Hi everybody! Eric here! |
| Becky: And I’m Becky. Asking a Guest to Repeat What They’ve Said. |
| Eric: In this lesson you’ll learn how to ask a customer to repeat something they’ve said. |
| Becky: This conversation takes place in the morning in a hallway, and it’s between a guest and a staff member. |
| Eric: The speakers share a professional relationship, so they’ll be using formal English. Let’s listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| Customer: Hello, I’m looking for the pool. Where can I find it? |
| Staff: The pool is just down this hallway. |
| Customer: Oh great, and what are the hours? |
| Staff: I'm sorry. I didn’t catch that. |
| Customer: What are the hours? |
| Staff: Oh, the pool is open from 8. |
| Customer: Thank you. |
| Staff: No problem. Is there anything else I can assist you with? |
| Becky: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Customer: Hello, I’m looking for the pool. Where can I find it? |
| Staff: The pool is just down this hallway. |
| Customer: Oh great, and what are the hours? |
| Staff: I'm sorry. I didn’t catch that. |
| Customer: What are the hours? |
| Staff: Oh, the pool is open from 8 |
| Customer: Thank you. |
| Staff: No problem. Is there anything else I can assist you with? |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Eric: In many cases, having a large English vocabulary can be more helpful than understanding and being able to use advanced grammar. |
| Becky: That’s right. In general, the topics that guests and staff talk about are simple, and won’t require you to have advanced conversations or use complex sentence structures. |
| Eric: For that matter, guests will rarely use complex grammar because the situation doesn’t require it. |
| Becky: In the dialogue, neither the guest nor the staff member uses complex grammar. |
| Eric: But the staff member did use the expression "I didn’t catch that." This is a more casual expression that either means “I didn’t hear you” or “Could you please repeat that?” |
| Becky: It prompts the guest to repeat what they just said. It also expresses that the staff member is comfortable using casual phrases, but be careful when using this, because the guest may respond to you in casual speech with phrases you may not be familiar with. Okay, now let’s move on to the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Becky: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. The first word is: |
| Eric: hallway [natural native speed] |
| Becky: corridor, hall, path from one room to another |
| Eric: hallway [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Eric: hallway [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next is |
| Eric: looking for [natural native speed] |
| Becky: trying to find, searching for |
| Eric: looking for [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Eric: looking for [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next is... |
| Eric: the hours [natural native speed] |
| Becky: A period of time that something is open |
| Eric: the hours [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Eric: the hours [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next is…. |
| Eric: just down the hallway [natural native speed] |
| Becky: continue forward down the hallway |
| Eric: just down the hallway [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Eric: just down the hallway [natural native speed] |
| Becky: And last we have... |
| Eric: I didn’t catch that [natural native speed] |
| Becky: I didn’t understand, could you repeat that? |
| Eric: I didn’t catch that [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Eric: I didn’t catch that [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES |
| Becky: Let’s take a closer look at some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Eric: The first phrase we’re going to look at is "just down the hallway." |
| Becky: In this phrase, the word "just" means "a short distance." It’s also used in sentences like “Just a minute,” meaning “a very short period of time.” |
| Eric: So the whole phrase would mean "a short distance down the hallway." For example, "The pool is just down the hallway." The second phrase we’re going to look at is "the hours." |
| Becky: In the dialogue, the guest asked, "What are the hours?" This is actually part of the larger phrase "What are the hours that the pool is open?" but the subject, “pool,” is dropped because both speakers understand the context of the sentence. |
| Eric: The last phrase we’re going to look at is, "I didn’t catch that." The word “catch” means “to receive.” Like “catch a ball” or “catch a cold” |
| Becky: But instead of a ball, the staff member didn’t "catch," or hear, what the guest said. |
| Eric: So, in reality, the phrase "I didn’t catch that" is just a more casual way of saying "I didn’t understand that” or “I didn’t hear what you said.” |
| Becky: Okay, now onto the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
| Eric: In this lesson you’ll learn how to ask a guest to repeat something. When you’re speaking with guests, there will occasionally be words and phrases that you don’t understand. |
| Becky: The guest may be speaking too fast, or maybe they're using words you’re unfamiliar with. Whatever the reason, you’ll need to ask them to repeat what they’ve said. |
| Eric The first phrase you could use is "Could you repeat that, please?" It’s a very polite way to ask your guest to repeat what they said. |
| Becky: An even more polite way to say it would be "I’m sorry, could you please repeat that?" |
| Eric: While it may not be your fault, it’s a good idea to apologize when asking a guest to repeat themselves, because “Could you repeat that” is very direct and could come off as blunt. |
| Becky: That’s true. Now, in situations where you’re having trouble understanding the content of what a guest is saying, you could use the phrase, “I’m sorry, but I’m not sure I understand. Could you please repeat that?” |
| Eric: This is a useful phrase. By apologizing first, you are being polite. Then telling the guest “I’m not sure I understand” may get them to slow down and repeat what they said using simpler English. |
| Becky: Exactly! It’s perfectly okay to tell a guest you don’t understand, but if you are still having trouble understanding them after using this sentence, it's a good idea to get your manager or another member of your staff that speaks English. |
Outro |
| Eric: Well, that’s all for this lesson. Be sure to check out the lesson notes, and leave us a comment. Thanks for listening! |
| Becky: And we’ll see ya next time! Bye! |
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