Handling Incompetent Front Office Staff When Communicating With Foreign Guests in Grand Serela Hotel.
ABSTRACT
Dunia perhotelan kini menjadi semakin maju di dalam dunia bisnis. Di
dalam sebuah hotel, para tamu hotel harus diberikan pelayanan yang
terbaik. Di samping itu, kemampuan pekerja front office dalam
berkomunikasi dengan tamu merupakan hal yang penting. Tanpa
kemampuan berkomunikasi, sebuah hotel tidak akan dapat memberikan
pelayanan yang baik.
Di dalam tugas akhir ini saya akan menganalisa ketidakmampuan
pekerja front office dalam berkomunikasi dengan tamu asing di hotel
Grand Serela. ketidakmampuan ini dapat menyebabkan kesalahpahaman
di antara pekerja dengan tamu hotel, dan juga pekerja tidak dapat
menyampaikan informasi dengan baik kepada tamu hotel.
Untuk mengatasi masalah itu, ada tiga solusi yang dapat diterapkan.
Solusi pertama adalah pekerja front office mencari kesempatan untuk
berbicara dengan orang asing. Solusi kedua adalah mengikuti pelatihan
bahasa Inggris, dan solusi ketiga adalah menonton film berbahasa Inggris
tanpa teks bahasa Indonesia. Dari ketiga solusi tersebut, dipilih solusi
yang kedua dan ketiga sebagai solusi terbaik. Solusi yang pertama tidak
dipilih karena populasi orang asing di Kota Bandung tidak banyak, oleh
karena itu kemungkinan untuk mendapatkan kesempatan berbicara
dengan orang asing sangatlah kecil.
i
Maranatha Christian University
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ....................................................................................... i
DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY ................................................... ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................. iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................... iv
Chapter I INTRODUCTION ................................................................ 1-4
A. Background of the Study
B. Identification of the Problem
C. Objectives 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 ..................................................... 5-7
Chapter III POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS ............................................... 8-11
Chapter IV CONCLUSION ................................................................ 12-13
BIBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDIX
ii
Maranatha Christian University
FLOWCHART
Causes
Problem
Effects
- lack of listening
and speaking skills
- lack of
vocabulary
Incompetent front
office staff in
communicating
with foreign guests
- there is a
misunderstanding
- the guests
complaint
Potential
Negative Effects
Potential
Solution I
Potential Positive
Effects
- needs extra time
to find the
opportunities to
talk with foreigners
- there is a
possibility that the
foreigner will reject
to give a respond
find the
opportunities to
talk with foreigners
- listening and
speaking skills will
improve
- the vocabulary is
enlarged
Potential
Negative Effects
Potential
Solution II
Potential Positive
Effects
giving front officers
an English training
once a week
- the English skills
will become better
and better
Potential
Solution III
Potential Positive
Effects
watch English
movies without
Indonesian
subtitles
- the listening skills
becomes better
- gain more
vocabulary
- extra money is
needed
- extra time is
needed to attend
the course
Potential
Negative Effects
- our eyes will be
radiated
Chosen Solution
- giving front officers an English training
once a week
- watch English movies without
Indonesian subtitles
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
The world tourism today is getting attention in many countries. This is
proven by the many established hotels or inns, and also tourism place.
Therefore, hotels or inns compete one with another by providing best
service. To be able to give best service to guests, front office staff should
be competent in communicating with foreign guests. In this term paper, I
analyse the problem of the incompetent front office staff in communicating
with foreign guests in GSH. I choose this topic because as a front office
staff, being competent in communication is very important in a hotel. A
front office staff has to be able to make good communication with the
guests; hence, there will not be misunderstanding between the staff and
the guests. Moreover, if front office staff can communicate well, the guests
will feel satisfied. Therefore, being competent in communication with the
guests is important.
When I was doing my internship at GSH, I worked as a front office staff.
I had to give information about the hotel to the guests by communicating
or talking with them so that they can get the right information easily.
However, when I was doing my internship, I found difficulty in
1
Maranatha Christian University
understanding what the foreign guests said and as a result I could not
communicate well with the guests.
2
Maranatha Christian University
B. Identification of the Problem
When I was doing my internship, I had a problem that is I am not
competent in communicating with foreign guests. The questions
concerning the problems that will be analyzed are :
1. Why are the front office staff at GSH not competent in
communicating with foreign guests?
