Unit 16　The Art of Managing a Tour导游带团艺术

170.List some possible reasons that tourists might complain.（列举一些可能会引发游客投诉的原因。）

Tour guides usually face the following complaints:

★When some new tour guides speak too fast, tourists may miss what they are talking. In this case they may complain of tour guides’ poor language competence.

★When the tour guide is making narration on the coach, tourists can’t hear the guide talking as the microphone is of bad condition or the engine at the back of the coach is too noisy.

★In the hotel, tourists might complain that their room is smoky or the water closet doesn’t work at all. If the hotel room is not well sound-proof, tourists might complain that they can’t sleep well at night.

★When tourists are having dinner in the local restaurants, they might complain the food is not hot enough. The vegetarian might want to have more choices while the restaurants only prepare Toufu or bok-choy which is too simple. After tourists have had quite a few Chinese meals, they might complain that most meals are the same.

★Tourists are of different ages, careers and educational background, so they have different expectations from tour guides. Some new tour guides may fi nd it diffi cult to adjust themselves to different groups. If the guide can’t answer questions raised by tourists or the guide ignores the tourists’ special requests, tourists will complain.

★Most foreign tourists don’t like surprises. If there are uncertain situations that may affect the tour, the tour guide had better let the tourists know beforehand.

导游有可能接到以下投诉：

☆有些新导游讲解语速很快，游客没听明白导游的讲解。在这种情况下，游客会投诉导游的语言能力欠佳。

☆当导游在旅游车上讲解时，由于麦克风效果不好或是因为后排引擎的噪声太大，导致游客听不见讲解。

☆在酒店，游客可能会抱怨房间有烟味或者洗手间不好用。如果房间不隔音，游客会抱怨他们整夜无法入睡。

☆游客在餐厅用餐时，可能会抱怨菜不热。素食者希望有更多的选择但餐厅只提供简单的豆腐或白菜。游客吃过几顿中餐后常常会抱怨菜品没变化。

☆游客年龄、职业和教育背景各不相同，他们对导游员的要求也是不同的。一些新导游很难根据不同的旅行团调整自己的服务。如果导游无法回答游客提出的问题，或者忽视游客的诉求，游客很容易投诉。

☆大多数外国人不喜欢惊喜，如果有什么可能会影响行程的不确定因素，最好提前告诉游客。

【备注】国外游客的投诉往往涉及导游的讲解、餐饮安排、住宿条件、导游综合服务素质及不确定因素导致的变化。实际操作中，对于已经解决的投诉，如不涉及违反合同原则的，导游在顺利解决后，可酌情考虑是否向旅行社汇报。如此，旅行社会认为该导游的控团能力、解决问题能力、处理事故的能力强，遇到特殊团队会优先安排。

171.How do you deal with complaints?（如何应对游客投诉？）

★Be patient with tourists’ complaint.

★If the complaint makes sense, sincerely apologize for the inconvenience arising from it and promise to do something to improve your work.

★If the complaint gives a rise to serious consequence, report it to the office and wait for the instruction to resolve it.

★Handle complaints according to law and regulation; minimize the side effects of the case.

★Keep a record of the case when the tour is over.

☆耐心听取游客投诉。

☆如游客投诉合理，向他们表示诚恳道歉，并承诺改进工作。

☆如投诉内容已造成严重后果，报告旅行社等待指示。

☆依法答复，依规处理，尽量降低事件负面影响。

☆行程结束后，提交报告留档。

【备注】面对游客投诉，导游首先要耐心地听取意见。“听” 包括五个层次：同理心倾听、专心地听、有选择地听、假装听和忽略地听。导游在面对游客投诉时，首先应带着理解的愿望去听，而不是准备去回应，即同理心倾听。如果导游对每一次投诉能收集尽可能多的信息，并跟踪所收到的所有投诉，了解这些投诉是如何处理的以及处理的最佳方法。就可以用这种方式可以持续提升他/她的服务质量。(If the guide can gather as much information regarding the complaint as possible and then keep track of all the complaints he/she has received, how these complaints are dealt with and which methods appear to work the best, the guide may keep improving his/her service.)

172.What will you do when someone blames everything unpleasant on you?（当游客将所有不满归因于导游，导游应如何对待？）

★If part of his/her complaint is related to your service and makes sense, sincerely apologize. Let it be known that you will try everything possible to improve your work.

★If his/her complaints don’t make any sense at all, smile and say “Let me think about it and see what I can do.”

★If his/her complaint is related to the arrangement of the program, transportation vehicles, food, etc., notify the offi ce and try to fi nd out whether something can be done to ease the grievance of the tourist.

★If all your efforts are in vain to calm down the tourist who complains all the time due to his/her own emotional or psychological reasons, try to get better understanding and support from the great majority of the group.

