The hotel receptionist
4.4 Rules to assist the receptionist to develop a good telephone manner and technique
A good receptionist must develop a telephone personality – remembering that you cannot be seen; only heard. Te voice must be well modulated, the spoken words clear and distinct, and the tone of voice friendly, interested and helpful. It should never sound mechanical, indifferent or impatient.
Te following simple rules will help develop a good telephone manner and technique:
• Answer the telephone promptly and make a habit of picking up a pencil and notepad at the same time – being kept waiting will make the caller impatient.
• Greet the caller pleasantly with: ‘good morning’ or ‘good aſternoon’ or ‘good evening’ – never ‘hallo’ – and then identify the establishment, e.g. Protea Hotel Stellenbosch, or if it is an internal call, answer: ‘good morning, reception desk’.
• Callers usually respond by giving their name and stating their business, but if they do not, tactfully ask: ‘who is calling please?’ or ‘may I help you?’
• Listen attentively, and if information or details have to be recorded, write them down clearly and legibly, as they are given.
• If a message has to be taken, be certain to record the date, time of message, who it is for, and who it is from, and always repeat the message back to the caller to ensure that the details are correct.
• When receiving incoming calls for executives or management, always establish who the caller is and, if possible, the nature of his or her business, and then check whether the member of staff wishes to accept the call. Busy executives should not be bothered by trifling matters, so the receptionist must learn how to classify calls and route them to the person best suited to deal with them.
• Answer the telephone promptly – within two to three rings. 4.5 The use of telephone communications in the front office
In larger hotels, the switchboard is the nerve centre of the hotel and a hotel telephone operator might be appointed to handle all the telephone communication of the hotel including the front office.
Duties and responsibilities for such a position can include (take note of the important role of technology in this position): • Answers incoming calls.
• Directs call to guest rooms, staff, or departments through the switchboard or PBX system. • Places outgoing calls.
• Receives guest messages and delivers it to the guest.
• Logs all wake-up call requests and performs wake-up call services. • Provides information about hotel services to guests.
• Understands the telephone operator board or PBX switchboard operations. • Provides paging services for hotel guests and employees. • Knows what action to take when an emergency call is required.
• Monitors automated systems including fire alarms and telephone equipment when engineering and maintenance department is closed.
• Assists in reporting telephone equipment or service complaints and problems. • Trains or assists with training new telephone operators in performance of job duties. • Is fully aware of and adheres to health and safety, fire and bomb threat procedures.
• Multitasking abilities will always come in handy, because a switchboard operator may be asked to do other jobs as well.
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