Overcoming My Difficulties in Handling Customers' Complaints in Antavaya Tour & Travel.

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ABSTRACT

Tugas Akhir ini membahas masalah yang saya hadapi ketika melakukan magang di AntaVaya Tour & Travel. Masalah yang saya hadapi adalah saya mendapatkan kesulitan dalam menangani keluhan dari konsumen. Berdasarkan hasil analisis, saya menemukan penyebab dan akibat dari masalah yang saya hadapi. Penyebab pertama adalah saya panik ketika mendengar keluhan dari konsumen, dan yang kedua adalah saya tidak konsentrasi saat menangani keluhan. Akibatnya saya menjadi stress dan saya merasa tidak tertarik lagi pada pekerjaan ini.

Berdasarkan teori yang relevan, saya menemukan tiga solusi. Solusi pertama adalah saya akan tetap tenang. Solusi kedua adalah saya akan berbicara dengan lembut. Solusi ketiga adalah saya akan meminta maaf. Ketiga solusi tersebut memiliki dampak positif dan negatif terhadap masalah yang saya hadapi. Setelah saya menganalisis solusi tersebut, saya memutuskan untuk

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

Nowadays, a travel agency becomes a profitable business. A travel agency

deals with hotel tickets, flight tickets, tour packages, passport, and visa. The

existence of travel agencies makes people easier to go somewhere. According to

Sokanu (2015), “The primary responsibility of a travel agent is to make the

process of travel planning easier for their clients and ensure they experience the

best trip possible. Travel agents work directly with the public and converse with

clients in order to determine the best possible travel destinations, transportation

arrangements, and accommodations for the client's particular needs” (para. 2).

During my internship at AntaVaya Tour & Travel, I had the following job

description, namely selling flight tickets, tour packages and hotel tickets,

arranging visa and passports, making tax invoices, and answering phone calls. My

position in AntaVaya Tour & Travel is a ticketing & tour officer. When I did the

internship I got difficulties when the customers complained about tour packages

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AntaVaya Tour & Travel and the customers who wanted to refund. I listened to

their complaints afterwards, I asked my supervisor to handle these customers,

because I had the difficulties in handling their complaints. The difficulties made

my performance not good enough. For my term paper, I have chosen a topic that

is based on my internship. I have decided to do this because I want to point out

my difficulties in handling customers’ complaints, including the causes and

effects. Furthermore, I am going to suggest several solutions to solve the problem.

Finally, after discussing the potential solutions with their positive and negative

effects, I will choose the best solution to handle my difficulties in handling

customers’ complaints.

B. Identification of the Problem

The analysis of my problem is formulated in the following questions:

1. Why did I have difficulties in handling customers’ complaints?

2. How did it affect my performance?

3. How should I handle customers’ complaints?

C. Objectives and Benefits of the Study

The objectives of this term paper are to analyze the causes and effects of my

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solution. There are some benefits people can get from this term paper, for

example, the staff at AntaVaya Tour & Travel will know how to react when

customers complain to them. Besides, the readers are able to know the situations

in a travel agency and how they handle problems in certain situations. Equally

important, I as a writer will become more professional when handling complaints

from customers at a travel agency.

D. Description of the Institution

The description of the institution is based on the information from Mr Rudi

Gunawan, as a tour staff. In 1965, Anta Tour was first established by Mr Ale,

located in Jalan Cibadak. A few years later, Anta Tour moved to Jalan Pasirkaliki

no. 150C. Then, it moved again to Jalan Pasirkaliki no. 161, because Trans Corp

had bought the stock of Anta Tour. Hence, the name has changed into AntaVaya

Tour & Travel. This travel agency has 1 manager, 1 supervisor, 2 ticketing staff, 1

tour staff, 1 cashier, and 1 messenger. The working hours are from 08.30 – 16.30

(Monday to Friday), from 08.30 – 13.30 (Saturday).

E. Method of the Study

All data of this term paper are based on my internship at AntaVaya Tour &

Travel from July 8th, 2015 until August 8th, 2015, my internship journal, and the

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printed and electronic sources. Those data are used to analyze the causes, the

effects, and the potential solutions of my problem.