☆如游客投诉的部分内容与导游服务有关并有一定的道理，导游应诚恳道歉并承诺尽力改进工作。

☆如投诉内容完全不合理，仍应保持微笑并灵活应对，如回答：“让我看看，能为您做些什么？”

☆如投诉涉及行程安排、交通工具、餐饮等，导游应向旅行社及时反映并尽力缓解游客的不满情绪。

☆如游客因个人情绪或心理原因，事事抱怨，而导游的所有努力均无明显效果，那就尽量争取赢得绝大多数游客对自己工作的理解和支持。

【备注】导游是旅游业中与各要素关联最多的从业人员，是各种矛盾和利益关系的交会点，也因此成为目前中国旅游市场乱象频发的焦点。在诸多旅游投诉中，导游这个群体已成为民众关注甚至指责的对象。化解游客不满情绪、应对游客投诉的能力是一名合格导游必备的工作能力。

173.How will you establish a good relationship with the central fi gure of the group?（导游带团中该如何处理好与旅行团的“中心人物”的关系？）

★Recognize the central fi gure as soon as possible.

★Respect them.

★If there are any problems, the tour guide should ask for their advice sincerely and respectfully so as to satisfy their self-esteem and sense of honor. And in this way, the tour guide may also win their support.

☆导游人员要尽快识别“中心人物”。

☆尊重“中心人物”。

☆遇到问题，导游要主动找他们做工作，真诚有礼貌地与其商量，以满足他们的自尊心和荣誉感。如此，导游也可以赢得他们的支持。

【备注】本题中的“the central fi gure”，也可用“the infl uencer”，意指此类“中心人物”的态度通常会影响、引导团队其他成员。

174.How can a tour guide recognize the central fi gure in the group quickly?（导游如何快速辨别出旅行团的“中心人物”？）

★In most cases, the tour guide may consult the tour leader, or the guide may recognize them by observing the group.

★The central fi gures have high prestige in the group and their attitude is often followed by the rest of the group.

★They generally have three characteristics: he/she has rich social experience; he/she is knowledgeable and strong-minded; he/she is skillful at dealing with various problems.

☆通常情况下，导游可以咨询领队，或者导游可以通过自己的观察来辨别。

☆“中心人物”在团队中很有威望，他们的态度常常会影响团队其他成员。

☆“中心人物”一般有三个特点：一是有比较丰富的社会阅历；二是认知能力比较强，且意志比较坚定；三是有比较娴熟的社会交往技巧。

175.What precautions should be taken by the tour guide to prevent tourists from getting lost? （导游带团要预防游客走失，应采取哪些预防措施？）

★Remind tourists from time to time.

(1) Important information such as the name and phone number of the travel agency and hotel should be repeated. Ask tourists to keep the phone number of the tour guide.

(2) Tell tourists the detailed arrangement, including the name and address of the restaurant.

(3) At each spot, repeatedly inform tourists of the parking place, car number, orientation and characteristics of the parking lot, meeting time and place. Before entering the attractions, emphasize the meeting time and place.

(4) Remind tourists to follow the group.

(5) When tourists are free, tell tourists not to go to crowded or remote places and return to the hotel as soon as possible at night.

★Count the number of the group frequently.

★Cooperate with the tour leader and the national guide.

☆加强提醒，做好预报。

（1）反复向游客告知地接社电话和名称、酒店名称电话、导游手机号。

（2）预报当天行程，包括餐厅名称和地址。

（3）每到一个景点，反复告知停车地点、车牌号、方位、特征，强调集合开车时间。进入景点游览前，再次讲清游览时间、集合时间和集合地点。

（4）提醒游客随团活动。

（5）自由活动时不要去拥挤或偏僻的地方，晚间尽早回到酒店。

☆坚持随时清点人数

☆地陪导游员与全陪导游员及领队分工合作，共同管理。

【备注】对于重点团队，可以制作发放“应急联系卡”，卡上有中英文的导游联系方式和地接社紧急联系方式。

176.How can you tell tourists the importance of punctuality in a smart way?（你会用何种方式告知游客守时的重要性？）

★The guide may discuss with the whole group on the importance of punctuality on the fi rst day.

★You may tell the tourists, “I am glad to be your guide. We will visit the city as a group. Punctuality is very important for any group. So I hope all of us can be punctual. If anyone is late for more than 15 minutes, we may assume that he/she wants to visit the city alone. So we will not wait for him/her. Is that fair?”

★In most cases, tourists may agree that those who are late for more than 15 minutes should be left behind.

