GREETING, FAREWELL, AND CHIT-CHAT
First impressions last a life time, or at least until the guests check out, so it is
important to make a good first impression. There are numerous expressions that can be
used when first greeting people. Some are very formal and appropriate for greeting guests
and some are more informal and should only be used with friends or co-workers.
Obviously,employees of the hotel industry should use the more formal
expressions, however the less formal expressions will also be presented to give you a
well balanced repertoire to choose from.
Expressions- Greetings
Formal Expressions
Good morning (sir/ma’am)
Good afternoon (sir/ma’am). Welcome to (name of hotel/shop, etc)
Good evening (sir/ma’am)
How are you this morning (afternoon, evening, today)?
Less Formal Expressions
Hello
Hi
What’s up?
How’s it going?
Of course, after the greeting, the dialogue must be continued, and what is said then
depends on the situation. When interacting with hotel guests that continued
interaction usually involves determining what the guest wants or needs.
A couple of standards that can be used in the hotel industry are:
How can I help you today Ma’am (sir)?
Can I be of assistance?
How may I assist you?
May I assist you with anything?
What can I do for you today?
Dialogue- Greetings
Staff : Good morning Ma’am. Welcome to the (…hotel)
Guest : Thank you.
Staff : How can I help you today?
Guest : I’m here for a (….massage).
Conversation Activities- Greetings
Practice using the above expressions by having a dialogue similar to the ones above with a
partner, one partner taking the role of the guest and the other the role of the staff.
After the introductions it is only natural to continue the conversation in some way. Many
people inquire about your well being, especially with friends, acquaintances, and co-
workers.
Several expressions can be used for this, and the responses to these questions depend
on how you actually feel. Look at these examples:
Expressions for Well Being
IF GOOD
How are you? Great.
How’s it going? Couldn’t be better.
How has your day been? Fantastic.
IF SO-SO
How have you been? Could be worse.
How’s the family? Fair to middling.
Did you have a good day? I can’t complain.
IF BAD
How do you feel? Not too good.
How was your day? I’ve had better days.
Have you had a good day? No, it was lousy.
After greeting, introductions, and polite conversation people will go their separate ways.
There are numerous expressions that can be used when giving farewells. Some are more
formal than others. Obviously the more formal expressions are more appropriate when
interacting with guests. Look at the examples below.
Expressions for Farewells
More Formal expressions
Goodbye
Thank you for coming. Have a pleasant day.
Goodbye, please come again.
Goodbye, I hope to see you again.
Less Formal Goodbyes
See you later (soon) So long
Good bye Bye
I have to run I have to be going now
Catch you later Later
See you again Please come again
The informal expressions above can be used among friends and co-workers, but would be
too informal to use with guests.
Point to remember
Bye-Bye is an expression that very young children use when they are first
beginning to talk, or on rare occasions by women, but almost never by adult males.
INTRODUCTION SELF AND OTHERS
Expressions of introduction self Expressions of introduction others
First, let me introduce myself.
I would like to introduce you to ....
My name is .... Let me introduce you to ...
Allow me to introduce myself. This ...
I'm ...
Allow me to introduce ....
Excuse me my name's ... How do you I'd like you to meet ...
do? My name is .... Do you know ...
Hi! I'm ... Oh look, here's Peter.
Hello! My name is ... Good
morning. My name's ...
Useful responses when introducing yourself or other people:
Nice to meet you. ■ Pleased to meet you.
Happy to meet you. ■ How do you do?
ACTIVITY
What would you say to introduce yourself or others based on the
situation below
1. You are attending a tourism seminar. You are asked to introduce yourself in
front of audiences.
2.This is the first day of school. You need to introduce yourself to your friends.
3. You have new friend in your class. How would you introduce his/her in front of
class?
Cultural notes:
“At work, one person may have higher status – your boss, or a client, for
example.
It's polite to address them as Mr / Ms until the situation becomes more
informal.
If someone says, "Please call me (Henry)", you know you can use first
names. If someone uses your first name, you can use their first name too.
“How do you do?” isn’t really a question. It just means “Hello”.
To make people know you better, here are things to mention
when introducing yourself:
# full name, e.g My full name is ... My complete name is ...
# nick name, e.g My nick name is ... You can call me ...
# address (where do you live), e.g I live in/on/at ... My address is ...
# age, e.g I am ... years old. I was born on May 21, 1976
# state or nationality, e.g I am Indonesian.
# hobby and likes/dislikes, e.g My hobby is ... My hobbies are ...
I like ... I don’t like ...
# job/profession, e.g I am a teacher
# language, e.g I speak English. I don’t speak Mandarin.
Polite or Impolite Questions
Look at the following questions. Are they polite or not polite when you meet
someone for the first time in North America?
1. What does your wife do? ■ POLITE ■ NOT
2. What is your religion? ■ POLITE POLITE
■ NOT
POLITE
3. How much is your salary ■ POLITE ■ NOT
4. How many children do you have? ■ POLITE POLITE
■ NOT
5. Why aren’t you married? ■ POLITE POLITE
■ NOT
6. Do you like football? ■ POLITE POLITE
■ NOT
7. Where are you going? ■ POLITE POLITE
■ NOT
POLITE
