"Handling Customers Who Speak English With Japanese and Korean Accents In Grand Odiseus Novotel Bandung ".

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Maranatha Christian University

ABSTRACT

Sebagai pribadi yang senang bergaul dan senang untuk menerima hal-hal yang baru, saya memilih untuk magang di Grand Odiseus Novotel Bandung. Selain karena saya menikmati berkomunikasi dengan orang asing, juga karena saya ingin mencoba hal yang baru. Dalam proses magang saya sebagai receptionist, saya mendapati masalah, yaitu kesulitan dalam menghadapi konsumen yang berbicara Bahasa Inggris dengan

menggunakan logat Jepang dan Korea. Melalui penelitian dari sejumlah sumber, saya berusaha untuk mencari penyebab masalah tersebut dan beberapa solusi yang dapat diajukan untuk dapat diaplikasikan dalam menyelesaikan masalah yang saya hadapi.

Berdasarkan hasil analisis, ditemukan bahwa terdapat dua penyebab masalah. Pertama saya tidak terbiasa dengan bahasa Inggris yang menggunakan aksen Jepang dan Korea dan kedua saya tidak percaya diri ketika berhadapan dengan konsumen yang berbicara Bahasa Inggris dengan logat Korea dan Jepang. Dampak dari masalah tersebut pertama saya tidak dapat memberikan informasi yang tepat kepada konsumen dengan baik dan kedua adalah saya merasa kecewa jika saya tidak dapat menangani konsumen. Berdasarkan teori, saya mengajukan tiga buah solusi, yaitu: pertama saya membiasakan diri saya dengan Bahasa Inggris berlogat Jepang maupun Korea dengan cara

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

Interacting with foreigners has always been my passion. It allows me to

practise my English and that is why I chose Grand Odiseus Novotel Bandung

which is the place for fitness and spa as a place where I did my internship.

My internship started from June 14th_{to July 14}th _{, 2014. During my}

internship, I was stationed as a receptionist and my responsibilities were to serve

customers who came to Grand Odiseus and to give them information such as what

facilites and services they needed.

During my internship, I encountered a problem. I had difficulty in

handling some customers from Korea and Japan who spoke English with strong

Korean and Japanese accents. I could not clearly understand what they were

saying and could not give the right information they needed, for example when

they asked for direction to another place. I chose this topic because I am really

interested in communicating with foreigners. And in this paper I will also like to

discuss potential solutions to overcome my problem in handling customers with

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Maranatha Christian University The discussion will include positive and negative effects of each solution.

B. Identification of the problem.

The problem that will be analyzed is formulated in the following questions:

1. Why did I have difficulty in handling Korean and Japanese customers?

2. How did the problem affect my work performance?

3. How should I overcome the problem?

C. Objectives and Benefits of the Study

The objectives of the study are to find out the causes and effects of the

problem I mentioned in section A and to find the best solution to overcome the

problem. The benefit of this study for me as the writer is that I can learn how to

handle customers with Korean and Japanese accents. As for the readers, they will

learn how to solve the problem if they have the same problem as I did. For the

company, Grand Odiseus Novotel Bandung staff will gain some inputs on how

to handle customers with Korean and Japanese accents.

D. Description of the Institution

Grand Odiseus Novotel Bandung is a club which specialized in the field

of fitness and spa services. It was established in 2006 in Novotel Bandung. It is

located at Cihampelas Street No. 23-25 Bandung. As a place that offers fitness

and spa services ( such as Javanese Lulur, Aromatheraphy or Swedish Massage),

it has complete and good facilities gym, weight training, studio aerobic or secured

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E. Method of the Study

I did both field and library research to do the study. The library research was

done to find theories from books and electronic sources; whereas, the field

research was done through a self observation during my internship to collect my

data.

F. Limitation of the Study

The participant of this study is me when I was doing my internship at Grand

Odiseus Novotel. Therefore, the data was limited to what I observed. The study

focuses on my difficulty in handling some customers with Japanese and Korean

accents in Grand Odiseus Novotel Bandung based on the data I got when I did my

internship from June 14th_{to July 14}th_{, 2014. In other words, the data collection}

was limited in terms of time and place.

G. Organization of the Term Paper

The term paper starts with the Abstract, which is the summary of the term

paper in Indonesian, continued by Acknowledgments. They are followed by the

four chapters. The first chapter is the Introduction, which contains 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. The second chapter is Problem Analysis which

includes causes and effects of the problem. The third chapter is Potential

Solutions, which presents some potential solutions to the problem. The fourth

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which lists the references used for the research. The term paper ends with

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CHAPTER IV

CONCLUSION

In this final chapter, I will present the conclusion for the problem which I had

during my internship in Grand Odiseus Novotel Bandung. The problem was I had

difficulty in handling customers who speak English with strong Korean and

Japanese accents. There are two causes of my problem. The first cause was that I

could not understand clearly what the customers said and the second cause was

that I was not confident when dealing with customers, especially customers who

speak English with strong Korean and Japanese accents. I also found that the

problem creates several effects. First, I could not give the right information to the

customers. Second, I felt disappointed when I could not handle the customers.

I propose three potential solutions to solve my problem. First, I will familiarise

myself with Japanase and Korean accents by listening and watching more

English speaking videos with Korean and Japanese accents. Second, I will ask the

customers who speak with Japanese and Korean accents to repeat what they say.

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Maranatha Christian University After analyzing the potential positive and negative effects of each potential

solution, I think combining the three potential solutions is the best solution to be

applied in solving my problem. The first thing I will do is that I will familiarise

myself with Japanese and Korean accents. By watching and listening more

English speaking videos with Korean and Japanese accents, I will be familiar with

the accents and will understand with what my customers say. If I still do not

understand what they say, I will ask the customers politely to repeat what they

say. For the last solution in handling my difficulty if I still have problem with the

customers, I will ask my supervisor to help me handle the situation. Therefore,

my customers will be served properly and they will satisfy with my service.

In conclusion, all the potential solutions are well connected with the problem

that I have, which is difficulty in handling customers with Korean and Japanese

accents. Those potential solutions might be effective in solving the problem.

Moreover, I can be a better person in handling my customers and can use my

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HANDLING CUSTOMERS WHO SPEAK ENGLISH

WITH JAPANESE AND KOREAN ACCENTS IN

GRAND ODISEUS NOVOTEL BANDUNG

A term paper

submitted to DIII Programme for English at Maranatha Christian University

Yosua Evan

1243008

DIII Programme for English

Faculty of Letters

Maranatha Christian University

Bandung

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to Lord Jesus for giving me

this opportunity to write my term paper and give me strength to finish it.

My great thankfulness is also dedicated to my beloved parents, my father, Yo

Siong Beng and my mother, Wong Mie Lan. You are my inspiration, blessings

and spirit that always make my life wonderful. I would also like to thank my

sisters, Lydia Herawati, Hana Herawati and Erlinda Herawati for their affection

and support during the writing of this term paper.

I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to my supervisor, Fenty

L.S.,S.S., MA, who is always patient and helpful. She always supports me and

gives me valuable advice in the process of writing this paper. I am thankful for her

precious time by helping, correcting, supporting and guiding me until this term

paper is finished.

My special appreciation is also for all my friends who always give their best

support that I need during my hard times.

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