Can Hospitality Employees Be Too Polite?
This is not a rant but a question. I am not complaining, I am just observing the staff in the Four Points Sheraton during my last visit to Jakarta.
Upon arrival, my room was not ready, so I had free drinks. I went to the hotel restaurant and sat down. The place was empty except for the staff that was having a meeting with whom I guessed was the manager. In a few minutes, many people entered the restaurant and a training session began. I thought they were serving food; however, they were only pretending.
What I noticed was typical Indonesian behavior and over politeness. Yes, the young men and women were so polite that I felt like saying something to the manager. I didn’t as it was not my place but then…
More Treats.
I entered my room dropped my stuff and went in the hallway to create some content when two young ladies came along with a cart that had sweets on them. As they went past, I asked jokingly, “Are those for me?”.
Not thinking it was I laughed it off until they stopped at my door that was not locked since I was doing content. They brought me some sweets with juice and a welcome letter. This is typical as I have stayed in Four Points Sheraton in Bali a few times. Nevertheless, it is a nice touch. During meals, breakfast, or coffee the staff does their best to remember the guest’s names and by day two I was greeted as Mr. Zsemba when I went to the hotel restaurant. This is where the over-politeness came from.
Over Polite?
Well, yes and no. It was amazing to see that nearly every staff was very polite. However, every one of them asked me if I would like coffee, scrambled eggs, or juice. This was getting a bit annoying by the fifth day. They did remember I loved my latte; they did remember I loved cheese. But they still asked me about the juice and eggs.
Everyone smiled and everyone was super nice. If you know Indonesians, they tend to be shy and polite by nature, especially the ladies. However, here the young men were also so polite that they needed a little bit of assertiveness. A little sharper, Good Morning! How are you? As opposed to good morning? How are you? Every word was a question, every word was so carefully chosen that I knew it was scripted. It came from the handbook that they took home and learned each phrase as opposed to being themselves. I guess that’s what the hotel wants and that’s what they need. However, these poor souls have been assimilated and taken out of their comfort zones. Yet they also need to teach them to be themselves.
