Handling The Customers' Complaints As A Receptionist At Hotel Kedaton.
ABSTRACT
Tugas akhir ini berisi analisis dari permasalahan yang saya hadapi ketika
magang di Hotel kedaton pada bulan Agustus yang lalu. Hotel Kedaton
terletak di Jalan Suniaraja no 14 Bandung. Selama saya magang di Hotel
Kedaton, saya menemukan kesulitan yang tidak bisa ditangani. Kesulitannya
adalah saya tidak dapat mengatasi keluhan dari tamu hotel.
Ada dua faktor yang menyebabkan saya mendapatkan kesulitan, yang
pertama adalah kurangnya pelatihan dalam mengatasi keluhan tamu hotel
dan yang kedua adalah saya lemah dalam berkomunikasi dengan tamu hotel.
Kedua faktor tersebut menyebabkan saya mengalami kesulitan dan
menimbulkan beberapa dampak.
Dampak yang pertama adalah tamu hotel menjadi marah karena saya
tidak dapat mengatasi keluhannya. Yang kedua adalah hotel dimana saya
bekerja mendapatkan reputasi yang buruk. Untuk mengatasi hal ini saya
menemukan tiga solusi. Yang pertama adalah mendengarkan secara
seksama, yang kedua tetap tenang ketika mengahadapi keluhan konsumen,
dan yang terakhir adalah menindak lanjuti keluhan dari konsumen.
i
Maranatha Christian University
TABLE OF CONTENT
ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................i
DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY ............................................................................. ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................... iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ..............................................................................................iv
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................... 1
A. Background of the Study
B. Identification of the Problem
C. Objective and Benefits of the Study
D. Description of the Institution
E. Method of the Study
F. Limitation of the Study
G. Organization of the Term Paper
CHAPTER II. PROBLEM ANALYSIS ......................................................................... 6
CHAPTER III. POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS .................................................................. 9
CHAPTER IV. CONCLUSION .................................................................................. 14
BIBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDICES:
A. FLOWCHART
iv
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
The receptionist is the important part of a hotel, because customers will
come to the receptionist at beginning of their stay in the hotel. Mellinger
states. “The receptionist represents the public face of a business” (par. 1).
Becoming the important part of a hotel, receptionist have to know and
understand all of the information about the hotel, so when there is a customer
who comes to the receptionist, they can handle it. Fredman states, It is very
important for the receptionist of a company to have good information (par. 4).
Thus, to be a receptionist one must have good information to customers.
I did my internship at Hotel Kedaton Bandung from July 14, 2014 to
August 13, 2014 as a receptionist. I always tried to serve the customers well,
but I still cannot handle the customers’ complaints. As a receptionist, my
tasks were making guest cards, greeting the customers, giving information
and calling housekeeping to check the hotel room.
1
Maranatha Christian University
When I did my internship, I had a difficulty in handling customers’
complaints. As a receptionist, I should have the skills to handle customers,
because the complaints usually come to the receptionist. “How to Handle
Guest with Complaints in Hotel” discusses that, “Most of the time, the
complaint comes to the hotel receptionist, who should have the skill and
knowledge to handle it effectively” (par. 2). Based on my experience when I
worked at Hotel Kedaton, I was confused about how to handle customers’
complaints. An example is when there was a foreign customer who came to
me angrily, because the Wi-Fi did not work. At that time, I really did not know
what I should do. I did not have the skill and knowledge to handle the
customers’ complaints. This problem is important to discuss because it
influenced my perfomance as a receptionist at Hotel Kedaton.
Based on the above explanation, I would like to discuss my difficulty in
handling customers’ complaints when becoming a receptionist at Hotel
Kedaton. This term paper contains some potential solutions to solve the
problem, and I believe that the solutions can be useful for people who have
the same problem as me when working as a receptionist at a hotel.
B. Identification of the Problem
My problem will be analyzed based on the following questions:
1. Why did I have a difficulty in handling customers’ complaints?
2
Maranatha Christian University
2. How did my problem influence my working performance?
3. How should I handle the problem?
C. Objective and Benefits of the Study
The objectives of the study are to find out the causes and effects of the
problem and to present the best solutions to solve the problem. The benefits
of the study for me as a writer is I can learn how to handle the customers’
complaints. For the readers, they will learn some information about how to
handle the customers’ complaints if they work as a receptionist at a hotel.
