Learn how and when to use "please" and "thank you," from a conversation between a hotel staff member and a guest
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Eric: Hi everybody! Eric here! |
| Becky: Hello everyone! Becky here. It's Important to Say Please and Thank You to Your Guests! |
| Eric: In this lesson, you will learn how and when to use the words "please" and "thank you" with guests. |
| Becky: This conversation takes place at the front desk in the evening. |
| Eric: It’s between a guest and a staff member. |
| Becky: The speakers are in a professional relationship, so they’ll be using formal English. Let’s listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Staff: Hello sir! How may I assist you? |
| Customer: I would like to reserve a room for tonight. |
| Staff: Not a problem. May I please see your I.D? |
| Customer: Sure. |
| Staff: Thank you, sir. Excuse me for a minute please. |
| … |
| Staff: Okay, your room is 305. Here is the key. Check out is at two. |
| Customer: Thanks. And I’m going to need dinner brought up to my room. |
| Staff: Certainly sir. Would you like to place your order here or call room service later? |
| Becky: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Staff: Hello sir! How may I assist you? |
| Customer: I would like to reserve a room for tonight. |
| Staff: Not a problem. May I please see your I.D? |
| Customer: Sure. |
| Staff: Thank you, sir. Excuse me for a minute please. |
| … |
| Staff: Okay, your room is 305. Here is the key. Check out is at two. |
| Customer: Thanks. And I’m going to need dinner brought up to my room. |
| Staff: Certainly sir. Would you like to place your order here or call room service later? |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Becky: You’ll often have reservations that are called "last-minute." The phrase "last-minute" refers to doing something in the last possible minute or that, if that minute passes, it will no longer be possible to do. |
| Eric: That’s right. So for example, your manager could say something like, "I need you to do a last-minute cleaning of room twenty-three." |
| Becky: Exactly. Another example would be a guest saying to you, "I know this is last-minute, but I need to reserve a room. Could you help me?" |
| Eric: We can see that the guest is concerned about the availability of rooms at the hotel because the phrase suggests he might be too late. |
| Becky: That’s right. They are worried that because it is "last-minute," there will not be a room available for them. |
| Eric: If there are rooms available, you should reassure the guest and let them know. You could say "I can help you. Were you planning on checking in now?" |
| Becky: Okay, now let’s take a look at the vocabulary. |
| Vocab list |
| Becky: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| The first word is... |
| Eric: assist [natural native speed] |
| Becky: help, give aid |
| Eric: assist [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Eric: assist [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next is... |
| Eric: I.D. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: identification card |
| Eric: I.D. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Eric: I.D. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next is... |
| Eric: quick minute [natural native speed] |
| Becky: a short while, a few moments |
| Eric: quick minute [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Eric: quick minute [natural native speed] |
| Becky: And last we have... |
| Eric: Place your order [natural native speed] |
| Becky: make your request |
| Eric: Place your order [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Eric: Place your order [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Becky: Let’s take a closer look at some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first phrase we’re going to look at is "place your order." |
| Eric: This phrase sounds similar to "take your order," but it's quite a different phrase. |
| Becky: That’s right. The guest "places an order" and the staff member "takes the order." |
| Eric: Exactly. These two phrases are all about perspective, even though the staff member will say them, not the guest. |
| Becky: For example, "May I take your order?" is correct. If you were to say “May I place your order?" it would be wrong. |
| Eric: Also, "Would you like to place your order?" is correct while “Would you like to take your order?" is wrong. |
| Becky: Okay, now onto the grammar. |
| GRAMMAR POINT |
| Becky: In this lesson, you'll learn how and when to use "please" and "thank you." |
| Eric: In the dialogue we heard the phrase "May I please see your I.D?" |
| Becky: Being polite is very important in English-speaking cultures, and one of the most basic ways of being polite when speaking English is by using the words "please" and "thank you." |
| Eric: That’s right. In fact, these words are so important when speaking English that there is an old admonition to remember your "pleases" and "thank yous.” |
| Becky: So, let’s look at how to use "please." First, use "please" when you make any kind of request. For example, "May I please see your credit card?" |
| Eric: It isn’t a rule, but it often seems more correct to some guests when you use "please" at the end of the sentence. For example, "May I see your I.D., please?" |
| Becky: You should also use "please" whenever you’re giving directions around the hotel. For example, "To get to your room, please use the elevator behind you. It will take you to the 7th floor." |
| Eric: In general, you do not say "please" when you want to appear more authoritative. For example, when you’re telling a guest no or disciplining a coworker for something, do not use please. |
| Becky: That’s right. For example, "I am sorry, sir, but I am going to have to ask you to stop." |
| Eric: In some languages it’s very common to say "please" as "you're welcome," but don’t do this in English, because it would be confusing. So, when a guest says "thank you" you should respond with "you're welcome," not with "please." |
| Becky: How and when to say "thank you" is our next topic. You should use "thank you" when a guest agrees to some request that you have made. |
| Eric: That’s right. For example, you could ask the guest "Could you sign this please?", to which the guest would respond with something like "certainly." You would then say "thank you." |
| Becky: You should also use thank you" when you receive a compliment from a guest. For example, the guest may say something like "You’ve been a great help." In this case, you would respond with "Thank you, sir." |
| Eric: Last, you can use "thank you" when saying goodbye to guests. In this case, you would usually say thank you for something, instead of just saying "thank you." |
| Becky: That’s right. For example "Have a wonderful rest of your trip and thank you for staying with us." |
Outro |
|---|
| Eric: That's all for this lesson. Thanks for listening! |
| Becky: And see ya next time! bye! |
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