Handling Guests' Complaints as A Front Office Trainee At Hotel Hilton Bandung.
ABSTRACT
Pada masa magang di Hotel Hilton Bandung dari tanggal 18 Juni 2012
sampai 16 September 2012, saya menemukan masalah dalam menghadapi
keluhan tamu. Hal ini disebabkan tidak adanya pengalaman saya bekerja di
hotel, kurangnya pengetahuan tentang hotel, dan juga kurangnya
kepercayaan diri saat menghadapi tamu yang mengeluh tersebut.
Berdasarkan masalah yang saya hadapi, saya tertarik untuk mencari tahu
sebab dan akibat dan juga solusi terbaik untuk memecahkan masalah ini.
Oleh sebab itu, saya membahas Tugas Akhir yang berjudul, “Handling
Guests’ Complaint as a Front Office Trainee at Hotel Hilton Bandung”.
Berdasarkan teori yang saya dapatkan, saya menemukan beberapa solusi
yang dapat digunakan sebagai jalan keluar dari permasalahan yang saya
hadapi selaku pemagang sebagai front officer yaitu saya sebaiknya
memperjelas pokok permasalahan, berempati serta meminta maaf kepada
tamu dan berkonsultasi kepada supervisor.
Setelah menganalisis dampak positif dan negatif dari solusi-solusi
tersebut, saya menyimpulkan bahwa gabungan ketiga solusi tersebut adalah
solusi terbaik untuk permasalahan yang ada. Dengan memperjelas pokok
permasalahan, saya akan dapat berempati dan meminta maaf dengan tulus
pada tamu. Namun jika ada masalah yang cukup besar, saya akan
berkonsultasi pada atasan agar mendapat arahan yang tepat. Diharapkan
dengan melakukan solusi gabungan tersebut, masalah yang ada dapat
terselesaikan dengan baik.
i
Maranatha Christian University
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ................................................................................................ i
DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY ............................................................ ii
ACKNOWLEGEMENTS............................................................................ iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................ iv
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................. 1
A. Background of the Study ................................................ 1
B. Identification of the Problem .......................................... 2
C. Objectives and Benefits of the Study ............................. 2
D. Description of the Institution .......................................... 3
E. Method of the Study ....................................................... 5
F. Limitation of the Study ................................................... 5
G. Organization of the Term Paper .................................... 6
CHAPTER II. PROBLEM ANALYSIS ........................................................ 7
CHAPTER III. POTENTIAL SOLUTION .................................................. 11
CHAPTER IV. CONCLUSION................................................................. 18
BIBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDIX : FLOWCHART
iv
Maranatha Christian University
APPENDIX:
FLOWCHART
Cause 1: I did not have any
experience in handling
complaints.
Cause 2: I did not have enough
knowledge of the hotel facilities.
Cause 3: I had fear of conflict of
confrontation when handling
guest complaints.
Potential Negative Effects:
1. The guest might think that the
hotel cannot give proper followup to everything well.
Problem:
My difficulty in handling
guests’complaints as a front
office trainee at Hilton Hotel
Bandung.
Potential Solution I:
I will clarify the guests’
expectations.
Effect 1: I did not enjoy working
at Hilton Hotel.
Effect 2: The guest were not
statisfied with the answer that I
gave.
Effect 3: I felt stressed because I
could not handle those
complaints at the hotel.
Potential Positive Effects:
1. I can make the guests
satisfied.
Potential Negative Effects:
1. I will feel uncomfortable.
2. Hilton hotel will lose the
guests if the guest keep
complaining and I keep
apologizing without giving any
solution.
Potential Solution II:
I will apologize and emphatize
with the guests.
Potential Positive Effects:
1. The guests will be respected
and happy.
2. I can reduce my stress in
handling complaints.
Potential Negative Effects:
1. My supervisor will have to
spend some extra time to teach
me.
2. I will not be independent in
handling guest complaints
Potential Solution III:
I will consult with my supervisor
to learn how to handle
complaints.
Potential Positive Effects:
1. I will get more knowledge
about handling guests’
complaints from my supervisor.
