Handling Foreign Clients By Phone in English At PT.Centrotech Solusindo.

(1)

iv Maranatha Christian University

ABSTRACT

Dalam Tugas Akhir ini, saya akan membahas permasalahan yang saya alami sewaktu saya magang di PT. CentroTECH Solusindo. Salah satunya adalah dalam menangani klien asing melalui telefon dalam bahasa Inggris.

Untuk menyelesaikan masalah ini saya melakukan analisa. Saya menemukan beberapa penyebab dan akibat dari masalah yang saya hadapi sewaktu magang di PT. CentroTECH Solusindo. Penyebabnya adalah karena saya tidak mempunyai pengalaman sebelumnya dalam menangani klien asing melalui telefon, kurangnya pengetahuan

tentang produk, dan perilaku saya yang salah dalam mendengarkan klien. Adapun akibatnya adalah saya terlihat tidak profesional dimata klien tersebut dan klien tidak mendapatkan solusi dari

permasalahannya dengan segera.

Solusi terbaik yang saya pilih adalah perusahaan memberikan pelatihan secara gratis untuk para karyawannya, terutama yang

bertugas sebagai front liners_{. Pembahasan alasan dalam memilih}

(2)

APPENDIX

FLOW CHART

CAUSES:

1. My first time experience as a front liner.

2. I was lacking in product knowledge.

3. False attitude when listening to the clients.

PROBLEM:

I found difficulties in handling foreign clients by phone in English at PT. CentroTECH Solusindo.

EFFECTS:

1. Front liners looked unprofessional in the eyes of the foreign clients.

2. Clients did not get the solution they needed for their problem immediately.

NEGATIVE EFFECTS

1. The theories from the book can be different with the reality.

2. I will need more time to read the book.

Potential Solution I

I read a book about how to handle foreign clients by phone in English.

POSITIVE EFFECTS

1. I can get more knowledge

in handling foreign clients by phone in English.

2. I can provide better services by phone for foreign clients.

NEGATIVE EFFECTS

1. Company spends a lot of money to pay a professional trainee.

2. The front liners are not serious in training.

Potential Solution II

Company gives the front liners free training in English basic skills especially for speaking, listening, and product knowledge, which is used in handling foreign clients by phone in English.

POSITIVE EFFECTS

1. I can get knowledge about the proper ways to handle foreign clients by phone in English and about the products.

2. I can get confidence in handling foreign clients by phone in English.

NEGATIVE EFFECTS

1. Spend money to buy CDs and audio tools.

2. I can not get correction and suggestion when I am wrong.

Potential Solution III

I improve my listening skills by listening to English business tutorial CD.

POSITIVE EFFECTS

1. I can do it at home.

2. I can get improvement for my listening skills that will help me to listen to my foreign clients who speak in English by phone.

CHOOSEN SOLUTION

(4)

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

Nowadays, various international businesses have developed including

e-commerce (electronic commerce). E-commerce is also known as

electronic marketing. It has international and national markets, in the forms

of online stores, foreign exchange trading, and many more.

Online businesses in Indonesia have also grown rapidly. They enable

people to work in their home. As stated in an article entitled “Online

Business Growing Rapidly Among Business Professionals”,

Online businesses become the latest trends in Indonesia, it is grown

rapidly. Researchers have proved that more than ten million people

doing online business. It is very easy to start the online business, the

equipments that you require to use is only an Internet connection and

personal computers or laptops. Therefore, people can do online

(5)

Maranatha Christian University 2

The success of online businesses cannot be separated from the existence

of Internet Service Provider companies (ISP). ISP companies provide

bandwidth for clients so they can use the Internet.

CentroTECH Solusindo is one of the ISP companies and online stores

in Bandung which provides bandwidth and internet tools. The markets of

CentroTECH Solusindo are individuals or companies, both in Indonesia

and in other countries. Due to many foreign clients, good English language

skills are important for the staff to have. The ability in using English can

avoid misunderstanding and mistakes in handling foreign clients by phone.

