Learn how to approach a guest, from a conversation between a hotel staff member and a guest
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| INTRODUCTION |
| Eric: Hi everybody! Eric here! |
| Becky: Hello everyone! Becky here. Approaching a Guest. |
| Eric: In this final lesson of the series, you will learn about how to approach a customer. |
| Becky: This conversation takes place in the hotel lobby in the morning. |
| Eric: It is 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: Excuse me sir, do you have a moment? |
| Guest: Sure, how may I help you? |
| Staff: I couldn't help but overhear that you are the president of ANA. I know you have a large corporate account here, so I wanted to thank you personally for your company's patronage. My name is Lucy, if there is anything you need at all please let me know! |
| Guest: Well thank you Lucy, this hotel’s hospitality is the reason I chose it for my company. |
| Staff: Thank you sir. Please enjoy your stay. |
| Guest: I’m sure I will. Thanks. |
| Becky: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Staff: Excuse me sir, do you have a moment? |
| Guest: Sure, how may I help you? |
| Staff: I couldn't help but overhear that you are the president of ANA. I know you have a large corporate account here, so I wanted to thank you personally for your company's patronage. My name is Lucy, if there is anything you need at all please let me know! |
| Guest: Well thank you Lucy, this hotel’s hospitality is the reason I chose it for my company. |
| Staff: Thank you sir. Please enjoy your stay. |
| Guest: I’m sure I will. Thanks. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Becky: You should be aware of the fact that it's usually considered bad manners to talk about the amount of money a person or business spends at a hotel. |
| Eric: That’s right. In the dialogue, what the staff member said was not a very good example. The phrase "large corporate account” was not very tactful and probably should’ve been replaced with something else. |
| Becky: Exactly. She should have said something like "I know you and your company staff come here often, and…" or "I know you and your employees often stay with us. I just wanted to say…" |
| Eric: Phrases like these would be much more appropriate and wouldn’t make the guest feel uncomfortable. |
| 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 phrase is... |
| Eric: corporate account [natural native speed] |
| Becky: account held by a corporation |
| Eric: corporate account [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Eric: corporate account [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next is... |
| Eric: patronage [natural native speed] |
| Becky: support |
| Eric: patronage [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Eric: patronage [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next is... |
| Eric: hospitality [natural native speed] |
| Becky: kind and generous way of treating guests, kind, accepting, pleasant |
| Eric: hospitality [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Eric: hospitality [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next is... |
| Eric: chose [natural native speed] |
| Becky: past tense of choose |
| Eric: chose [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Eric: chose [natural native speed] |
| Becky: And last we have... |
| Eric: your stay [natural native speed] |
| Becky: the time a guest spends at a hotel |
| Eric: your stay [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Eric: your stay [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, "chose” versus “choose." Now, these two words are related but slightly different. |
| Eric: That’s right. "Choose" is the present tense form and "chose" is the past tense form. In the dialogue, either form could be used and the sentence would be grammatically correct. |
| Becky: The key here is the pronunciation. The present tense word uses the "uu" sound – "choose," while the past tense form uses the "ou" sound – chose." |
| Eric: So, for example you could say "I chose to come here." Or "I choose to come here." Both are correct. |
| Becky: The next phrase we are going to look at is "your stay." |
| Eric: This phrase refers to the time during which the guest "stays" at the hotel. |
| Becky: That’s right. The word "stay" is usually used as a verb, but at a hotel, "stay" is often used as a noun. |
| Eric: Exactly. For example, "The customer’s stay" or "How long will your stay be?" |
| Becky: Okay, now onto the grammar. |
| GRAMMAR POINT |
| Becky: In this lesson, you'll learn how to approach a guest. |
| Eric: In the dialogue, you heard the phrase, "Do you have a moment?" |
| Becky: Every culture has different rules regarding how to approach someone when you want to talk to them. So, when approaching a guest in a hotel, there are four main steps you need to follow. |
| Eric: The first step is to make your presence known. If the guest doesn’t know you’re there, you’ll startle them if you start talking without first making them aware of your presence. |
| Becky: Also, avoid approaching a guest from behind. This is considered impolite in general, but could also actually scare your guest. |
| Eric: There are two basic phrases you can use in order to make your presence known. You can say "Excuse me, sir or ma’am" or you can say "Pardon me, sir or ma’am." |
| Becky: If you want their attention, you have to say something. Simply standing nearby and hoping the guest will notice you is not recommended, as it will make them uncomfortable. |
| Eric: The next step is to apologize for the intrusion. Since you are going to talk to them, you will be interrupting something. That's why you need to apologize. |
| Becky: You can apologize in many different ways. Some examples are, "I apologize for the intrusion", and "I’m sorry to bother you, but…” |
| Eric: You shouldn’t use the word "regret" in this situation, because the guest may become concerned that something bad has happened. |
| Becky: The next step is asking permission to speak with the guest. There are several ways to do this. For example, you could say something like "I apologize for interrupting, but may I speak with you?" The last step is explaining why you wish to speak with the guest. You could say something like, "I just want to say thank you for being such a great customer of our hotel and we hope to see you again soon." |
| Eric: Always remember the importance of privacy. If you are there to discuss private information such as billing or the guest’s family, you should speak quietly, or better yet move to a more isolated location where you and a guest can speak openly without others listening in. |
| Becky: That’s right. For example, "There seems to have been a problem with our account server, so we are currently unable to process your billing information. Could you help us resolve this issue?" |
Outro |
|---|
| Eric: Well, that's all for this lesson and this series. Thanks for listening! |
| Becky: And we'll see you in another series! Bye! |
Comments
Hide