2. I can avoid making mistakes
and handle complaints
appropriately.
Chosen Solutions:
PS I, II, III
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
Hilton hotel is an international hotel which is well-known and has a
good reputation in hospitality industry. In Indonesia, there is only one
Hilton Hotel, which is located in Bandung. Due to its reputation, I am of the
opinion that Hilton Hotel is the best choice for doing my internship.
I did my internship at Hotel Hilton Bandung from 18th June until 16th
September 2012 as a front office trainee. When doing this internship, I
have a difficulty that is really hard for me to handle because I do not have
any previous experience. My difficulty is in handling guests’ complaints as
a front office trainee at Hotel Hilton Bandung and I choose this difficulty as
my term paper topic.
Based on the observation when I had my internship at Hotel Hilton
Bandung as a front office trainee, handling complaint is the most frequent
problem that comes up in the front office department. Some of the guests
will complain of many things about the hotel to front officers. The guests
often complain about their check-in time as they suppose to check-in in
two o’clock but they arrived in the hotel at twelve o’clock or when they
1
Maranatha Christian University
want to check-in but the room is not ready so the guests have to wait for the
room and the guests also often complaints about the service, such as when
they order some food and they have to wait quite long for the food. Due to
this situation, I conclude that handling complaints is difficult and I am
interested in taking this as my term paper topic so that I can find out some
ways to handle this problem.
B. Identification of the Problem
The problems I am going to analyze in this paper are formulated in these
questions :
1. Why do I have difficulties in handling guest complaints as a front
office trainee at Hotel Hilton Bandung?
2. How does this problem affect my working performance?
3. How should I handle guest complaints appropriately?
C. Objectives and Benefits of the Study
The objectives of the study are to know why I have difficulty in handling
guest complaints as a front office trainee at Hotel Hilton Bandung and how
this problem affects my working performance. Besides, the study also aims to
analyze how to handle guest complaints.
The benefit of doing this research for the institution is the institution will get
more knowledge about how to handle guest complaints well. This can affect
2
Maranatha Christian University
the ways they handle complaints and how good they are in handling the
complaints. What is more, the guests might be loyal guests if the hotel can
take their complaints as feedback and resolve the matter quickly. The team
member of the hotel will get more revenue if the guest is loyal, because the
guest will choose Hilton Hotel as the first choice to stay when they go to
Bandung. As the writer, I will also get more knowledge about handling guest
complaints which will be useful for my personal references in the future. In
general, the readers will get more knowledge about handling complaints and
what to do when someone is complaining to them.
D. Description of the Institution
The following information about Hotel Hilton Bandung is based on Hilton
website (hilton.com), Hilton’s brochure, and hotel general information for
trainees. As mentioned in Hilton Hotel’s official website, Hilton Hotel is an
international hotel that was built by Conrad Hilton in 1919. The first Hilton
Hotel was opened in 1927. From the brochure I conclude that Hilton Hotel
has a lot of brands, such as Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, Hilton, Double tree,
Embassy Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton, Homewood Suites, Home 2
and Hilton Grand Vacations. In Indonesia there is only one Hilton Hotel and it
is Hotel Hilton Bandung. As mentioned in the hotel general information for
trainees, Hotel Hilton Bandung was opened on 21 st of March 2009 with more
than 200 staff at the beginning. The first General Manager at Hotel Hilton
3
Maranatha Christian University
Bandung was Mr. Peer Norsel from Denmark and he was in charge for three
years. After Mr. Peer Norsel was transferred to Edeline, Mr. Scott Wilson is in
charge as the General Manager from now on. He comes from Australia.
There are a lot of facilities that are provided at Hotel Hilton Bandung,
based on hotel general information for trainees :
1st floor : Lobby, Purnawarman restaurant ( for breakfast ), Magma Lounge.
2nd floor : Back Office and Magic Operator.
3rd floor : 5 meeting rooms and 1 ballroom.
4th floor : General Manager Apartment and 2 meeting rooms (Mancala and
Reversi)
5th floor : Spa and Hotel rooms.