I choose CentroTECH Solusindo (henceforth, CTS) because CTS is

one of the best ISP companies in Bandung. It can be seen from the clients

using services from CTS. Not only the public in general, but also

governmental projects such as Pengadilan Tinggi, Bandung; Pengadilan

Negeri, Bandung; Pengadilan Negeri, Depok and Pengadilan Negeri,

Bogor use CTR services. Therefore I want to have the best experience by

doing internship in that company. I worked there as a front liner. During

my internship in the company, I found difficulty in handling foreign clients

(clients from Germany and Australia) by phone in English. I could not

provide good services for the clients; I misunderstood the clients; and I

could not give the best solutions for the clients. Providing good services,

understanding clients’ needs, and giving best solutions for them are a front liner’s jobs. However, I experienced difficulty in doing them. I choose this problem to be discussed because failure in handling clients can give

(6)

B. Identification of the Problem

This study aims at discussing the following questions:

1. Why is it difficult for me to handle foreign clients by phone?

2. How can I improve myself as a front liner that I can handle the clients

well.

C. Objectives and Benefits of the Study

The objectives of the study are to analyze the causes and the effects

of not being able to handle foreign clients by phone, to find three potential

solutions to solve the problem, and then to choose the best solution from

all of these three solutions.

There are several benefits of this study. For the company, it is

expected that this term paper will provide useful information, to give some

knowledge for the staff on how to handle foreign clients by phone well. For

the readers, this study can make the readers realize how important having

good English language skills is, because nowadays English is a global

language and it is important for doing business internationally. For myself,

by writing this term paper, I can share my experience to the readers, and I

can also understand the ways to analyze a situation, when I work in a

company. Besides, I also learn the ways to handle foreign clients by

(7)

Maranatha Christian University 4

D. Description of the Institution

PT. CentroTECH Solusindo is located at Jalan Batik Kumeli no 80A

Bandung Jawa Barat, Indonesia. It was established in February 2006 and

became a corporation since March 2007. Its vision is to be the best

Internet Service Provider (ISP) and IT solution for individuals and

corporate purposes in Indonesia, especially in West Java. CTS has grown

rapidly since it was established. It has expanded its vision to become the

qualified company that serves and provides telecommunication needs in

Indonesia and internationally.

CTS is supported by professionals that have experiences on the web.

CTS is partnering with DeltaNet in Wireless Internet Service Provider

(WISP) and Broadband Wireless Access (BWA). The reason why CTS

become partners with DeltaNet is because it is the biggest bandwidth

suppliers from Jakarta. By having this partnership, we can see that CTS

only makes some partnership with the professional one.

E. Method of the Study

In this term paper, the data were collected through some methods.

First, they were collected in a journal that I wrote during my

apprenticeship. Second, the data were gathered by doing library and

(8)

F. Limitation of the Study

The study only discusses about the difficulty that I experienced in

handling foreign clients by phone in CTS. The data were taken during my

apprenticeship in that company. I did my apprenticeship from December,

15, 2009 to February 15, 2010.

G. Organization of the Term Paper

This term paper starts with an Abstract, a summary of the whole paper

in Indonesian. It is followed by the Acknowledgements, which contains the

list of the people who have some roles in writing this paper. This term

paper then is divided into four chapters. Chapter I is the Introduction,

which includes Background of the Study, Identification of the Problem,

Objectives and Benefits of the Study, Description of the Institution, Method

of the Study, Limitation of the Study, and Organization of the Term Paper.

Chapter II is an analysis of the difficulty in handling foreign clients by

phone in English, and discussing the causes and effects of the problem.

Chapter III discusses the potential solutions; there are three potential

solutions, with their positive and the negative effects. Chapter IV, which is

the Conclusion, discusses the chosen solution for the problem. In the last

part, I include the Bibliography containing the list of references and the

(9)

15 Maranatha Christian University

CHAPTER IV

CONCLUSION

After doing some observation at CTS, I found that my problem is I

cannot handle foreign clients by phone in English well. There are some

causes of this problem, such as first time experience as a front liner, lack

of product knowledge, and lack of listening skills. There are also some

effects of the problem that I have when I do my internship, such as I

looked unprofessional in the eyes of the foreign clients, and the clients did

not get the solution they needed for their problem immediately. To solve

my problem I find three potential solutions. First, I read a book about how

to handle foreign clients by phone in English. Second, the company gives

the front liners free training in English basic skills (especially speaking and

listening) and in product knowledge which is used in handling foreign

clients by phone in English. Third, I improve my listening skills by listening

to a tutorial CD for English listening about business.