☆导游可以在接团第一天就此问题与游客讨论。

☆可以跟游客这么说：“很荣幸成为大家的导游。我们团队将一起游览这个城市。遵守时间对团队来说很重要。希望大家都能准时。如果有游客比约定集合时间晚15分钟以上，我们就认为他/她想独自游览这个城市，所以我们将不会继续等他/她，大家觉得这样处理合理吗？”

☆在大多数情况下，游客会同意不用等候那些迟到的游客。

【备注】有了事先公开的讨论，游客一般会尽量守时，即便因不守时而落单，游客也少有投诉。另外，在“守时”这个问题上，不同的文化有不同的态度。譬如，印度游客的时间观念与欧美很多国家游客的观念不同，在带团时也要具体问题具体对待。通常印度游客的团队约定出发时间要比实际出发时间晚10～15分钟。

177.What will you do if the questions raised by tourists are beyond you?（如果无法回答游客提出的问题怎么办？）

★Honesty is best policy. Sometimes you have to admit that you know very little about the question asked by the tourists. Meanwhile, you should tell tourists that you will fi nd the answer as soon as possible. You may say, “Thank you for the question. But frankly speaking, I know very little about it. I am sorry for that. Can I check it with some experts and tell you later?”

★Sometimes you may handle it in a smart way. For example, you may tell the tourists, “That is a great question. But you see, time is limited, shall we discuss it later?” Then you may surf the Internet or ask some experienced tour guides for help. Don’t forget to reply to tourists.

☆诚实是最好的策略。有时导游应当承认自己对游客提出的问题知之甚少。同时，导游应当告诉游客，你会尽快解答这个问题。导游可以这么说：“感谢您的提问，非常抱歉对此我不是很清楚，我会尽快咨询这方面的专家并及时回复您。”

☆当然，导游也可以用其他方式解决这一问题。比如，可以跟游客说：“这个问题很棒，不过此刻时间比较紧，我们待会儿有空再讨论。”然后，赶紧上网查询或咨询有经验的导游。但要记得及时回复游客。

178.What will you do if tourists insist on discussing some sensitive topics?（如果游客抓住敏感问题紧追不放怎么办？）

★As a tour guide, you should get yourself well prepared for some common sensitive and controversial topics.

★It is not wise to ignore their questions. Instead, you should answer their questions carefully in order to eliminate misunderstanding.

★In view of the question proposed by tourists, you may give an introduction to our country’s situation. Tell them the position and viewpoint of our government.

★If tourists still insist on their opinions, don’t try to persuade them. Instead, you should seek common ground.

★In face of malicious attacks, you should refute, avoiding entanglement with them.

★For most sensitive and controversial questions, you may respond by saying, “We have different sources of information. So it is natural that we have different attitudes towards this matter. As far as I know ... (briefl y share your opinion on the topic). I am afraid you may have different opinions, but that is my knowledge about the topic. Let’s agree to disagree.”

☆导游对一些常见的敏感且有争议的问题，应提前做好准备。

☆试图忽略这些问题是不明智的；相反，应认真地回答游客提出的问题，以消除误解。

☆导游要针对游客提出的问题友好地介绍我国国情，阐明我国政府的立场、观点。

☆若见解不一致，不必强求，求同存异。

☆若遇恶意攻击和诬蔑，应观点鲜明地予以驳斥，但应避免与之纠缠。

☆对大多数敏感且有争议的问题，你可以这样回答游客“我们信息渠道不同，所以对这一问题我们持有不同的态度是很正常的。就我所知……（简明扼要地介绍你对问题的看法）。您可能有不同的看法，就此事，我们求同存异吧。”

【备注】热爱祖国是我国导游人员的首要条件。海外游客常会通过导游的言谈举止来观察、了解中国。涉外导游人员还应了解国际形势和热点问题，以及中国的外交政策和对有关国际问题的态度。这绝不是空话，工作中我们发现对外国游客非善意言论盲目附和的导游，往往得不到游客的尊重；反倒是言谈举止得体，对敏感问题正面回答的导游最受游客尊重。另外，对一些敏感问题要有预判，提前准备并灵活应对。如西方游客在上海游览完玉佛寺后，往往会询问中国的宗教政策、西藏问题、民族问题等。恰好上海玉佛寺边上有一所学校，笔者通常在游览玉佛寺结束后，立刻顺势讲解上海的教育情况。如此操作，基本可以避免客人就宗教、民族、西藏等话题提问。

Related words and phrases

controversial issues　有争议的问题

human rights　人权

Falun Gong　法轮功

Tibet issue　西藏问题

“Cultural Revolution”　“文化大革命”

religious problems　宗教问题

theism　有神论

atheism　无神论

Taoism　道教

Confucianism　儒教；儒家

Buddhism　佛教

Islam　伊斯兰教

Christianity　基督教

Orthodox　东正教

Protestantism　新教

Catholicism　天主教

church　教堂

mosque　清真寺

temple　寺庙

Taoist temple　道观

Ohel Moishe Synagogue　摩西会堂

Questions for discussion

1. How will you respond to a complaint that a silk quilt bought in the designated store is overcharged?

2. What will you do when some tourists want to visit some special places for better understanding of the Cultural Revolution?