The deployment of politeness strategies in Hospitality
After entering our hotel room my wife shared a few observations with me on how our arrival was handled at the front desk and how it should have been done – given that it was a 5-star resort hotel in Sri Lanka. Firstly: about the receptionist, who checked us in and telling me, “Can you fill this registration form?” Secondly: her asking me “Give me your ID” and thirdly when she beckoned a bellman and told us “he will show you to your room now”.
According to Mehroon my wife, who is an internationally qualified teacher of ‘English as a second language’, the receptionist’s instructions, whilst no doubt unintentional, seemed outright commanding. What she should have been trained to say instead, could have been: “May I request you to fill this registration form”, “would you mind if I saw your ID” and “ Dominic our bellman would be happy to show you both to your room.” All of which are examples of a politeness strategy that makes a request in an indirect manner. My wife’s comments got me thinking…and hence this article.
When dealing with guests, politeness and professionalism exhibited by hotel staff will determine the level of success and represents a cornerstone in fostering a positive outcome. Politeness is regarded as a basic feature of social intercourse that scripts several behaviours, both verbal and non verbal.
In hospitality, politeness manifests itself through greetings, being attentive and eager to serve, actively listening and demonstrating respectful staff behaviour. Identity for instance, is a politeness strategy, where calling guests by name such as Mr.Wahab or Mrs. Wahab, adds that human touch of recognition and importance Unfortunately, the majority of hotels I’ve stayed at seem stuck in that awful impersonal mode of addressing every guest as “Sir” or “Madam” – despite having obtained their names.
Interestingly, technological advances, has complicated the politeness-satisfaction dance in the hospitality industry. Politeness algorithms integrated into AI platforms to engage guests with elevated courteous interactions is hard to ignore. Staff in many hotels could well learn a thing or two on politeness from these Chatbots and virtual assistants.
At the heart of this is the English language which serves as a bridging language to global travelers. Unfortunately, language barriers often go unnoticed with many hotels failing to recognise this. Training programmes aimed at equipping staff with the necessary linguistic skills and knowledge, to effectively employ politeness strategies, during their interaction with guests, is almost non - existent.
Although a high percentage of hospitality workers in Sri Lanka claim to know English as a second language, they struggle to speak fluently when expressing hospitality specific conversations. Others may feel confident in writing but are hesitant to speak with guests face-to-face. Hence in some hotels one encounters hush-pitality rather than hospitality.
Knowing a language is not the same as using it frequently. Hotel operators in Sri Lanka employ frontline service staff who they believe are bilingual. I.e. they can speak English as a second language. That’s because Sinhalese, also known as Sinhala, is the first language of the majority of Sri Lankans being bilingual isn't black-and-white. Being bilingual is a two-dimensional construct with two linked parts. The first of these is language proficiency, and the second is language use -both of which crucially interlock.
For example, during my time in Germany, when following a 2-year degree course in Hotel Management conducted entirely in German, I was very proficient in that language. But now, as I have not used my German for a very long time, I struggle to string together a few sentences in that language. The takeaway: the more proficient your staff is in a second language, and the more they use it in their daily life, the more bilingual they will be.
Shafeek Wahab – Editor, Hospitality Sri Lanka, Consultant, Trainer, Motivational Speaker, Mystery Guest Auditor, Ex-Hotelier
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