D. Description of the Institution
Hotel Kedaton is conveniently located in the heart of Bandung's business
district. The location of Hotel Kedaton is very strategic. It is near the train
station, and it only takes a few minutes to get to Husein Sastranegara
International Airport. “Hotel Kedaton (3***) - Bandung” discusses, “From the
hotel it takes 5 minutes to get to the train station and 10 minutes to get to the
shopping centre and government offices. Husein Sastranegara International
Airport is 15 minutes away” (par. 2).
Hotel Kedaton has 120 rooms, are the rooms some of the most luxurious
in Bandung. Most rooms have 2 twin beds with air-conditioning, Wi-Fi, a
3
Maranatha Christian University
bathtub and a cable television. There is also small a swimming pool in the
hotel, which is clean and set in a pretty garden.
Furthermore, Hotel Kedaton has an own pub and karaoke rooms, spa
rooms with excellent service by their therapists. The restaurant serves local
and western foods.
E. Method of the Study
In order to solve the problem, I collected data to support the analysis. The
data were from the library research and field research. Library research was
done to find theories from books and the Internet. The field research is based
on my internship experience as a receptionist at Hotel Kedaton.
F. Limitation of the Study
The focus of this study is solving the problem in handling customers’
complaints when becoming a receptionist at Hotel Kedaton. The period of my
internship is one month, starting from July 14, 2014 to August 13, 2014. The
subject of research is me as a receptionist at Hotel Kedaton.
G. Organization of the Term Paper
The term paper starts with the Abstract, which is a summary of the term
paper in Indonesian. The second is Acknowledgements and Table of Content,
4
Maranatha Christian University
followed by the four chapters. The first chapter is Introduction, which contains
Background of the Study, Description of the Institution, Method of the Study,
Limitation of the Study, and Organization of the term paper. The second
chapter is Problem Analysis, which contains the analysis of the causes and
effects of the problem. The third chapter is Potential Solutions, which contains
the potential solutions together with the positive and negative effects of the
potential solutions. Lastly, the fourth chapter is Conclusion, which contains
the summary from chapter two and chapter three. After that, there is
Bibliography, which contains the sources of the references to support the
research. The last part is Appendic, which contains a flowchart.
5
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER IV
CONCLUSION
As a receptionist at Hotel Kedaton, I have a difficulty in handling
customers’ complaints. The causes of the problem are I lacked of training in
handling the customers’ complaints, and I was poor in communicating with
customers. In addition, the problem has some effects, namely the customers
got angry, and the hotel got bad review from a foreign customer. Therefore, I
have to find some potential solutions to solve my problem because the
problem influenced my working performance. I found three potential solutions
that might solve my problem. First, I have to get training from the company
before I start to work. The second solution is I will practice English more to
improve my communicating skill. Lastly, I I will listen with empathy.
The best solution to solve my problem is combining the three potential
solutions that I have mentioned before. There are some reasons for choosing
the three potential solutions. In my opinion, being trained by the company
before I start to work is not enough. After being trained by the company, I also
need to practice speaking in English to improve my communication skills.
After I already do the two potential solutions, I will know how to handle the
14
Maranatha Christian University
customers’ complaints. The last solution is I should listen with empathy, to
make me perfect in handling customer’s complaints.
I also have a suggestion for the hotel receptionists who may have to
handle customers' complaints. The receptionists should be equipped with
training before working and have more practice. As a result, the customers
will be happy with the good service from the receptionists and it is very
possible that they will come again to stay at the hotel. This is also important
for the hotel's good reputation.
15
Maranatha Christian University
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Printed Source
Brinkman, Rick, and Rick Kirschner. Dealing with People You Can’t Stand.
New York: Mc-Graw-Hill, 2002
Electronic Sources
“5 Speaking Rules you need to know”. Talkenglish. 2005. 19 January 2015.
Amo, Tina. “The Negative Effects of a Lack of Training in the Workplace.”
Smallbusiness. 2014. 2 October 2014
Maranatha Christian University
.
Gary, Cohen. “Emphatic Listening.” co2partners. 4 October 2013. 20
December 2014. .
