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: Hello everyone! Becky here. Addressing Your Guests Correctly. |
| Eric: In this lesson you will learn how to use salutations. |
| Becky: This conversation takes place at the front desk in the late evening. |
| Eric: It’s between a staff member and a guest. |
| Becky: The speakers are in a professional relationship, so they’ll be using formal English. Let’s listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Staff: Hello! How may I help you? |
| Customer: We would like to check in. |
| Staff: May I please see your I.D.s? Thank you, Mr. Jones and Ms. Alize. |
| Customer: Actually, we would like to rent the honeymoon suite, we just got married! |
| Staff: Wow! Congratulations! |
| Customer: Thank you. |
| Staff: Okay, you’re all checked in. Please enjoy your stay. We will be sending a complimentary bottle of champagne to your room later this evening to help you celebrate. What time would you like it delivered? |
| Customer: Oh thank you! hmmm.... around seven would be good. |
| Staff: Okay, all set. Thank you again. |
| Becky: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Staff: Hello! How may I help you? |
| Customer: We would like to check in. |
| Staff: May I please see your I.D.s? Thank you, Mr. Jones and Ms. Alize. |
| Customer: Actually, we would like to rent the honeymoon suite, we just got married! |
| Staff: Wow! Congratulations! |
| Customer: Thank you. |
| Staff: Okay, you’re all checked in. Please enjoy your stay. We will be sending a complimentary bottle of champagne to your room later this evening to help you celebrate. What time would you like it delivered? |
| Customer: Oh thank you! hmmm.... around seven would be good. |
| Staff: Okay, all set. Thank you again. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Becky: A salutation is the word or phrase you use to greet someone. For example, "Hello" is considered a salutation. |
| Eric: Exactly. Many other phrases are also considered salutations, such as "good evening!" and "Good afternoon!" |
| Becky: In contrast, a form of address is a title you use for someone when you talk to them or talk about them. For example, “Miss Swan.” That is her form of address. |
| Eric: If you were to say "Hello, Miss Swan" you would use the salutation "Hello" and her form of address which is "Miss Swan." |
| Becky: Okay, now let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| Vocab list |
| Becky: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| The first word is... |
| Eric: complimentary [natural native speed] |
| Becky: free, additionally |
| Eric: complimentary [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Eric: complimentary [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next is... |
| Eric: bottle of champagne [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Champagne, a traditional gift at celebrations |
| Eric: bottle of champagne [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Eric: bottle of champagne [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next is... |
| Eric: marry [natural native speed] |
| Becky: to wed, to become married to |
| Eric: marry [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Eric: marry [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB 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 "bottle of champagne." |
| Becky: This phrase is used because champagne is an uncountable noun. In other words, you wouldn’t say "one champagne" or "three champagnes." |
| Eric: That’s right. The correct way to count champagne is by using the phrase "bottle of" or “glass of”. So you could say "I would like three bottles of champagne." or "We have storage space for seven bottles of champagne." |
| Becky: The next phrase we’re going to look at is "complimentary." |
| Eric: That’s right. This is essentially a fancy way of saying “free,” |
| Becky: Exactly. You might hear something like “a complimentary breakfast” or “the fruit basket is complimentary.” |
| Eric: Basically, they’re saying that these things are added on to the cost of something at no extra charge, as a kind of special bonus, and you don’t have to pay anything extra for them. |
| Becky: Great, now onto the grammar. |
| GRAMMAR POINT |
| Becky: In this lesson, you'll learn how to use correct salutations. |
| Eric: In the dialogue, we heard the phrase, "Thank you, Mr. Jones and Ms. Alize." |
| Becky: Using the correct form of address is very important when talking to guests. It’s also important when talking to managers or supervisors, or really anybody. |
| Eric: When you're speaking to men, there are generally two different forms of address, which are "Sir" — or "Mr.” plus the man’s last name. |
| Becky: Just remember not to use "Mr." with the full name. Grammatically there’s nothing wrong with it, but it seems overly formal. The only case in which you might want to use a full name with “Mr.” is when relaying a message, in which it is important to be clear about who exactly you’re speaking of. |
| Eric: That’s right, so for example, you could say "Thank you for your business, Mr. Smith" to a customer, and “You received a call from a Mr. Michael Black while you were out” when relaying a message. |
| Becky: Our other form of address, "Sir," is used as a pronoun. So in a sentence, it would be "May I help you, sir?" |
| Eric: When you’re talking about women, things are a bit more complex. In general, you can use the pronoun "ma’am" in the same way as "sir" for men. |
| Becky: That’s right. For example, you could say “May I help you, ma’am?” |
| Eric: However, the correct form of address for a woman can be any of three possibilities. First let’s look at “Mrs.” |
| Becky: The form of address Mrs. is used in regards to a woman who is married. For example, "Should I get that for you, Mrs. Adams?" |
| Eric: The second form of address that can be used for women is "miss." "Miss" is used for women who are not married. For example, "Welcome to your room, Miss Smith." |
| Becky: The third and last form of address for a woman is Ms. Ms. can be used to refer to both married or unmarried women, so generally it is the safest form of address to use when you’re not sure about a woman’s marital status. |
| Eric: However, it can be polite to try to use the correct form of address. One way to find this out is by using a question. You could say, "Good morning and welcome to our hotel. May I have your last name please Ms…? |
| Becky: Notice how the question is left open asking for the correct name and way to address her. Usually at this point a woman will give you the correct form of address, as well as her last name. |
| Eric: That’s right. A typical response would be something like "Ms. Price" or “Mrs. Jones.” Not all married women use their husbands’ last names, some unmarried women find that “miss” sounds too young, and some married women still prefer ‘Ms.’ over ‘Mrs.’, so by letting the woman give you her preferred form of address, you can address her as she pleases. |
Outro |
|---|
| Becky: That's all for this lesson. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next time. |
| Eric: Bye! |
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