Unit 6 Complaints 处理投诉
Background（背景知识）
Front office management and staff should keep the following resolution guidelines in mind when handling guest complaints.
When expressing a complaint, the guest may be quite angry. Front office staff members should not make promises that exceed their authority.
Honesty is the best policy when dealing with guest complaints. If a problem cannot be solved, front office staff should admit this to the guest early on.
Front office staff should be advised that some guests complain as part of their nature. The staff should develop an approach for dealing with such guests.
Top 10 ways of handling guest complaints:
1. Listen with concern and empathy.
2. Isolate the guest if possible, so that other guests won't overhear.
3. Stay calm. Don't argue with the guest.
4. Be aware of the guest's self-esteem. Show a personal interest in the problem. Try to use the guest name frequently.
5. Give the guest your undivided attention. Concentrate on the problem, not on placing blame. Do not insult the guest.
6. Take notes. Writing down the key facts saves time if someone else must get involved. Also, the guests tend to slow down when they see the front desk agent trying to write down the issue.
7. Tell the guest what can be the best done. Offer choices. Don't promise the impossible, and don't exceed your authority.
8. Set an approximate time for completion of corrective actions. Be specific, but do not underestimate the amount of time it will take to resolve the problem.
9. Monitor the progress of the corrective action.
10. Follow up. Even if the complaint was resolved by someone else, contact the guest to ensure that the problem was resolved satisfactorily.
Situational dialogues（情景对话）
Dialogue 1
K—Guest M—Manager
（Janet Kim checked into her room 15 minutes ago. She was surprised to find that the room is in such a mess. She asks to see the manager.）
M:What's the trouble, Madam?
K:I ask for hotel accommodation, not a cowshed. I've never seen anything more disgusting.
M:Hasn't the room been cleaned yet?
K:Of course not. The bathroom is in a total mess. There is no soap, no towels, not even toilet paper.
M:I'm extremely sorry to hear that. We do apologize for the inconvenience. I'll look into the matter and be back in a minute.
（After a while）
M:Well, Madam, there seems to have been a communication break-down between the front office and the housekeeping department. They have promised to give you a room that is fully up to standard.
K:The sooner, the better.
M:They'll be there in a minute. Sorry about the trouble.
Translation（译文）
K——客人 M——经理
（珍妮·金15分钟前住进她的房间。她惊讶地发现房间里一团糟。她要求见经理。）
M：发生什么事情了，夫人？
K：我需要的是酒店，而不是一个牛棚。我从没见过比这更恶心的酒店了。
M：房间没有打扫干净吗？
K：当然没有。浴室是一团糟。没有肥皂、毛巾，甚至手纸。
M：听到这个情况，我非常抱歉。我们为给您带来的不便表示歉意。我会调查此事，很快就回来。
（过了一会儿）
M：夫人，前厅和客房服务部门好像有点沟通问题。他们已经承诺给您安排一个完全达到标准的房间。
K：越快越好。
M：他们很快就到位。再次抱歉。
Words and expressions（单词和短语）
dealing with complaints处理投诉
mess混乱
manager经理
trouble麻烦
madam夫人；女士
accommodation住宿
cowshed牛棚
disgusting令人恶心的
bathroom浴室
soap肥皂
towel毛巾
toilet paper厕纸
extremely极其
apologize道歉
inconvenience不方便
look into调查
front office前厅
housekeeping department客房部
promise允诺
standard标准
communication沟通
break-down中断
Dialogue 2
G—Guest R—Receptionist
G:Good morning. I have a reservation for a single room. My name is Jeremy Lowell.
R:I'm sorry, sir. But we have already rented the room to someone else. And the hotel is all booked now.
G:Wait a minute. I made my reservation with this hotel two months ago. And now you tell me that I don't have a room here. You can't treat me like this. I'm an old customer of this hotel. Look, here is your confirmation letter.
R:I know. But if you had read our confirmation letter carefully you would have realized that we only have rooms for guests until 6:00 p.m. on the expected arrival date. We have no choice but to release the rooms if the guest fails to arrive before that time. You see it's already 9 o'clock now.
G:You know, I would have loved to check in before 6 o'clock more than anybody else. But the fact is that my flight has been delayed for three hours owing to bad weather.
R:I'm very sorry. But we do have no spare room. At this point, I can only try and see if I can get a room in a nearby hotel. We will arrange the transfer for you.
G:Well, that's the least you can do. I have to sleep somewhere.
R:Please take a seat and wait over there. I'll soon have something worked out for you.