After analyzing the causes, effects, and the potential solutions with their

positive and negative effects, I have a chosen solution that I think efficient

and effective for my problem. From all the potential solutions offered, the

(10)

free training in English basic skills (especially for speaking and listening)

and in product knowledge.

The reason why I choose it as the most suitable solution for my

problem is because by giving the front liners free training, the front liners

do not need to spend their money to buy books or CD’s for improving their

knowledge about handling foreign clients by phone in English. Then, with

the training, the front liners can directly practice with the experts, as stated

in the article entitled “The Benefits of Training for the New Employees” that

training can help the employees to get knowledge of skills and processes

“directly from the experts” (5). The article further says that getting the

knowledge from the experts will give more satisfaction than getting them

from books or CD’s. The front liners can get correction and suggestion

from the experts if they get wrong. This will help the front liners improve

themselves effectively.

To conclude, I suggest that an Internet service company which is still

developing like CTS gives training for the front liners when the front liners

just start their job in the company. Therefore, the front liners can make

minimum mistakes in handling the foreign clients. In order to make the

front liners able to focus on their daily jobs, the training can be held on

Saturdays because it is an off-day for the employees, so the front liners

(11)

Maranatha Christian University

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Printed sources

Lebeouf, Michael. How To Win Customers & Keep Them For Life. New

Orleans: Gary-Tomlinson, 2003.

Lucas, Robert W. Customer Service. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2005.

Soenarno, Adi. Front Office Management. Yogyakarta: Andi, 2006.

Electronic Sources

Bristol, Dana. “The Importance of Practice”. 2007. 7 June 2010

<http://www.speakforsuccess.net/a-imprac.htm>

Cruz, Osvaldo. “Final Guest Satisfaction and Interrelationship Among

Different Hotel Areas”. 13 December 2008. 4hoteliers. 25 May 2010

< http://www.4hoteliers.com/4hots_fshw.php?mwi=3592>

Elder, Jennifer. “The Benefits of Employees Training”. 2008. 29 May 2010

<http://www.heincpa.com/Communications/Newsflash_09232009.asp>

Gilly, Marry C. “Guest Complaint Handling as a Strategic Marketing Tool”.

2002. Emeraldinsight.com. 12 October 2009

<http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid

=AC641CE8B91EC56906A2A9815E2B9259?contentType=Article&hd

(12)

Jones, Adam. “Why People Don’t Read Enough Nowadays”. 1 July 2008.

8 June 2010 <http://extracurlyfries.wordpress.com/2008/07/

01/why-people-dont-read-enough-nowadays/>

Mcclellands, Susan. “The Importance of Training and Development”. 2002.

7 June 2010

<http://www.uwstout.edu/static/lib/thesis/2002/2002mcclellands.pdf>

Menguin, Jef. “Why Is Training Important”. 17 June 2007. 5 June 2010

<http://jefmenguin.wordpress.com/2007/06/17/why-is-training-important/>

“Six Tips for Handling Customers Complaint”. 2001. 10 May 2010

<file:///E:/handling%20complaints/Six%20Tips%20for%20Handling%20

Customer%20Complaints%20%20%20NFIB.htm>

Terraza, Gery. “Having Training for the Front Liners”. 2001. 2 June 2010

<http://www.spoke.com/info/pNVOZx/GaryTerrazas>

“The Benefits of Training for the New Employee”. 2005. 15 May 2010.

<http://www.articlebase.com/the-benefits-of-a-corporate-training-

Handling Foreign Clients By Phone in English At PT.Centrotech Solusindo.

ABSTRACT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

APPENDIX

FLOW CHART

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

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 IV

CONCLUSION

BIBLIOGRAPHY