6th floor : Fresco restaurant (Italian Restaurant), Pool, Gym, and Hotel rooms.
11th floor : Executive Lounge and Hotel rooms.
While in the 7th until 10th floor, there are bedrooms, which are divided in
four types of room: Deluxe room (118 rooms), Executive room (45 rooms),
Executive plus (19 rooms), Junior Suites (3 rooms), and Presidential Suites (1
room). The total number of rooms at Hotel Hilton Bandung are 186 rooms.
It is also stated in the hotel general information for trainees, that the values
of Hotel Hilton Bandung are :
H : Hospitality = we are passionate about delivering exceptional guest
experiences.
I : Integrity = we do the right things all the time.
L : Leadership = we are leader in our industry and in our communities.
4
Maranatha Christian University
T : Teamwork = we are team players in everything we do.
O : Ownership = we are the owners of our actions and decisions.
N : Now = we operate with a sense of urgency and discipline.
As mention in the hotel general information for trainees, the vision of Hotel
Hilton Bandung is created by the founder itself, which is: ‘to fill the earth with
the light and warm of hospitality. Furthermore, The mission of Hotel Hilton
Bandung is to be preeminent in global hospitality company, to be the first
choice of guest, team member, and owner alike.
E. Method of the Study
Two research methods are applied in doing this study. The first method
that I apply for this term paper is by observation done when I had an
internship at Hotel Hilton Bandung from 18 th June until 16th September 2012.
The other method is the library research. This method was done by doing an
electronic research and by searching books for finding the theories to support
my analysis.
F. Limitation of the Study
The limitation of the study will be about handling guest complaints as a
front office trainee at Hotel Hilton Bandung when I did my internship from 18 th
June until 16th September 2012.
5
Maranatha Christian University
G. Organization of the Term Paper
The first chapter of the term paper consists of the introduction of the study
and the problem that I get during my internship. In the second chapter, I
present the problem analysis, specifically about the causes and effects of the
problem. The third chapter, the potential solutions, presents the ways to solve
the problem, supported by theories or personal interviews. The last chapter,
which is chapter four, is the conclusion. In this chapter, the chosen solution of
the problem is presented with clear and logic arguments. The term paper
ends with the Bibliography and Appendix.
6
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER IV
CONCLUSION
In this chapter, I would like to present the best solution for my problem
at Hotel Hilton Bandung. Based on my experience when I was doing my
internship at Hotel Hilton Bandung, I find that handling guests’ complaints
is a problem for me. The problem happened because I did not have any
previous experience so it is hard for me to handle those complaints, I also
did not have enough knowledge of the hotel facilities and I had fear of
conflict or confrontation when handling guests’ complaints. The problem
results in my not enjoying working at Hilton Hotel, the guests not being
satisfied with the answers that I gave and my feeling stressed out because
I could not handle those complaints. I find three potential solutions, and
after considering the positive and negative effects of the potential
solutions, I am convienced that combining the three potential solutions will
be the best solution of my problem.
Clarifying the issues and the guests’ expectations is a good step to
approach the guests when they are complaining. When the staff know
what the issue of the problem is, the staff can give a proper solution to the
guests and also when the staff know what the guests expect, the staff will
18
Maranatha Christian University
also know how to satisfy the guests’ need. The second is the staff have to
apologize to and emphatize with the guest. If the guests complain and the
staff who handles their complaints can show emphaty, the guest may feel that
the staff respects them or understands their feeling and their position. The
third solution, I will consult with my supervisor so that I will know what kind of
complaints that usually appear in the hotel and I will also learn from my
supervisor’s experience so that I can handle guests’ complaints appropriately.
Based on those three potential solutions of the problem, I conclude that
combining the three potential solutions is the best and most suitable solution
of the problem. In dealing with complaints, when the guests are angry and I
try to help them by clarifying the issue, I will know what to do next. By
knowing the issue, I can emphatize with the guests and apologize sincerely.
This can make the guests calm down, which can avoid conflicts to happen
and increase my confidence when dealing with the guests. My lack of
knowledge about the hotel can be treated through consultation with the
supervisor. This also will help me to understand how to face the guests when
they are complaining, so that I can provide the right treatments to the guests.