Translation（译文）
G——客人 R——接待员
G：早上好。我预订了一间房。我的名字是杰里米·洛维。
R：对不起，先生。但是我们已经把那个房间租给别人了。现在酒店都订满了。
G：等一下。我两个月前就预订了。现在你告诉我，我在这里没有房间住了。你们不能这样对待我。我是这个酒店的老客户。看吧，这是你们的确认信。
R：我知道。但是如果您已经仔细阅读过我们的确认信，就会明白，我们只为客人保留房间到预抵日期的下午6点。如果客人没能在那个时间之前到达，我们别无选择，只能取消房间预订。您知道现在已经9点了。
G：你知道的，我比谁都希望6点之前入住。但事实是，我的航班由于恶劣天气影响而延误了三个小时。
R：我很抱歉。但是我们确实没有多余的房间。现在我只能试着看能否在附近的一家酒店找到一个房间。我们会安排送您过去。
G：嗯，这是你起码可以做到的。我必须有地方睡觉。
R：请在那边坐下，稍等一下。我会很快为您找到解决的办法。
Words and expressions（单词和短语）
treat对待
customer顾客
confirmation letter确认信
realize认识到
expect预期
arrival date到店日期
choice选择
release释放
fail做不到
delay耽误
owe to由于
spare空余的
arrange安排
transfer转运
least最少
work out想办法
Dialogue 3
G—Guest R—Receptionist
G:（Angrily）Housekeeping? I want to speak to the manager now！
R:Is there anything wrong, sir?
G:My laundry. It is badly washed. Your service is terrible！
R:Our manager will be up in a minute, sir.
（Later）
M:Mr. Jackson, I'm the housekeeping manager, Dennis. Is there anything I can do for you?
G:Please take a look at these clothes! There is a hole on this shirt when it came back. The sweater shrank badly even though your room attendant has guaranteed that they will be carefully washed.
M:I'm terribly sorry for the mistake. We will pay for the damage. Could you buy a new one and give us the receipt? We will refund it.
G:They are my birthday presents! They're irreplaceable.
M:I'm sorry to hear that. Please accept my apology on behalf of the hotel. Could you please let us compensate for the cost?
G:I'll buy a new one when I go back home. I'll send you the receipt then！
M:We'll send you a bank draft as soon as possible, sir. Please accept our apology again.
Translation（译文）
G——客人 R——接待员 M——经理
G:（愤怒地）是客房部吗？现在我想跟经理说话！
R：出什么事了，先生？
G：我的衣服被洗坏了。你们的服务真是太糟糕了！
R：先生，我们的经理一会儿就上去。
（稍后）
M：杰克逊先生，我是丹尼斯，客房部经理。有什么我可以帮忙的吗？
G：请看看这些衣服！送回来的时候这件衬衫上有一个洞。毛衣也严重缩水，虽然你的客户服务员保证过会小心洗涤。
M：我为这个错误感到非常抱歉。我们将赔偿损失。您可以买一件新的，然后给我们收据吗？我们将赔偿。
G：它们是我的生日礼物，是不可替代的！
M：我很抱歉听到这个消息。请接受我代表酒店向您道歉。能否让我们赔偿成本呢？
G：我回家后买个新的。我给你寄收据！
M：我们会尽快寄给您一张银行汇票，先生。请再次接受我们的道歉。
Words and expressions（单词和短语）
angrily生气地
laundry洗涤的衣物
shirt衬衫
hole洞
sweater毛衣
shrink缩水
room attendant服务员
guarantee保证
mistake错误
damage损坏
receipt收据
refund退款
irreplaceable不能替代的
accept接受
apology道歉
on behalf of代表
compensate赔偿
cost成本
bank draft银行汇票
Exercises（练习题）
I. Complete the sentences. （补全句子）
1. Can you change the room for me? It's too________.
能给我换个房间吗？这儿太吵了。
2. My wife was woken up several times by the noise the baggage________made.
我妻子被运送行李的电梯发出的嘈杂声弄醒了几次。
3. She said it was too________for her.
她说这使她难以忍受。
4. I'm awfully________,sir.
非常对不起，先生。
5. I do________.
我向您道歉。
6. No________,sir.
没问题，先生。
7. We'll manage it, but we don't have any________room today.
我们会尽力办到，但是今天我们没有空余房间。
8. Could you wait till________?
等到明天好吗？
9. I hope we'll be able to enjoy our stay in a quiet suite tomorrow evening and have a sound________.
我希望明天晚上我们能呆在一套安静的房间里睡个好觉。
10. And if there is anything more you need, please let us________.
如果还需要别的什么东西，请告诉我们。
11. The________in this room is too dim.
这房间里的灯光太暗了。
12. Please get me a________one.
请给我换个更亮的。
13. Certainly, sir. I'll be________right away.
好的，先生，我马上就回来。
14. The room is too cold for me. I feel rather________when I sleep.
这房间太冷了，我睡觉时感到很冷。
15. We might have overlooked some________.
我们可能忽略了一些细小的地方。
16. I'll look________this matter at once.
我马上去查清这件事情。
17. There could have been some________. I do apologize.
可能是出了什么差错，实在是对不起。
18. Our manager is not in town. Shall I get our________manager for you?
我们的经理不在本地。我帮您叫经理助理来好吗？
19. To express our regret for all the________,we offer you complimentary flowers.
我们给您带来了这么多麻烦，为表达歉意，特为您提供免费花篮。
20. Please allow me to________a chambermaid to your room to help you look for it again thoroughly.
请允许我派一个服务员来帮您在房间里再仔细找找。
21. Shall I call the________for you?
我帮您报警好吗？
II. Make a dialogue according to the following situation. （创作情景对话）
酒店误安排给了之前来的另一位同姓名的客人了，此时房间已经客满，酒店安排其到另一家酒店，并付给客人打车费。客人让不满意，要求给说法。请根据以上情景，创作一篇不少于100个单词的英文对话。