You are a front desk executive at a five-star hotel. One of your core responsibilities is to ensure that your guests have a smooth and comfortable stay at the hotel. In lieu of which, you will have to attend to the different requirements of the guest. But, what when a guest comes up with an irrational request? Let's learn about how to refuse a free service to a guest such that the guest does not leave dissatisfied or annoyed.

Proper and polite English conversation comes to your rescue in such situations that can turn out to be offending to the guest.

Things to remember when refusing a service free of charge to a guest:

1. Explain the reason

When you are refusing a free service request, it is preferable to explain the reason why it is rejected. Reasonable guests will understand and accept it. If some guests refuse to accept your rationale, you can always justify your response with your stated reasons. Also, it is good customer service etiquette to respond to customer's external request with reasonable justification.

2. Suggest alternatives

It is a good practice to suggest alternatives while declining the request. Sometimes the request may involve genuine cases. Hence, you can be of better assistance if you are able to suggest an alternative that can be of help to the guest. It will also improve the rapport between your hotel and the customer.

Sample conversation

Situation: A guest comes to you asking for a free telephone service (in the local area).

You: Hello Sir, how may I help you?

Guest: Hi, I wanted to know whether your telephone service is free of charge if I call to any local number.

You: Sorry Sir. It isn't.

Guest: But, all the top hotels have it for free. Why is it not free here?

You: My apologies, Sir. But our hotel has strict policies regarding the charges. We used to have local free services, but it was misused, leading to huge logistical issues. Hence, we have discontinued the service.

Guest: But my request is for a genuine cause. Actually, I am on International roaming for a business meeting over here. I have no local number and calling from my international number would be very expensive for me.

You: I understand your situation, Sir. But it is with great regret that I have to decline your request. May I suggest an alternative?

Guest: What is it?

You: Our hotel offers free VOIP services. The calls are made over the internet.

Guest: But that would involve the recipient having a laptop right?

You: No Sir. We have a prepaid Guest account on Skype. You can call a direct number from here.

Guest: Wow that is great!! Thank you so much for helping me out,

You: Our pleasure Sir.

The above sample shows how to decline a customer's request for a free service in a polite way. Use the above dialogue as a blueprint on how to converse with your customers in fluent spoken English. You can further improve your spoken English with the help of an online English tutor.

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- By Monika Agarwal

Related Topics:

1. Tips for communication for hotel Industry.
2. How to explain charges to a guest?
3. How to converse at the front desk?
4. How to deal with complaints in the Hotel Industry?
5. How to take reservations by phone?