Posts

CPD Showcase Reflection

It has come to the end of our Career and Professional Development module and this journey have been a fruitful and enjoyable one. To conclude the module, we attended a CPD showcase that was put together by the selected students from each class. During the showcase, we watched seven outstanding presentations prepared by my fellow coursemates. They were equally superb and I have personally benefitted from all of them. This could be because the topics chosen were closely related to the hospitality industry. Hospitality, being a service-driven industry, it is important for students to be well equipped with the relevant skills to deal with challenges. Be it bullying, handling of difficult customers or sexual harassment, the presentation by each team have taught us the importance of knowing how to deal with such challenges when faced with one. In my opinion, the team that left the deepest impression was the second presenting group consisting of Cassandra and team. The team'

Project Synopsis Draft 2

Title: How to Politely Decline a Request in the Hospitality Industry? 1. Introduction This report will address an interpersonal communication problem within a hotel industry. The team has chosen to explore methods on how one can decline a request politely, be it from the guest or their bosses. 1.1. Workplace Context The nature of work within the hotel industry is highly labour intensive and has increasingly harsh environmental demands imposed on it (Sampson, 2014). Employees working in the hotel face challenges that include tough deadlines, unexpected challenges from guests, long working hours, high emotional demands, shift work and little control (Kristensen, Hannerz and Tuchsen, 2002). Studies have shown that individuals working in the hotel industry show signs of stress and overwork, due to demands placed by organisations (Ajgaonkar, 2006). The hotel industry is being characterised by fatigue due to little breaks, long working hours and unpredictable shifts (Wa

Project Synopsis Draft 1

Topic: How to Politely Decline a Request in Hospitality Industry Introduction Regardless of how narcissistic one is, there will always be situations where we are pressured to please others. We have all agreed to requests and subtle demands in order to not disappoint or anger the other party. By doing so, we would sacrifice our own happiness and time for others’ by doing things just to get in their good books. Although it is commendable, however, there should be a limit to occasional favours and servitude. This issue is especially apparent in the hospitality industry, where we are constantly faced with different requests; from guests and our colleagues. In this study, the team will focus mainly on front-of-house communication between employees and suggest ways to reject requests from colleagues in a tactful manner. This skill is transferable, allowing the employees who are situated at the front-of-house to use it on guests as well. Problem Identification Having to d

Self Reflection: Interpersonal Communication Problems

This incident happened a few years ago and it has made me more aware of someone's verbal and non-verbal cues ever since. Due to confidentiality, I will address her as Jeyna in this post. Jeyna and I were best friends in secondary school and it has always been that way up till my third year in polytechnic. Being in different polytechnics, it was difficult to match our schedules as both of us had many commitments. We needed to juggle between school, CCA and our part-time work. The same year, Jeyna also had her first boyfriend. Perhaps because of our varying priorities, we started to drift apart. Few months later, Jeyna called me out of the blue and asked if I was free one day to meet her. Judging from the tone of her voice, it sounded pretty serious. I decided I would set some time aside to catch up with my old best friend. When I walked in the coffee place that we decided to meet at, I almost could not recognise her. She looked so... different, but I cannot quite put it int

Service Recovery Letter

Dear Mrs. Goldstein, First of all, I would like to thank you for sharing with us your feedback. Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ho Pei Qi, a guest service agent at Marina Bay Sands Singapore. On behalf of the hotel, I would like to express our deepest regret for your unsatisfactory stay with us. At Marina Bae Waters, we strive to provide our guests with the most memorable stay possible. Hence, every feedback is crucial for our continuous improvement. The issues that you have brought up were passed along to the relevant departments and after conducting a comprehensive investigation, please allow me to explain some of the issues you have faced. With regards to the malfunctioning room key, the hotel is currently in the process of upgrading our old key locks. The upgrade has caused technical faults on many of our key locks. However, upon completion of all upgrades by the 19th March 2018, we assure you such issues will not reoccur again. As for the poor atti

Formal Introduction Email

To: Brad Blackstone From: Ho Pei Qi Date: January 23, 2018 Subject: Formal Introduction Email Dear Brad, I am a second-year Hospitality Business undergraduate at Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT). It has been my pleasure being a student in your Career and Professional Development class. My purpose of writing to you today is to formally introduce myself. Prior to my degree studies in SIT, I graduated with a Diploma in Restaurant and Culinary Operations. As my diploma suggests, I have great interest in the Food and Beverage (F&B) sector. During my diploma studies, I had the opportunity to partake in an internship at One Farrer Hotel and Spa as a trainee chef. Being in a safe school environment all my life, the kitchen was a scary place. The chefs were intimidating and extremely stern. However, it was this short six months that have taught me most in life. Aside from becoming more attentive to details and disciplined, I have also picked up som