Hotel Hilton Bandung has given an opportunity to me to have an
internship and I got a lot experience from Hotel Hilton Bandung. As a
suggestion for those who want to have an internship at the hotel, they should
know that working at the hotel is not as easy as it seems. It needs passion,
hard work and strong mentality. Besides, they should prepare good
communication skills because the skill will be needed when dealing either
19
Maranatha Christian University
with the guests or with the staff. Having knowledge about the hotel even just
a little, will also be of advantage to adapt yourself with the hotel industry.
20
Maranatha Christian University
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Printed Sources
Dwyer, Judith. The Business Communication Handbook. Kuala Lumpur:
Frenchs Forest, 2003.
Hotel General Information. Trainee Information.
Kaufman, Ron. Uplifting Service: The Proven Path to Delighting Your
Customers, Colleagues, and Everyone Else You Meet. New York: Evolve
Publishing, 2012.
Electronic Sources
“Are You a Victim of Job Related Stressed?” Rozzee. 2009. 3 Febuary 2013.
Brounstein, Marty. “Differences Between Work Groups and Team.” 2010. 7
January 2013.
Maranatha Christian University
Burbach, Cherie. “When You Should Not Apologize”. 2010. 26 December
2012.
“Customer Sevice and Social Media”. Dinamic Designwork. 11 October 2011.
17 December 2012.
Donald “Teori Penunjang”. Universitas Kristen Petra. 2004. 26 Oktober 2012.
Forbes, Jennifer. “4 Simple Customer Service Strategies Every Business
Should Use for Positive Word-of-Mouth”. June 2011. 17 December 2012.
Gophinathan, T. “Clarifying and Meeting Customer Expectations”. May 2011.
16 December 2012.
“How Important is Business Experience?”. Smarta. 2010. 2 November 2012.
Kumar, AJ. “Why Make Mistakes, Learn From Someone Else’s Experiences.”
Maranatha Christian University
20 January 2009. 25 December 2012.
“Managing Customer Complaints”. HR Monthly. March 1998. 22 September
2012.
McKay, Dawn Rosenberg. “Can a Mentor Help Your Career?”. 7 January
2008. November 2012.
Melanie. “Top Front Desk Clerk Skills Needed to Get The Job”. 2007. 2
November 2012.
“More and More Knowledge Worker Get Training Informally”. Executive Brief.
January 2008. 17 December 2012.
Morgan, Rebecca. “Why Do Customers Get Upset?” 1989. 2 November
2012.
Nestor, Marry. “Front Office Operations and Each Relation With The Guest
Circle”. 2012. 17 December 2012.
Maranatha Christian University
Sawhney, Ravi. “How Do You Turn Your Customers Into Brand
Evangelists?”. 2010. 27 November 2012.
Schwartz, Mel. “Are you Dependent, Independent or Autonomous?” . 2011.
2 January 2013.
Slyke, Erik Van. “ The Art of Listening: The Key to Successful Complaint
Resolution”. 2001. 2 November 2012.
Steen, Margaret. “Apologizing on The Job”. 2012. 17 December 2012.
Stott, Dave. “How can ‘time out’ benefit students’ behaviour?”. 2010. 17
December 2012.
Willhite, Gary. “How To Handle Hotel Guest Complaints”. 8 April 2010. 7
October 2012.
William, Bryan. “Guest Problem Resolution 101: Power of the Follow-Up”.
Maranatha Christian University
June 2008. 8 November 2012.
Zande, Irene. “Conscious Apologize”. 2012. 25 December 2012.
Maranatha Christian University
Pada masa magang di Hotel Hilton Bandung dari tanggal 18 Juni 2012
sampai 16 September 2012, saya menemukan masalah dalam menghadapi
keluhan tamu. Hal ini disebabkan tidak adanya pengalaman saya bekerja di
hotel, kurangnya pengetahuan tentang hotel, dan juga kurangnya
kepercayaan diri saat menghadapi tamu yang mengeluh tersebut.
Berdasarkan masalah yang saya hadapi, saya tertarik untuk mencari tahu
sebab dan akibat dan juga solusi terbaik untuk memecahkan masalah ini.
Oleh sebab itu, saya membahas Tugas Akhir yang berjudul, “Handling
Guests’ Complaint as a Front Office Trainee at Hotel Hilton Bandung”.
Berdasarkan teori yang saya dapatkan, saya menemukan beberapa solusi
yang dapat digunakan sebagai jalan keluar dari permasalahan yang saya
hadapi selaku pemagang sebagai front officer yaitu saya sebaiknya
memperjelas pokok permasalahan, berempati serta meminta maaf kepada
tamu dan berkonsultasi kepada supervisor.
Setelah menganalisis dampak positif dan negatif dari solusi-solusi
tersebut, saya menyimpulkan bahwa gabungan ketiga solusi tersebut adalah
solusi terbaik untuk permasalahan yang ada. Dengan memperjelas pokok
permasalahan, saya akan dapat berempati dan meminta maaf dengan tulus
pada tamu. Namun jika ada masalah yang cukup besar, saya akan
berkonsultasi pada atasan agar mendapat arahan yang tepat. Diharapkan
dengan melakukan solusi gabungan tersebut, masalah yang ada dapat
terselesaikan dengan baik.
i
Maranatha Christian University
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ................................................................................................ i
DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY ............................................................ ii
ACKNOWLEGEMENTS............................................................................ iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................ iv
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................. 1
A. Background of the Study ................................................ 1
B. Identification of the Problem .......................................... 2
C. Objectives and Benefits of the Study ............................. 2
D. Description of the Institution .......................................... 3
E. Method of the Study ....................................................... 5
F. Limitation of the Study ................................................... 5
G. Organization of the Term Paper .................................... 6
CHAPTER II. PROBLEM ANALYSIS ........................................................ 7
CHAPTER III. POTENTIAL SOLUTION .................................................. 11
CHAPTER IV. CONCLUSION................................................................. 18
BIBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDIX : FLOWCHART
iv
Maranatha Christian University
APPENDIX:
FLOWCHART
Cause 1: I did not have any
experience in handling
complaints.
Cause 2: I did not have enough
knowledge of the hotel facilities.
Cause 3: I had fear of conflict of
confrontation when handling
guest complaints.
Potential Negative Effects:
1. The guest might think that the
hotel cannot give proper followup to everything well.
Problem:
My difficulty in handling
guests’complaints as a front
office trainee at Hilton Hotel
Bandung.
Potential Solution I:
I will clarify the guests’
expectations.
Effect 1: I did not enjoy working
at Hilton Hotel.
Effect 2: The guest were not
statisfied with the answer that I
gave.
Effect 3: I felt stressed because I
could not handle those
complaints at the hotel.
Potential Positive Effects:
1. I can make the guests
satisfied.
Potential Negative Effects:
1. I will feel uncomfortable.
2. Hilton hotel will lose the
guests if the guest keep
complaining and I keep
apologizing without giving any
solution.
Potential Solution II:
I will apologize and emphatize
with the guests.
Potential Positive Effects:
1. The guests will be respected
and happy.
2. I can reduce my stress in
handling complaints.
Potential Negative Effects:
1. My supervisor will have to
spend some extra time to teach
me.
2. I will not be independent in
handling guest complaints
Potential Solution III:
I will consult with my supervisor
to learn how to handle
complaints.
Potential Positive Effects:
1. I will get more knowledge
about handling guests’
complaints from my supervisor.
2. I can avoid making mistakes
and handle complaints
appropriately.
Chosen Solutions:
PS I, II, III
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
Hilton hotel is an international hotel which is well-known and has a
good reputation in hospitality industry. In Indonesia, there is only one
Hilton Hotel, which is located in Bandung. Due to its reputation, I am of the
opinion that Hilton Hotel is the best choice for doing my internship.
I did my internship at Hotel Hilton Bandung from 18th June until 16th
September 2012 as a front office trainee. When doing this internship, I
have a difficulty that is really hard for me to handle because I do not have
any previous experience. My difficulty is in handling guests’ complaints as
a front office trainee at Hotel Hilton Bandung and I choose this difficulty as
my term paper topic.
