Handling My Difficulties in Communication with Australian Guests at Naval Hotel Bandung.

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ABSTRACT

Di dalam tugas akhir ini saya membahas permasalahan yang saya hadapi selama menjalani program magang di Hotel Naval yang dimulai pada tanggal 13 Januari 2014 sampai 13 February 2104. Permasalahan yang saya hadapi selama melakukan magang di sana yaitu saya sulit berbicara dengan tamu asing yang berasal dari Australia. Di dalam permasalahan yang saya hadapi, saya menemukan beberapa penyebab. Penyebab yang pertama yaitu saya tidak mengerti aksen orang Australia. Penyebab yang kedua yaitu saya kurang menguasai kosa kata Bahasa Inggris. Oleh karena itu saya mengalami kesulitan dalam berbicara dengan mereka. Dari beberapa penyebab ini, terdapat beberapa dampak. Dampak yang pertama yaitu tamu dari Australia tidak percaya dengan apa yang saya sampaikan. Dampak yang kedua yaitu atasan saya berpikir bahwa saya tidak mampu menghadapi tamu dari Australia.

Setelah saya melakukan analisis, saya mendapatkan tiga solusi untuk mengatasi permasalahan saya selama magang di hotel Naval. Solusi yang pertama yaitu saya menonton film dengan tidak menggunakan teks bahasa. Solusi yang kedua yaitu saya menggunakan bahasa tubuh saya untuk membantu dan juga memperjelas apa yang saya ingin katakan kepada tamu dari Australia. Dan solusi yang terakhir yaitu saya meniru struktur kata, kalimat dan grammar penutur asing.

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

In a hotel, there are many departments to serve the guests. One of the important departments in a hotel is the Front Desk. When guests come to the hotel, they will be greeted by the Front Office staff. The Front Office staff have a task to serve the guests and give information about the rooms and facilities in the hotel. Front Office staff must have good communication skills and good personality so that the guests will feel comfortable. As stated by Rose that, “First impressions are important, most definitely. Your front desk staff is essentially the “face” of your business.”(par 1). I agree with Rose’s statement because the front office staff are the one who first connect with the guests. The front office is the main connection in the hotel as it is stated by LinkedIn that, “As a Guest Service Agent, you will serve on the Front Office Team which is the main connection between the Guest, the hotel, and the various hotel departments.” (par. 3).

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the Front Desk. I had many tasks. Some of them are handle check in or check out, payments, guests complaints and, receiving phone calls from inside and outside the hotel. As a GSA I must had good attitude and personality because I had to communicate with the guests.

During my internship, I had a problem with Australian guests. I had difficulty in speaking with them because they spoke with Australian accents. In the morning the guests from Australia came to me and they asked about the breakfast menu and WIFI password, also about which way to go to the factory outlet. Because they said with the Australian accents, I did not understand and I did not know what vocabulary that I must use. It is makes me difficult to have conversation with the Australian guest. Based on my problem I faced with the Australian guests, I choose to analyze the causes and the effects to find the solutions to my problem.

B. Identification Of The Problem

The problem that I am going to discuss in this paper is formulated as follows:

1. Why did I have a difficulty in speaking with Australian guests? 2. How did my problem affect my work performance?

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C. Objective and Benefits of the study

The objectives of the study are to find the causes and the effects of the problem to find the solutions. Beside the objective there are also benefits for the readers, for the Naval Hotel also, for me. First, the benefit for the readers is they can know how to speak well with foreign guests, especially Australian guests, if they face the same problem like me. The benefit for Naval Hotel, especially for the Front Office staff is they can solve the problem if they meet the similar problem. And finally for me, the benefit is I can know the best solution and the right words if I speak with foreign guests especially Australian guests if I work as a GSA in the future.

D. Description Of The Institution

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up to 50 persons. Another facility which is owned by Naval Hotel is Orange Cafe.

According to Naval Hotel report it is stated that the Naval Hotel has a vision which is, to be the first choice of Hotel for businessman and family, to be the best in service provider by giving the best service to fulfil customer’s needs.(par. 3).

The Naval hotel also has a mission that is, to create long term business relationship and to prosper each other between the owner, the employee and the customers by creating loyal customers, increasing income annually, reaching profit within budget and, increasing investation value (par. 4).

E. Method Of The Study

The data which is used in this term paper is collected from report, interview and, articles from the Internet. The data is used to analyze the causes, the effects, and to find the potential solutions.

F. Limitation Of The Study

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G. Organization Of the Term Paper

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CHAPTER IV

CONCLUSION

In this chapter I would explain about my chosen solutions of my difficulty in speaking with the Australian guests during my internship from 13 January 2013 until 13 February 2013 in Naval Hotel, Bandung. The cause of my problem is I could not understand the Australian accent and I am lacked of vocabulary. Besides the causes, the problem has some effects. The effects are the Australian guests did not trust me and also my supervisor thought that I was not able to handle the Australian guests. After analysing the causes and the effects, I have found three potential solutions to solve my problem. The first solution is I will watch Australian films without subtitles. The second potential solution is I will use my body language. The last potential solution is I will listen to music.

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support one another and can help me to solve my problem in difficulty speaking with the Australian guests. By watching Australian films without subtitles, I can learn the accent used by Australians and also my vocabulary will increase. Furthermore while speaking with them, I will also use my body language that enable me to communicate more easily with them. I do not choose the third solution because, it is makes me lack of concentration.

Finally, I suggest that as a Front Office staff, one should understand the accent used

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Printed Sources

Brounstein, Marty. Communicating Effectively for Dummies. New York: Wiley Publising, Inc, 2001.

Electronic Sources

“Become Familiar with Australian Accent”. Ieltsexamstips. 2014. 15 April 2014.

<http://www.ieltsexamstips.com/2014/03/how-to-become-familiar-with-australian.html>

Farouk Radwan, M, MSc. “Using body language to your advantage”. 2knowmyself. 12 May 2014.

<http://www.2knowmyself.com/body_language/body_language_revers e>

“Guest Services Agent - Front Desk”. Linkedin. 27 March 2104.

<http://www.linkedin.com/jobs2/view/12634166?trk=jobs_search_publi c_seo_page>

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Mikoluk, Kasia. " Best Way to Learn a Language: Imitating Native Speakers”. Udemy. 9 July 2103.

<https://www.udemy.com/best-way-to-learn-a-language/>

Rose, Angela. “Why Your Hotel Front Desk Manager is One of Your Most Important Hires”. Hcareers. 27 March 2104.

<http://www.hcareers.com/us/resourcecenter/tabid/306/articleid/1149/d efault.aspx>

“The Truth About Accents”. Humanaccents. 25 Juny 2014.

<http://www.humanaccents.com/truth-about-accents.html#ifitcauses>

Szynalski,Tomasz P. “Watching movies in English”. Antimoon. 20 April 2014. <http://www.antimoon.com/how/movies.htm>

Szynalski,Tomasz P. “The best way to learn a foreign language is to speak it”. Antimoon. 15 May 2104.

<http://www.antimoon.com/other/myths-speaking.htm>

“Why A Native Teacher is Not Always The Best Language Teacher”. Creativityandlanguages. 1 July 2014.

<http://www.creativityandlanguages.com/2011/03/why-a-native-teacher-is-not-always-the-best-language-teacher/>