“Emphatic Listening.” kwasu.edu.ng 4 November 2014.
Goswami, Veena. “Analysis of Impatient Customers in Queues with
Bernoulli Schedule Working Vacations and Vacation Interruption”.
Journal of Schotastic. 27 September 2014. 20 Desember 2014.
.
“Hotel Kedaton (3***) – Bandung.“ Destinia. 2014. 14 October 2014
.
“How I spent 4 hours per day learning English”. englishpupm. 11 November
Maranatha Christian University
2013. 19 January 2015..
“How to Conduct a Layoff”. Nolo. 2014. 27 January 2015.
.
“How to Handle Angry Customers.” Ehow. 2014. 2 October 2014
.
“How to Handle Guest with Complaints in Hotel.” SlideShare.net 20 March
2014. 14 October 2014
.
“How to Improve Your Communication Skills by Speaking Better English”
Maranatha Christian University
Howcast. 2014. 19 January 2015. .
Fredman, Josh. “Importance of a Receptionist”. TheNest. 1997. 19 January
2015.
“Listening First Aids.” Listening Skills. 6 November 2007. 21 Desember
2014. .
Mellinger, Barbara Bean. “Good Qualities of a Receptionist“. Work. 2015. 19
January 2015.
Maranatha Christian University
McHugh, Shayna. “Top 10 Tips to Improve Your Spoken English”
espressoenglish. 2014. 19 January 2015.
.
“Ornamental Production”. Chapter-4 Employee Orientation & Training. 19
January 2015. .
Prasad, Prerna. “How to improve your spoken English: 5 tips”. Dnaindia. 10
September 2013. 19 January 2015..
Saxby, David. “Poor Internal Communication Can Damage Customers
Maranatha Christian University
Service”. EnergyInternal. 17 June 2008. 2 October 2014
.
Say, Rosa. “7 Steps for Resolving Customer Complaints.”
Managingwithaloha. 16 August 2012. 4 November 2014
.
Scnotz, Wilhelm. “The Average Cost to train a New Employee”.
Smallbusiness. 2014. 19 January 2015.
Maranatha Christian University
Tugas akhir ini berisi analisis dari permasalahan yang saya hadapi ketika
magang di Hotel kedaton pada bulan Agustus yang lalu. Hotel Kedaton
terletak di Jalan Suniaraja no 14 Bandung. Selama saya magang di Hotel
Kedaton, saya menemukan kesulitan yang tidak bisa ditangani. Kesulitannya
adalah saya tidak dapat mengatasi keluhan dari tamu hotel.
Ada dua faktor yang menyebabkan saya mendapatkan kesulitan, yang
pertama adalah kurangnya pelatihan dalam mengatasi keluhan tamu hotel
dan yang kedua adalah saya lemah dalam berkomunikasi dengan tamu hotel.
Kedua faktor tersebut menyebabkan saya mengalami kesulitan dan
menimbulkan beberapa dampak.
Dampak yang pertama adalah tamu hotel menjadi marah karena saya
tidak dapat mengatasi keluhannya. Yang kedua adalah hotel dimana saya
bekerja mendapatkan reputasi yang buruk. Untuk mengatasi hal ini saya
menemukan tiga solusi. Yang pertama adalah mendengarkan secara
seksama, yang kedua tetap tenang ketika mengahadapi keluhan konsumen,
dan yang terakhir adalah menindak lanjuti keluhan dari konsumen.
i
Maranatha Christian University
TABLE OF CONTENT
ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................i
DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY ............................................................................. ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................... iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ..............................................................................................iv
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................... 1
A. Background of the Study
B. Identification of the Problem
C. Objective and Benefits of the Study
D. Description of the Institution
E. Method of the Study
F. Limitation of the Study
G. Organization of the Term Paper
CHAPTER II. PROBLEM ANALYSIS ......................................................................... 6
CHAPTER III. POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS .................................................................. 9
CHAPTER IV. CONCLUSION .................................................................................. 14
BIBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDICES:
A. FLOWCHART
iv
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
The receptionist is the important part of a hotel, because customers will
come to the receptionist at beginning of their stay in the hotel. Mellinger
states. “The receptionist represents the public face of a business” (par. 1).
