I – interviewer; B - Begona
It’s my job
By Abdol Sadeghi
Many Westerners aren’t sure, where Tehran is. But for 29-year-old Abdol Sadeghi, manager of the Tigran Hotel complex, the Iranian capital is both his home and his place of work. Why did Abdol choose to work in the hotel trade ? Which part of hotel work does he like best ? What does he do in his free time ? Read on and find out.
How long have you been in the hotel business ?
I started very young – when I was twelve years old.
Why did you start so early ?
My father believes that a good manager must know every part of the job. I started cleaning the toilets, working as a waiter, and so on. He wanted me to try every aspect of the job, and not to start immediately as a manager.
Of course, you are not just a manager now ?
No, I’m vice-president of our group, too.
What keeps you going ?
I like my job. And it’s a family business. It’s what I can do to help my family.
And what do you enjoy most about your job ?
Reception work, of course, because that puts me right in contact with the public.
An average day ?
I don’t think we have average days in our business. Most days I work twelve hours … but it depends on the day. Sometimes I work seventeen hours. But in the low season, I can usually get two days or three days off a week.
What do you do with that time ?
Go out with friends, ski in winter, surf the Internet … visit my parents and my sister.
Just the sort of things anyone of his age does. Except for one thing. His mother and sister are in the Turkey branch of the business, and his father managers another complex in the north of Iran. Hotels run in the family.
Вправа 1.2
Common problems
R- receptionist
G –guest
Situation 1
| R: | Can I help you ? |
| G: | Hi, this is room 418. I’ve just got into the room and, well, I asked for non-smoking room. |
| R: | Just one minute, please. You are in 418 ? |
| G: | That’s right. |
| R: | 418 is a non-smoking room, madam. |
| G: | Well, I’m afraid, that somebody’s been smoking in here. It smells really strongly of tobacco. |
| R: | Oh, I’m very sorry about that. Would you like to change rooms ? |
| G: | Yes, I think I’d better that. |
| R: | OK. I’ll issue a new key right away and get the porter to help you to change. |
| G: | Thanks very much. |
| R: | Not at all, madam. And I apologize for the inconvenience. |
Situation 2
| G: | Hi. It’s cold in my room and I can’t get the heating to come on. |
| R: | I’m afraid there’s no nothing I can do about it. The heating’s off in the whole building until October. |
| G: | Until October ! You’re not seriously ? The weather forecast on TV said it would drop to 6 degrees tonight. |
| R: | I’ll get the housekeeper to give you an extra blanket. |
| G: | Well, I’m grateful, but I don’t want to get into bed yet. I need to work. You know, sitting at the table. |
| R: | Well, I’m sorry, but the only thing I can do is get you a blanket. |
Вправа 1.3
Look at the list of common problems about which two people are complaining to the receptionist and in each case:
1. identify the problem from the list
2. decide who should normally deal with it:
| a. the receptionist | b. another department | c. the duty manager |
1) air-conditioning does not work
2) room too cold
3) shower does not work
4) not enough light in the bathroom
5) noise from the street / other room
6) TV image poor
7) cannot connect to Internet
8) cannot get the play-TV channels
9) room service slow
10) non-smoking room smells of smoke
Вправа 1.4
Read again and decide if each receptionist has dealt with the problem effectively. If not, identify what they did wrong and say what should have happened.
Вправа 1.5
Look at the other problems in the list and decide how they can best be dealt with. Report your decisions.
Вправа 2.1
Read and translate:
It’s my job
By Begona Pozo
Fifteen years ago Begona Pozo and her sister opened a travel agency because they both love to travel. Now she is the European agent for Myanmar Gold, a specialist tour operator for Burma. What do you think she likes about her job ?
Now read on.
Begona says:
… about her job. I love to sell and to work in the office… to try to introduce the place to my clients, and to show them the place and tell them that they have to go there,
… about Burma. Burma has started to attract tourists from all around the world. It’s very beautiful and everything is so traditional.
… about Burmese people. They’re always smiling. And very often they give you presents because they are Buddhists. You can tell that religion is really important to them.
… about Asia.I think that people in Europe are as friendly as in Asia. Asian people are very friendly. On Thai Airways the flight attendants always bow when you enter the plane. On European airlines they often stand with their arms crossed. Asian culture is more polite.
Вправа 2.2
Read and translate about Begona’s main job who is organizing escorted tours of Burma, in south-east Asia.
The ‘Peace in Burma’ tour
I – interviewer; B - Begona
| I: | What are the features of Burma that interest people from Europe ? |
| B: | It’s very peaceful. That’s an important feature. Burma doesn’t have a lot of tourists compared to Vietnam, Cambodia, especially compared to Thailand ? |
| I: | What else does Burma offer ? |
| B: | There are very good beaches and we are starting to have very good hotels also. |
| I: | Is it mainly beach tourism, or are there cultural attractions that people are going to Burma to see ? |
| B: | Well, cultural attractions are the most common reason for visiting Burma. |
| I: | Can you give us details of what sort of things people see ? |
| B: | Yes. We always start with Yangon or Rangoon, which is the capital of Burma. We stay there overnight the first night and the last night, when we enter and leave the country. And we always visit Bagan. Bagan is full of temples. It has more than 2,000 temples so our groups always stay there three nights, and they get to see a lot of the temples. Also they can rent a bicycle, they can go a very by horse drawn carriage and it’s interesting place. You can go down the river in Bagan too, and that’s very nice. |
| I: | Where do you go after Bagan ? |
| B: | After Bagan the second place we go to is Lake Inle, which is also amazing. We do a lot of trekking by Inle and also in the mountains, which are about one hour away by car. And we go to the floating markets there – people always like that. And then we move to Mandalay, which is in the middle of the country and is very traditional. And we go to the school of Buddhism, also in Mandalay. |
| I: | Wow. That sounds interesting! |
| B: | Yes, Mandalay’s lovely. And then we move to the beach. We use to fly from Yangon or Mandalay to Thandwe, and then to Nhapali. We stay there two nights, and the beach is very, very beautiful. |
| I: | Is it difficult to persuade people to go to Burma ? |
| B: | A little. The thing is that we find that people don’t know anything about Burma. They are very scared, so we try to teach them, we try to tell them where it is located, that it’s a very safe place, and we are like teachers with them, because they don’t know what it is. |
Вправа 2.3
Answer the questions after reading the text:
1. Why do you think people visit Burma ?
2. What is the main problem Begona has when she tries to get people to go to Burma ?
3. Which activities can people do ?
4. Decide in which places can the tourists do their activities ?
| Place | Activity | |
| [ ] | Bagan | Rent a bicycle |
| [ ] | Bago | Spend some time at the beach |
| [ ] | Inle | Visit a school of Buddhism |
| [ ] | Mandalay | Go trekking in the mountains |
| [ ] | Ngapali | Practise yoga |
| [ ] | Sittwe | Visit the city’s floating markets |
| [ ] | Thailand | Visit some of the many temples |
| [ ] | Thandwe | Go horse riding |
| [ ] | Yangon | Visit the capital city |