2. What happens if the front office staff are not competent in
communicating with foreign guests?
3. What should the front office staff do to improve the competence in
communicating with foreign guests?
C. Objective and Benefits of the Study
The objective of the study is to find the best solution to the problem of
incompetent front office staff in communicating with foreign guests in GSH.
The benefits for me as the writer is I can know how to improve my
competence in communicating with foreign guests to avoid
miscommunication. The benefit for the readers is the readers will know
about the importance of being competent in communicating in a hotel,
especially communication between the staff and the guests. This is
especially beneficial if the readers are interested in working in a hotel as a
front office staff.
The benefit for the institution is it is able to solve the problem of
incompetent front office staff in communicating with the guests in order to
be able to give better service to the customer. Therefore, there will not be
3
Maranatha Christian University
possibilties to have miscommunication between front office staff with the
guests.
D. Description of the Institution
GSH was established by Mr. Hendri Husada in 2005. This three-star
hotel is situated in a very strategic area. It is located near factory outlets in
Riau street.
There are 77 rooms at Grand Serela Hotel, they are superior, deluxe,
executive, grand room, deluxe suite, and regal suite. In each room there
are also a TV set, air conditioner, a telephone, hot and cold shower, a
minibar, a safe defosit box, a coffee and tea maker.
The vision of GSH is to be the best tree-star hotel in Indonesia.
Whereas, the mission of GSH is to give the best service to the customers,
therefore the good image of the hotel will be maintained. GSH also wants
to create a good relation and communication among the staff and also to
have good coordination among departments to achieve the best result.
There are 8 departments at Grand Serela Hotel. They are the front
office department, housekeeping department,
food and
department,
department,
laundry
department,
storekeeper
beverage
security
department, concierge department, and reservation department.
E. Method of the Study
The data used for the analysis is from the journal that I have written.
The journal is based on the observation I did during my internship from 22
June until 22 July 2009. The theories that I use to support my analysis are
taken from library research and the Internet.
4
Maranatha Christian University
F. Limitation of the Study
The research that I did at GSH is only at front office department. The
research took thirty days. Furthermore, I observed the communication
between the foreign guests with the front office staffs.
G. Organization of the Term Paper
This term paper is divided into four chapters. Chapter I, the
Introduction, gives the details about the Background of the Study,
Identification of the Problem, Objectives and Benefits of the Study,
Description of the Institution, Limitations of the Study, and the
Organization of the Term Paper. Chapter II explains the causes and
effects of the problem. Chapter III discusses the potential solutions to the
problem with the potential negative and positive effects of each solution.
Chapter IV explains the best solutions for the problem based on the
analysis. Beside the four chapters, there is a bibliography which gives the
list of the sources of information used in the paper, and also an appendix.
5
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER IV
CONCLUSION
During my internship at Grand Serela Hotel, I faced a problem that is the
front office staff are not competent in communicating with foreign guests. The
incompetence is caused by lack of listening and speaking skills, and
vocabulary. As a result, the guests did not feel satisfied and complaint. In
chapter III, I analyze the problem with its negative and the positive effects.
Moreover, I describe some potential solutions to solve the problem. However,
there are also negative and positive effects of the potential solutions.
There are three potential solutions. The first is to find the opportunities to
talk with foreigner, the second potential solution is to give front office staff an
English training once a week, and the third potential solution is watch English
movies without Indonesian subtitles. I have chosen the second and the third
potential solution. The reason I choose the second potential solution is
because from the theory that I have read, taking English training is a good
way to improve English skills. Based on the second potential solution theory,
taking an English course can help in improving the English skills such as
11
Maranatha Christian University
listening and speaking skills. Beside the second potential solution, I also
choose the third potential solution because by watching English movies
without Indonesian subtitles, we are forced to hear what the actors or the
actresses say in English. By doing this, our listening skills will be improved.
The reason I do not choose the first potential solution because it is difficult to
find foreigners in Bandung city. Another reason is there is a possibility that
the foreigner will reject to give a respond because some of them do not want
to waste their time speaking with someone they do not know. Therefore, the
opportunity for front office staff to get a chance to talk with foreigners is very
small.