Becoming the important part of a hotel, receptionist have to know and
understand all of the information about the hotel, so when there is a customer
who comes to the receptionist, they can handle it. Fredman states, It is very
important for the receptionist of a company to have good information (par. 4).
Thus, to be a receptionist one must have good information to customers.
I did my internship at Hotel Kedaton Bandung from July 14, 2014 to
August 13, 2014 as a receptionist. I always tried to serve the customers well,
but I still cannot handle the customers’ complaints. As a receptionist, my
tasks were making guest cards, greeting the customers, giving information
and calling housekeeping to check the hotel room.
1
Maranatha Christian University
When I did my internship, I had a difficulty in handling customers’
complaints. As a receptionist, I should have the skills to handle customers,
because the complaints usually come to the receptionist. “How to Handle
Guest with Complaints in Hotel” discusses that, “Most of the time, the
complaint comes to the hotel receptionist, who should have the skill and
knowledge to handle it effectively” (par. 2). Based on my experience when I
worked at Hotel Kedaton, I was confused about how to handle customers’
complaints. An example is when there was a foreign customer who came to
me angrily, because the Wi-Fi did not work. At that time, I really did not know
what I should do. I did not have the skill and knowledge to handle the
customers’ complaints. This problem is important to discuss because it
influenced my perfomance as a receptionist at Hotel Kedaton.
Based on the above explanation, I would like to discuss my difficulty in
handling customers’ complaints when becoming a receptionist at Hotel
Kedaton. This term paper contains some potential solutions to solve the
problem, and I believe that the solutions can be useful for people who have
the same problem as me when working as a receptionist at a hotel.
B. Identification of the Problem
My problem will be analyzed based on the following questions:
1. Why did I have a difficulty in handling customers’ complaints?
2
Maranatha Christian University
2. How did my problem influence my working performance?
3. How should I handle the problem?
C. Objective and Benefits of the Study
The objectives of the study are to find out the causes and effects of the
problem and to present the best solutions to solve the problem. The benefits
of the study for me as a writer is I can learn how to handle the customers’
complaints. For the readers, they will learn some information about how to
handle the customers’ complaints if they work as a receptionist at a hotel.
D. Description of the Institution
Hotel Kedaton is conveniently located in the heart of Bandung's business
district. The location of Hotel Kedaton is very strategic. It is near the train
station, and it only takes a few minutes to get to Husein Sastranegara
International Airport. “Hotel Kedaton (3***) - Bandung” discusses, “From the
hotel it takes 5 minutes to get to the train station and 10 minutes to get to the
shopping centre and government offices. Husein Sastranegara International
Airport is 15 minutes away” (par. 2).
Hotel Kedaton has 120 rooms, are the rooms some of the most luxurious
in Bandung. Most rooms have 2 twin beds with air-conditioning, Wi-Fi, a
3
Maranatha Christian University
bathtub and a cable television. There is also small a swimming pool in the
hotel, which is clean and set in a pretty garden.
Furthermore, Hotel Kedaton has an own pub and karaoke rooms, spa
rooms with excellent service by their therapists. The restaurant serves local
and western foods.
E. Method of the Study
In order to solve the problem, I collected data to support the analysis. The
data were from the library research and field research. Library research was
done to find theories from books and the Internet. The field research is based
on my internship experience as a receptionist at Hotel Kedaton.
F. Limitation of the Study
The focus of this study is solving the problem in handling customers’
complaints when becoming a receptionist at Hotel Kedaton. The period of my
internship is one month, starting from July 14, 2014 to August 13, 2014. The
subject of research is me as a receptionist at Hotel Kedaton.
G. Organization of the Term Paper
The term paper starts with the Abstract, which is a summary of the term
paper in Indonesian. The second is Acknowledgements and Table of Content,
4
Maranatha Christian University
followed by the four chapters. The first chapter is Introduction, which contains
Background of the Study, Description of the Institution, Method of the Study,
Limitation of the Study, and Organization of the term paper. The second
chapter is Problem Analysis, which contains the analysis of the causes and
effects of the problem. The third chapter is Potential Solutions, which contains
the potential solutions together with the positive and negative effects of the
potential solutions. Lastly, the fourth chapter is Conclusion, which contains
the summary from chapter two and chapter three. After that, there is
Bibliography, which contains the sources of the references to support the
research. The last part is Appendic, which contains a flowchart.