Based on the observation when I had my internship at Hotel Hilton
Bandung as a front office trainee, handling complaint is the most frequent
problem that comes up in the front office department. Some of the guests
will complain of many things about the hotel to front officers. The guests
often complain about their check-in time as they suppose to check-in in
two o’clock but they arrived in the hotel at twelve o’clock or when they
1
Maranatha Christian University
want to check-in but the room is not ready so the guests have to wait for the
room and the guests also often complaints about the service, such as when
they order some food and they have to wait quite long for the food. Due to
this situation, I conclude that handling complaints is difficult and I am
interested in taking this as my term paper topic so that I can find out some
ways to handle this problem.
B. Identification of the Problem
The problems I am going to analyze in this paper are formulated in these
questions :
1. Why do I have difficulties in handling guest complaints as a front
office trainee at Hotel Hilton Bandung?
2. How does this problem affect my working performance?
3. How should I handle guest complaints appropriately?
C. Objectives and Benefits of the Study
The objectives of the study are to know why I have difficulty in handling
guest complaints as a front office trainee at Hotel Hilton Bandung and how
this problem affects my working performance. Besides, the study also aims to
analyze how to handle guest complaints.
The benefit of doing this research for the institution is the institution will get
more knowledge about how to handle guest complaints well. This can affect
2
Maranatha Christian University
the ways they handle complaints and how good they are in handling the
complaints. What is more, the guests might be loyal guests if the hotel can
take their complaints as feedback and resolve the matter quickly. The team
member of the hotel will get more revenue if the guest is loyal, because the
guest will choose Hilton Hotel as the first choice to stay when they go to
Bandung. As the writer, I will also get more knowledge about handling guest
complaints which will be useful for my personal references in the future. In
general, the readers will get more knowledge about handling complaints and
what to do when someone is complaining to them.
D. Description of the Institution
The following information about Hotel Hilton Bandung is based on Hilton
website (hilton.com), Hilton’s brochure, and hotel general information for
trainees. As mentioned in Hilton Hotel’s official website, Hilton Hotel is an
international hotel that was built by Conrad Hilton in 1919. The first Hilton
Hotel was opened in 1927. From the brochure I conclude that Hilton Hotel
has a lot of brands, such as Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, Hilton, Double tree,
Embassy Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton, Homewood Suites, Home 2
and Hilton Grand Vacations. In Indonesia there is only one Hilton Hotel and it
is Hotel Hilton Bandung. As mentioned in the hotel general information for
trainees, Hotel Hilton Bandung was opened on 21 st of March 2009 with more
than 200 staff at the beginning. The first General Manager at Hotel Hilton
3
Maranatha Christian University
Bandung was Mr. Peer Norsel from Denmark and he was in charge for three
years. After Mr. Peer Norsel was transferred to Edeline, Mr. Scott Wilson is in
charge as the General Manager from now on. He comes from Australia.
There are a lot of facilities that are provided at Hotel Hilton Bandung,
based on hotel general information for trainees :
1st floor : Lobby, Purnawarman restaurant ( for breakfast ), Magma Lounge.
2nd floor : Back Office and Magic Operator.
3rd floor : 5 meeting rooms and 1 ballroom.
4th floor : General Manager Apartment and 2 meeting rooms (Mancala and
Reversi)
5th floor : Spa and Hotel rooms.
6th floor : Fresco restaurant (Italian Restaurant), Pool, Gym, and Hotel rooms.
11th floor : Executive Lounge and Hotel rooms.
While in the 7th until 10th floor, there are bedrooms, which are divided in
four types of room: Deluxe room (118 rooms), Executive room (45 rooms),
Executive plus (19 rooms), Junior Suites (3 rooms), and Presidential Suites (1
room). The total number of rooms at Hotel Hilton Bandung are 186 rooms.
It is also stated in the hotel general information for trainees, that the values
of Hotel Hilton Bandung are :
H : Hospitality = we are passionate about delivering exceptional guest
experiences.