F. Limitation of the Study

The subject of this research is the difficulties in handling customers’ complaints at

AntaVaya Tour & Travel. I had difficulties in handling customers’ complaints

when I did internship from July 8th, 2015 until August 8th, 2015. I will suggest the

best solutions for the problem.

G. Organization of the Term Paper

This term paper consists of Abstract, the summary of this term paper in Bahasa

Indonesia. It is followed by Declaration of Originality, Acknowledgements, and

Table of Contents. There are four chapters in this term paper: Chapter I is

Introduction, containing 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 Two

is Problem Analysis; in which I will discuss the causes and the effects of my

problem. Chapter Three is the Potential Solution to solve my problem. This

Potential Solution has positive and negative effects of my problem. Chapter Four

is Conclusion of all my analysis. The last part is References and Appendices,

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CHAPTER IV

CONCLUSION

Before conveying the best solution to the problem, I would like to present a

summary of the previous chapters. The problem that I discuss is I had difficulties

in handling customers’ complaints. There are two causes of the problem, namely I

got panicked and I did not concentrate. There are also two effects of the problem,

namely I got stress easily and I was not interested in my job anymore. To solve

the problem, I propose three potential solutions. The first potential solution is I

will keep calm. The second potential solution is I will speak softly. Then, the third

potential solution is I will apologize.

In my opinion, the best potential solution to solve my problem is all of the

potential solutions. First of all, I will keep calm. So, when customers come or

phone me and they complain to me, I can directly show them my behavior to be

more professional in front of them. Then, I will speak softly to my customers, so

their anger will be reduced and they can speak softly too. The two potential

solutions above will not be perfect without the third potential solution which is I

will apologize. This helps me keep the good relationship and show my respect to

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In conclusion, the combination of all these potential solutions is the best

choice. However, there is one thing that must be considered, which is that

hostilities may happen in being calm. Although I have already spoken softly and

apologized to my customers. It is possible that I am ignored by my customers

because they are not satisfied enough. Therefore, I suggest that a ticketing and

tour staff with the same problem as mine should know these possibilities and

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REFERENCES

Electronic Sources:

Avery, M. (2011). Dealing with difficult customer. Retrieved from:

http://www.unitiv.com/Dealing-With-Difficult-Customer

Corelli, C. (2010). The right way to deal with difficult customers and situations.

Retrieved from: http://www.cedmag.com/article-detail.cfm?id=10926256

Everard, M. (n.d.). How to handle customer complaints. Retrieved from:

http://www.skillsyouneed.com/rhubarb/dealing-with-complaints.html

Forbes. (2013). 7 Steps for dealing with angry customers. Retrieved from:

http://www.forbes.com/sites//2013/08/02/7-steps-for-dealing-with-angry

customers/

Freifeld, L. (2013). How to handle customers’ complaints. Retrieved from:

https://trainingmag.com/how-handle-customer-complaints

Freight, B. (n.d.). How to handle customer complaints. Retrieved from:

http://www.skillsyouneed.com/rhubarb/dealing-with-complaints.html

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Retrieved from:

http://www.peoriamagazines.com/ibi/2012/jul/10-tips-effectively-handling-customer-complaints

Mehrmann, J. (n.d.). 10 Powerful steps to defuse angry customers. Retrieved from:

http://www.businessknowhow.com/marketing/diffuse-anger.htm

Michalowicz, M. (2014). 8 Steps to squash a customer's complaint. Retrieved from:

http://www.americanexpress.com/mike-michalowicz/8-steps-to-handle-customer-complaints.html

Roshental, B. (2015). How to say sorry to an angry customer. Retrieved from:

http:/www.rogerharrop.com/knowledge_zone/articles/how_to_say_sorry_to-_an/

Shushmul. (2005). Dealing with angry customer. Retrieved from:

http://www.callcentrehelper.com/dealing-with-angry-customers-152.htm

Sokanu. (2015). Sokanu. What is a Travel Agent?. Retrieved from:

https://www.sokanu.com/careers/travel-agent/

Printed Sources:

Face to face communications for clarity and impact. (2004). Massachusetts, US: