Handling Guest or

Customer Diversities
Preferred by: Carina David
Objective:

The objective of this presentation is to determine on

how to properly handling Guest diversity, providing
great customers experience across cultures.
Diversity is differences
in racial and ethnic,
socioeconomic,
geographic, and
academic/professional
backgrounds, religious
beliefs, political beliefs,
sexual orientations,
heritage, and life
experience.

https://boardmember.com/what-boards-can-learn-about-
diversity-from-hp /
As tourism professionals, handling our guests or
customers is the most important responsibility we
perform day in and day out.
Our customers or guests are, the people who are
paying our respective companies for a service, be it
an airline ticket, a hotel room, a limousine ride, a
buffet lunch, or a package tour.

These customers or guests are as diverse as the

stars in the heavens, no one customer or guest is
like the other. We must live with this reality in our
professional lives.
Introduction
There is nothing wrong with having to deal with
multitudes of different personalities daily in the first
place. As a matter of fact, tourism professionals ARE
AMONG THE MOST BLESSED WORKERS IN THE WORLD
FOR THIS UNIQUE SITUATION. Therefore we should be
grateful that we exist in a multicultural diverse
environment every minute of our working day. It is
blessing, not a curse.
 TRAITS OF A GOOD EMPLOYEE IN HANDLING
GUEST DIVERSITY.
1. LEARN HOW TO BE A GOOD LISTENER
In our world, which is full of diverse personalities,
tourism professional is expected to lead the way in
bringing people from all parts of the globe
together. An staff who are good listener will always
know what is being asked. Guests can easily be
irritated by staff who do not easily understand
their statements, much less their questions. In
extreme cases though, staff should tactfully ask https://ncfchurch.net/sermons-
the guests to repeat their statement or question. archive/listen-carefully/
Here are five
techniques of a good
listener:

1. Maintain eye
contact with the
speaker.

https://www.verywellmind.com/how-do-i-maintain-good-eye-contact-
3024392
2. Listen very carefully with
sincere interest.
3. Empathize when
necessary
4. Seek clarification to
ensure complete
understanding.
5. Always keep an open https://corpmediapl.wordpress.com/2016/11/01/wh
at-great-listeners-actually-do/
mind.
 2. Go beyond the basics of being friendly

In our industry, being courteous and friendly is a

basic requirement. Some staff take this a little bit to
naively. If they greet a customer or guest with a
smile, they are doing what is expected of them at the
minimum. GOOD TOURISM PROFESSIONALS KNOW TO
ENGAGE THEIR GUESTS WITH SOME
CONVERSATIONAL BANTER. They generally
appreciate talking about their countries, their
nationalities, or some prominent people you know
from these countries.
The advantage of Pilipino tourism
professionals is that we have the
facility of speaking english and, are
by nature, friendly, talkative people.
We should use these advantages to
our benefit. A word of caution though:
be sensitive when it is time to stop
the banter and allow the customer or
guest some privacy. This should be
our benchmardk: Knowing when to https://www.google.com/search?q=learn+how+to+stop+talking+so+much&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjPx9mZsOjvAhWKL6YKHZSqBbAQ2-
cCegQIABAA&oq=learn+how+to+stop+ta&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQARgAMgQIABAYMgQIABAYMgQIABAYOgYIABAFEB5QzaMBWKzuAWCfjgJoAn
AAeAGAAe8BiAGRDJIBBTQuNC4zmAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWfAAQE&sclient=img&ei=La1rYI_9CYrfmAWU1ZaACw&bih=657&biw=134

talk and when to stop and keep quiet. 9&hl=en#imgrc=ceWVhtiDnUmgqM&imgdii=JPRn49yUOz6lvM

It is very easy to be fiendly.

What is the Golden rule of Confucius?
The golden rule of our industry and the
golden rule of us being a human.
“ Do unto others as you would
not want others to do unto you”
3. Enbrance all differences.

Multicultural diversity is about embracing

everything we are not. We do not necessarily
have to love or to agree to everything that is
not us, but we can be respectful or other
religions, languages and dialects, customs
and traditions. And sexual prefernces.
 4. Understand to be understood
When diversity is the norm in your workplace, being
understanding of the faults or shortcomings of others,
especially your customers or guests. Is a very good way to
opening the doors to a mutually beneficial interaction at any
particular moment. This could lead not only to mutually
beneficial interaction, but also a long-term relationships.
The bingger aspect of deciding in become more
understanding of others is that it makes you an even better
person and a better industry practitioner in general.
5. Become a walking Wikipedia
Regarding knowledge about countries,
nationalities, cultures, traditions, and religions,
tourism professionals should learn as much as
possible. By so doing, you will be able to have
meaningful conversations with your customers
or guests when these conversations are merits.
6. Observe the basic rule of engagement
In the instances previously mentioned, you are engaged in a
conversation or interaction with the customer or guest;
therefore, you must be able to observe the basic rules of
engagement.

The first rule is to look at the customer or guest in the eye at all
appropriate times. This will make the customer feel they are
most important person you are engaging with at the moment .
second rule to greet the customer or guest not by calling them
Sir or Ma;am baby calling them by their name . Third and fiale
rule si that at he end of the conversation or engagement, you
hank the customer or gues and wish them to see them again .
 7. Be yourself
In everything , be yourself you are a
microcosm of the bigger version of
yourself, which is supposed to be your
company, even though companies are
clear about their vision, mission and
values you, on the other hand, as an
individual , will have to see, how our
individuality can complement your
company’s brand identity. Always
remember that the industry is not a
theater nor a movies it is real life, real
time. https://www.google.com/search?q=be+yourself+&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiz27-vt-jvAhVUTZQKHYubCbMQ2-
cCegQIABAA&oq=be+yourself+&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzIHCAAQsQMQQzIECAAQQzICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAOgUIABCxA1Du1jVY
-4c2YN-KNmgBcAB4BYABmwSIAfwtkgEMMy4xMy42LjEuMy4ymAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWewAQDAAQE&sclient=img&ei=sbRrYPO-
ONSa0QSLt6aYCw&bih=657&biw=1349&hl=en#imgrc=KpgzmYpJKsq4gM
Thank you!
 References:
● Yeung, M.A.(2019). Multicultural Diversity in Workplace. Edric Publishing House

● How will you define diversity? (PDF)

https://sph.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/112/2013/07/define_diversity.pdf

● https://boardmember.com/what-boards-can-learn-about-diversity-from-hp/

● https://www.verywellmind.com/how-do-i-maintain-good-eye-contact-3024392

● https://ncfchurch.net/sermons-archive/listen-carefully/

● https://corpmediapl.wordpress.com/2016/11/01/what-great-listeners-actually-do/

● www.google.com/search?
q=learn+how+to+stop+talking+so+much&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjPx9mZsOjvAhWKL6YKHZSqBbAQ2-
cCegQIABAA&oq=learn+how+to+stop+ta&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQARgAMgQIABAYMgQIABAYMgQIABAYOgYIABAFEB
5QzaMBWKzuAWCfjgJoAnAAeAGAAe8BiAGRDJIBBTQuNC4zmAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWfAAQE&sclient=im
g&ei=La1rYI_9CYrfmAWU1ZaACw&bih=657&biw=1349&hl=en#imgrc=ceWVhtiDnUmgqM&imgdii=JPRn49yUOz6lvM