I : Integrity = we do the right things all the time.
L : Leadership = we are leader in our industry and in our communities.
4
Maranatha Christian University
T : Teamwork = we are team players in everything we do.
O : Ownership = we are the owners of our actions and decisions.
N : Now = we operate with a sense of urgency and discipline.
As mention in the hotel general information for trainees, the vision of Hotel
Hilton Bandung is created by the founder itself, which is: ‘to fill the earth with
the light and warm of hospitality. Furthermore, The mission of Hotel Hilton
Bandung is to be preeminent in global hospitality company, to be the first
choice of guest, team member, and owner alike.
E. Method of the Study
Two research methods are applied in doing this study. The first method
that I apply for this term paper is by observation done when I had an
internship at Hotel Hilton Bandung from 18 th June until 16th September 2012.
The other method is the library research. This method was done by doing an
electronic research and by searching books for finding the theories to support
my analysis.
F. Limitation of the Study
The limitation of the study will be about handling guest complaints as a
front office trainee at Hotel Hilton Bandung when I did my internship from 18 th
June until 16th September 2012.
5
Maranatha Christian University
G. Organization of the Term Paper
The first chapter of the term paper consists of the introduction of the study
and the problem that I get during my internship. In the second chapter, I
present the problem analysis, specifically about the causes and effects of the
problem. The third chapter, the potential solutions, presents the ways to solve
the problem, supported by theories or personal interviews. The last chapter,
which is chapter four, is the conclusion. In this chapter, the chosen solution of
the problem is presented with clear and logic arguments. The term paper
ends with the Bibliography and Appendix.
6
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER IV
CONCLUSION
In this chapter, I would like to present the best solution for my problem
at Hotel Hilton Bandung. Based on my experience when I was doing my
internship at Hotel Hilton Bandung, I find that handling guests’ complaints
is a problem for me. The problem happened because I did not have any
previous experience so it is hard for me to handle those complaints, I also
did not have enough knowledge of the hotel facilities and I had fear of
conflict or confrontation when handling guests’ complaints. The problem
results in my not enjoying working at Hilton Hotel, the guests not being
satisfied with the answers that I gave and my feeling stressed out because
I could not handle those complaints. I find three potential solutions, and
after considering the positive and negative effects of the potential
solutions, I am convienced that combining the three potential solutions will
be the best solution of my problem.
Clarifying the issues and the guests’ expectations is a good step to
approach the guests when they are complaining. When the staff know
what the issue of the problem is, the staff can give a proper solution to the
guests and also when the staff know what the guests expect, the staff will
18
Maranatha Christian University
also know how to satisfy the guests’ need. The second is the staff have to
apologize to and emphatize with the guest. If the guests complain and the
staff who handles their complaints can show emphaty, the guest may feel that
the staff respects them or understands their feeling and their position. The
third solution, I will consult with my supervisor so that I will know what kind of
complaints that usually appear in the hotel and I will also learn from my
supervisor’s experience so that I can handle guests’ complaints appropriately.
Based on those three potential solutions of the problem, I conclude that
combining the three potential solutions is the best and most suitable solution
of the problem. In dealing with complaints, when the guests are angry and I
try to help them by clarifying the issue, I will know what to do next. By
knowing the issue, I can emphatize with the guests and apologize sincerely.
This can make the guests calm down, which can avoid conflicts to happen
and increase my confidence when dealing with the guests. My lack of
knowledge about the hotel can be treated through consultation with the
supervisor. This also will help me to understand how to face the guests when
they are complaining, so that I can provide the right treatments to the guests.
Hotel Hilton Bandung has given an opportunity to me to have an
internship and I got a lot experience from Hotel Hilton Bandung. As a
suggestion for those who want to have an internship at the hotel, they should
know that working at the hotel is not as easy as it seems. It needs passion,
hard work and strong mentality. Besides, they should prepare good
communication skills because the skill will be needed when dealing either
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with the guests or with the staff. Having knowledge about the hotel even just
a little, will also be of advantage to adapt yourself with the hotel industry.
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