5
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER IV
CONCLUSION
As a receptionist at Hotel Kedaton, I have a difficulty in handling
customers’ complaints. The causes of the problem are I lacked of training in
handling the customers’ complaints, and I was poor in communicating with
customers. In addition, the problem has some effects, namely the customers
got angry, and the hotel got bad review from a foreign customer. Therefore, I
have to find some potential solutions to solve my problem because the
problem influenced my working performance. I found three potential solutions
that might solve my problem. First, I have to get training from the company
before I start to work. The second solution is I will practice English more to
improve my communicating skill. Lastly, I I will listen with empathy.
The best solution to solve my problem is combining the three potential
solutions that I have mentioned before. There are some reasons for choosing
the three potential solutions. In my opinion, being trained by the company
before I start to work is not enough. After being trained by the company, I also
need to practice speaking in English to improve my communication skills.
After I already do the two potential solutions, I will know how to handle the
14
Maranatha Christian University
customers’ complaints. The last solution is I should listen with empathy, to
make me perfect in handling customer’s complaints.
I also have a suggestion for the hotel receptionists who may have to
handle customers' complaints. The receptionists should be equipped with
training before working and have more practice. As a result, the customers
will be happy with the good service from the receptionists and it is very
possible that they will come again to stay at the hotel. This is also important
for the hotel's good reputation.
15
Maranatha Christian University
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Printed Source
Brinkman, Rick, and Rick Kirschner. Dealing with People You Can’t Stand.
New York: Mc-Graw-Hill, 2002
Electronic Sources
“5 Speaking Rules you need to know”. Talkenglish. 2005. 19 January 2015.
Amo, Tina. “The Negative Effects of a Lack of Training in the Workplace.”
Smallbusiness. 2014. 2 October 2014
Maranatha Christian University
.
Gary, Cohen. “Emphatic Listening.” co2partners. 4 October 2013. 20
December 2014. .
“Emphatic Listening.” kwasu.edu.ng 4 November 2014.
Goswami, Veena. “Analysis of Impatient Customers in Queues with
Bernoulli Schedule Working Vacations and Vacation Interruption”.
Journal of Schotastic. 27 September 2014. 20 Desember 2014.
.
“Hotel Kedaton (3***) – Bandung.“ Destinia. 2014. 14 October 2014
.
“How I spent 4 hours per day learning English”. englishpupm. 11 November
Maranatha Christian University
2013. 19 January 2015..
“How to Conduct a Layoff”. Nolo. 2014. 27 January 2015.
.
“How to Handle Angry Customers.” Ehow. 2014. 2 October 2014
.
“How to Handle Guest with Complaints in Hotel.” SlideShare.net 20 March
2014. 14 October 2014
.
“How to Improve Your Communication Skills by Speaking Better English”
Maranatha Christian University
Howcast. 2014. 19 January 2015. .
Fredman, Josh. “Importance of a Receptionist”. TheNest. 1997. 19 January
2015.
“Listening First Aids.” Listening Skills. 6 November 2007. 21 Desember
2014. .
Mellinger, Barbara Bean. “Good Qualities of a Receptionist“. Work. 2015. 19
January 2015.
Maranatha Christian University
McHugh, Shayna. “Top 10 Tips to Improve Your Spoken English”
espressoenglish. 2014. 19 January 2015.
.
“Ornamental Production”. Chapter-4 Employee Orientation & Training. 19
January 2015. .
Prasad, Prerna. “How to improve your spoken English: 5 tips”. Dnaindia. 10
September 2013. 19 January 2015..
Saxby, David. “Poor Internal Communication Can Damage Customers
Maranatha Christian University
Service”. EnergyInternal. 17 June 2008. 2 October 2014
.
Say, Rosa. “7 Steps for Resolving Customer Complaints.”
Managingwithaloha. 16 August 2012. 4 November 2014
.
Scnotz, Wilhelm. “The Average Cost to train a New Employee”.
Smallbusiness. 2014. 19 January 2015.
Maranatha Christian University