How to deal with “irate guest” at a reception?

Created: Thursday, 07 November 2013 06:23 | Published: Sunday, 30 March 2014 16:41 | Written by Monika Agarwal | Print | Email

A reception is the first point of contact as and when anyone enters the hotel. Hence, it is crucial for the hotel to allocate the receptionist's job to someone who is well experienced and can speak in fluent English. As a five star hotel receptionist, you have many responsibilities to handle. It is not necessary to mention, nevertheless, you are the face of the hotel. Therefore, it is your responsibility to be at your best both in appearance and in your English communication skills.

Working as a receptionist has its share of ups and downs and the job requires you to be extremely alert and responsive. However, what happens when you come across an uncertain situation? A situation that requires you to communicate with annoying guests. How would you tackle that calmly and like a pro? Here is where we come in to rescue you. The below-mentioned example should give you a complete tutorial on how to treat an irate guest with dignity and calmness.

Sample Example:

Situation: You have a conference at 8 am and you had asked the staff the previous day to bring in your breakfast by 7 am latest. You had asked for a simple scrambled egg and toast. However, they failed to bring in your breakfast on time as well as you happened to find a piece of shell in your scrambled eggs.

Receptionist: A very good morning sir! How may I help you?

William: Good morning! However, I have not had a very pleasant morning...

Receptionist: What is the matter sir? Allow me to help you.

William: The help that I had asked for yesterday was not delivered well enough; how will you be able to help me out now?

Receptionist: I am extremely sorry for what happened, sir. However, I will not be able to help you out until I am aware about the issue.

William: Fine. I had asked your staff to bring in my breakfast by 7:00 am latest this morning. Your staff walks into my suite at 7:20 very conveniently. I still did not say a word as I had an important conference today and did not wish to ruin my mood before it. And then, once I calmed myself down and began munching my scrambled eggs, I find a big piece of shell. What sort of service is this?

Receptionist: Well sir, I am sorry for our shortcoming. This hasn't happened before; I will certainly look into the matter and get the concerned person to apologize to you right away.

William: I was lucky enough to not get the conference call this morning and received a mail stating it has been postponed for tomorrow. However, this is not an acceptable error and isn't justifiable on the part of your staff.

Receptionist: I do agree and understand your point of view. There certainly has been a mistake that will be taken care of once we know who is responsible. For now, you can walk down to our exquisite café Le Exotica for brunch. This café is only open for the VIPs but due to our irreversible blunder, we would like you to enjoy a lavish brunch at our expense.

William: Is that your hotel's way of compensating? It is a great way to tackle angry guests. I would love to get treated by some scrumptious brunch after starting my morning this way.

Receptionist: I am glad you like the offer sir. In addition, I will also make sure that you get complimentary breakfast every single day during the course of your stay with us. Have a great day sir and we are extremely apologetic.

William: That sounds fine. Thank you very much.

That's it! You've got your guest convinced that all will be fine. Handling a situation as such requires you to be calm and composed and make use of your English communication skills work wonders.

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- By Monika Agarwal

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