To conclude, competence in communicating with guests is very important
for a front office staff. Without that competence, front office staff cannot
interact with the guests well and cannot fulfill the guests’ needs. Moreover,
with good competence, the guests will be satisfied and become loyal.
12
Maranatha Christian University
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Printed Sources
Jackson, Barbara. Time to Learning. 2nd ed. New York: Harper Collins,
2003.
Electronic Sources
Allan, Llyod. “What Are Some Good Learning English Tips?” Ezine 15
May 2006. 23 May 2006
.
Dawson, Daniel. “Spend Money for Getting Smart.” The New Yorker 2
October. 2001: 31-33.
Gynes, Lilian. “Learn and Play.” Career Planning 22 November 2005. 28
November 2005
.
“Hayrolds Leonna.” Entertainment World. 2007 ed. 23 January 2007
< http://www.entertainmentworld.com/2007/05/29/4-tips-to-learnenglish%23956>.
Johnson, Sue. “Negative Effects From Watching TV” Ezine 07
May 2008. 13 May 2008
.
Matilda, Laura. “Native Speaker.” Magazine Lane 3 June 2008. 24 June
2008
.
Maynard, Clayton. “Communication With Each Other.” Time 2 May 2007.
19 May 2007
.
O’connell, Hugh. “Learn English Everyday.” Buzzle 7 November 2004. 11
November 2004
Maranatha Christian University
.
Real, Royane. “Reasons to Improve English Skills.” Via Magazine. 4
March 2005. 15 March 2005
.
Reesne Alice. “What Are The Most Important Thing in Life?” Ezine 21
August 2006. 27 August 2006
.
Rosenberg, Dawn. “Reasons to Improve Listening Skills.” Live Strong 8
June 2005. 19 June 2005
.
Russell, Michael. “Your Independent Guide to Language.” Ezine 20
February 2005. 27 Ferbruary 2005
.
Shaggy, Kelly. “American Movies.” Wiki How 2 December 2004. 10
December 2004
.
Smith, Lucinda. “The Time of Our Lives.” High Beam. 17 January 2009. 22
January 2009
.
Maranatha Christian University
Susungkowo, Linda. “Population in Bandung City.” Mind Tools 13
April 2008. 22 April 2008
.
Maranatha Christian University
Dunia perhotelan kini menjadi semakin maju di dalam dunia bisnis. Di
dalam sebuah hotel, para tamu hotel harus diberikan pelayanan yang
terbaik. Di samping itu, kemampuan pekerja front office dalam
berkomunikasi dengan tamu merupakan hal yang penting. Tanpa
kemampuan berkomunikasi, sebuah hotel tidak akan dapat memberikan
pelayanan yang baik.
Di dalam tugas akhir ini saya akan menganalisa ketidakmampuan
pekerja front office dalam berkomunikasi dengan tamu asing di hotel
Grand Serela. ketidakmampuan ini dapat menyebabkan kesalahpahaman
di antara pekerja dengan tamu hotel, dan juga pekerja tidak dapat
menyampaikan informasi dengan baik kepada tamu hotel.
Untuk mengatasi masalah itu, ada tiga solusi yang dapat diterapkan.
Solusi pertama adalah pekerja front office mencari kesempatan untuk
berbicara dengan orang asing. Solusi kedua adalah mengikuti pelatihan
bahasa Inggris, dan solusi ketiga adalah menonton film berbahasa Inggris
tanpa teks bahasa Indonesia. Dari ketiga solusi tersebut, dipilih solusi
yang kedua dan ketiga sebagai solusi terbaik. Solusi yang pertama tidak
dipilih karena populasi orang asing di Kota Bandung tidak banyak, oleh
karena itu kemungkinan untuk mendapatkan kesempatan berbicara
dengan orang asing sangatlah kecil.
i
Maranatha Christian University
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ....................................................................................... i
DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY ................................................... ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................. iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................... iv
Chapter I INTRODUCTION ................................................................ 1-4
A. Background of the Study
B. Identification of the Problem
C. Objectives 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 ..................................................... 5-7
Chapter III POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS ............................................... 8-11
Chapter IV CONCLUSION ................................................................ 12-13
BIBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDIX
ii
Maranatha Christian University
FLOWCHART
Causes
Problem
Effects
- lack of listening
and speaking skills
- lack of
vocabulary
Incompetent front
office staff in
communicating
with foreign guests
- there is a
misunderstanding
- the guests
complaint
Potential
Negative Effects
Potential
Solution I
Potential Positive
Effects
- needs extra time
to find the
opportunities to
talk with foreigners
- there is a
possibility that the
foreigner will reject
to give a respond
find the
opportunities to
talk with foreigners
- listening and
speaking skills will
improve
- the vocabulary is
enlarged
Potential
Negative Effects
Potential
Solution II
Potential Positive
Effects
giving front officers
an English training
once a week
- the English skills
will become better
and better
Potential
Solution III
Potential Positive
Effects
watch English
movies without
Indonesian
subtitles
- the listening skills
becomes better
- gain more
vocabulary
- extra money is
needed
- extra time is
needed to attend
the course
Potential
Negative Effects
- our eyes will be
radiated
Chosen Solution
- giving front officers an English training
once a week
- watch English movies without
Indonesian subtitles
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
The world tourism today is getting attention in many countries. This is
proven by the many established hotels or inns, and also tourism place.
Therefore, hotels or inns compete one with another by providing best
service. To be able to give best service to guests, front office staff should
be competent in communicating with foreign guests. In this term paper, I
analyse the problem of the incompetent front office staff in communicating
with foreign guests in GSH. I choose this topic because as a front office
staff, being competent in communication is very important in a hotel. A
front office staff has to be able to make good communication with the
guests; hence, there will not be misunderstanding between the staff and
the guests. Moreover, if front office staff can communicate well, the guests
will feel satisfied. Therefore, being competent in communication with the
guests is important.
When I was doing my internship at GSH, I worked as a front office staff.
I had to give information about the hotel to the guests by communicating
or talking with them so that they can get the right information easily.
However, when I was doing my internship, I found difficulty in
1
Maranatha Christian University
understanding what the foreign guests said and as a result I could not
communicate well with the guests.
2
Maranatha Christian University
B. Identification of the Problem
When I was doing my internship, I had a problem that is I am not
competent in communicating with foreign guests. The questions
concerning the problems that will be analyzed are :
1. Why are the front office staff at GSH not competent in
communicating with foreign guests?
2. What happens if the front office staff are not competent in
communicating with foreign guests?
3. What should the front office staff do to improve the competence in
communicating with foreign guests?
C. Objective and Benefits of the Study
The objective of the study is to find the best solution to the problem of
incompetent front office staff in communicating with foreign guests in GSH.
The benefits for me as the writer is I can know how to improve my
competence in communicating with foreign guests to avoid
miscommunication. The benefit for the readers is the readers will know
about the importance of being competent in communicating in a hotel,
especially communication between the staff and the guests. This is
especially beneficial if the readers are interested in working in a hotel as a
front office staff.
The benefit for the institution is it is able to solve the problem of
incompetent front office staff in communicating with the guests in order to
be able to give better service to the customer. Therefore, there will not be
3
Maranatha Christian University
possibilties to have miscommunication between front office staff with the
guests.
D. Description of the Institution
GSH was established by Mr. Hendri Husada in 2005. This three-star
hotel is situated in a very strategic area. It is located near factory outlets in
Riau street.
There are 77 rooms at Grand Serela Hotel, they are superior, deluxe,
executive, grand room, deluxe suite, and regal suite. In each room there
are also a TV set, air conditioner, a telephone, hot and cold shower, a
minibar, a safe defosit box, a coffee and tea maker.
The vision of GSH is to be the best tree-star hotel in Indonesia.
Whereas, the mission of GSH is to give the best service to the customers,
therefore the good image of the hotel will be maintained. GSH also wants
to create a good relation and communication among the staff and also to
have good coordination among departments to achieve the best result.
There are 8 departments at Grand Serela Hotel. They are the front
office department, housekeeping department,
food and
department,
department,
laundry
department,
storekeeper
beverage
security
department, concierge department, and reservation department.
E. Method of the Study
The data used for the analysis is from the journal that I have written.
The journal is based on the observation I did during my internship from 22
June until 22 July 2009. The theories that I use to support my analysis are
taken from library research and the Internet.
4
Maranatha Christian University
F. Limitation of the Study
The research that I did at GSH is only at front office department. The
research took thirty days. Furthermore, I observed the communication
between the foreign guests with the front office staffs.
G. Organization of the Term Paper
This term paper is divided into four chapters. Chapter I, the
Introduction, gives the details about the Background of the Study,
Identification of the Problem, Objectives and Benefits of the Study,
Description of the Institution, Limitations of the Study, and the
Organization of the Term Paper. Chapter II explains the causes and
effects of the problem. Chapter III discusses the potential solutions to the
problem with the potential negative and positive effects of each solution.
Chapter IV explains the best solutions for the problem based on the
analysis. Beside the four chapters, there is a bibliography which gives the
list of the sources of information used in the paper, and also an appendix.
5
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER IV
CONCLUSION
During my internship at Grand Serela Hotel, I faced a problem that is the
front office staff are not competent in communicating with foreign guests. The
incompetence is caused by lack of listening and speaking skills, and
vocabulary. As a result, the guests did not feel satisfied and complaint. In
chapter III, I analyze the problem with its negative and the positive effects.
Moreover, I describe some potential solutions to solve the problem. However,
there are also negative and positive effects of the potential solutions.
There are three potential solutions. The first is to find the opportunities to
talk with foreigner, the second potential solution is to give front office staff an
English training once a week, and the third potential solution is watch English
movies without Indonesian subtitles. I have chosen the second and the third
potential solution. The reason I choose the second potential solution is
because from the theory that I have read, taking English training is a good
way to improve English skills. Based on the second potential solution theory,
taking an English course can help in improving the English skills such as
11
Maranatha Christian University
listening and speaking skills. Beside the second potential solution, I also
choose the third potential solution because by watching English movies
without Indonesian subtitles, we are forced to hear what the actors or the
actresses say in English. By doing this, our listening skills will be improved.
The reason I do not choose the first potential solution because it is difficult to
find foreigners in Bandung city. Another reason is there is a possibility that
the foreigner will reject to give a respond because some of them do not want
to waste their time speaking with someone they do not know. Therefore, the
opportunity for front office staff to get a chance to talk with foreigners is very
small.
To conclude, competence in communicating with guests is very important
for a front office staff. Without that competence, front office staff cannot
interact with the guests well and cannot fulfill the guests’ needs. Moreover,
with good competence, the guests will be satisfied and become loyal.
12
Maranatha Christian University
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Printed Sources
Jackson, Barbara. Time to Learning. 2nd ed. New York: Harper Collins,
2003.
Electronic Sources
Allan, Llyod. “What Are Some Good Learning English Tips?” Ezine 15
May 2006. 23 May 2006
.
Dawson, Daniel. “Spend Money for Getting Smart.” The New Yorker 2
October. 2001: 31-33.
Gynes, Lilian. “Learn and Play.” Career Planning 22 November 2005. 28
November 2005
.
“Hayrolds Leonna.” Entertainment World. 2007 ed. 23 January 2007
< http://www.entertainmentworld.com/2007/05/29/4-tips-to-learnenglish%23956>.
Johnson, Sue. “Negative Effects From Watching TV” Ezine 07
May 2008. 13 May 2008
.
Matilda, Laura. “Native Speaker.” Magazine Lane 3 June 2008. 24 June
2008
.
Maynard, Clayton. “Communication With Each Other.” Time 2 May 2007.
19 May 2007
.
O’connell, Hugh. “Learn English Everyday.” Buzzle 7 November 2004. 11
November 2004
Maranatha Christian University
.
Real, Royane. “Reasons to Improve English Skills.” Via Magazine. 4
March 2005. 15 March 2005
.
Reesne Alice. “What Are The Most Important Thing in Life?” Ezine 21
August 2006. 27 August 2006
.
Rosenberg, Dawn. “Reasons to Improve Listening Skills.” Live Strong 8
June 2005. 19 June 2005
.
Russell, Michael. “Your Independent Guide to Language.” Ezine 20
February 2005. 27 Ferbruary 2005
.
Shaggy, Kelly. “American Movies.” Wiki How 2 December 2004. 10
December 2004
.
Smith, Lucinda. “The Time of Our Lives.” High Beam. 17 January 2009. 22
January 2009
.
Maranatha Christian University
Susungkowo, Linda. “Population in Bandung City.” Mind Tools 13
April 2008. 22 April 2008
.
Maranatha Christian University