I work for a hotel in non English spoken country and I speak English only with my friends so I don't really know how to use "Sir". Are these use correct?
Here you go sir.
How are you sir?
Enjoy your stay sir.
Is it strange to say "sir" many times when customer check in? Is it strange to put sir to the end of every single sentences I speak to customers? or Should I do that? The hotel isn't high grade hotel and I'm the only person who speaks English in the hotel so every foreign customers talk to me :(
2007-08-22 04:04:30 · 14 answers · asked by Chris 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
How about "That's all sir."?
2007-08-22 04:07:50 · update #1
I have to congratulate you on your efforts to sound your best even when the hotel personnel have no clue whether or not you are doing a good job or not. Well it sounds like you are!
The way that you do it is exactly the way it is done here, in the US. So to us it is common and sounds just fine. Although, you wanna use "maam" when addressing a woman, "ladies" when adressing a group of women and "gentlemen" when adressing a group of men.
Hope this helps.
2007-08-29 07:39:22 · answer #1 · answered by pinktoenails 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Unless it was a particularly flash hotel (5 stars), I wouldn't expect you to use Sir in every sentence.
I would use Sir in greetings such as you have done, but then while having the actual conversation, hold off using Sir again until you say "Have a nice evening" or whatever your closing statement is. Just use it at the beginning and the end of your conversation.
I wouldn't say "That's all, Sir" on its own, it could sound a bit rude. I would combine it with another closing statement, for example: "That's all, Sir, have a nice night". "That's all" by itself makes it sound a bit like you're Judge Judy :-)
2007-08-22 04:15:45 · answer #2 · answered by nzseries1 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
No. It isn't strange if you use sir every time you say a new sentence. It's very polite and very respectful. You should keep on saying sir in every sentence. Everyone knows that that's how people address other people and they wouldn't anymore bother if you say it in every sentence. Most of us people are already used to being addressed as sir, ma'am and miss for of course, you wouldn't know our names, right? :) He would know too that it is really him you're referring to especially if he is with a woman. Respect is what all of us want, ya? And I see that you are very polite and respectful and you care about the necessity of being polite. For you still ask us here at Yahoo Answers for you to be more polite and respectful towards your customers. I like the way you are. :)
2007-08-27 21:18:48 · answer #3 · answered by sAndy 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's very thoughtful of you to learn the polite way to address an English speaker. Your use of Sir is fine, however, I would change "That's all, Sir" to "Will that be all, Sir?" or "Have a good day/evening, Sir" prior to ending communication.
2007-08-28 06:33:39 · answer #4 · answered by the_dragyness 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Those are all good ways to use "sir." However, I would not use "sir" after everything you say unless you are speaking to someone who is VERY important. I think that when talking to most people, you would use "sir" maybe once at the beginning of the conversation (when you greet the person) and again at the end when the conversation is over.
2007-08-22 04:16:38 · answer #5 · answered by Doppler 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
You have a good grasp of the English language and sound very polite with the use of "sir", from what I have seen you explain. I would agree with The Reverend Soleil in as far as referring to different nationalities by a familiar greeting is always appreciated. When addressing Australians for instance, we prefer to be called "mate". For example "how are you going, mate?" or "enjoy your stay, mate" or if you offer a refreshment you could say "how about a beer, mate?"
2007-08-30 02:14:52 · answer #6 · answered by Col B 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When your customer is an adult man, it is a good idea to call him sir at the end of the sentence. Saying it in each sentence is polite.
2007-08-22 05:30:43 · answer #7 · answered by Seth H 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
These examples are good. Very polite and proper for a hotel employee. You don't have to say it at the end of EVERY sentence, but saying it fairly often is a sign of respect.
Keep up the good work.
2007-08-22 04:11:11 · answer #8 · answered by ♥≈Safi≈♥ ☼of the Atheati☼ 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Sir is used instead of a person's name and as a sign of respect to a man. If it is a woman you use "m'aam" which is a shortened version of madam.
You don't need to use it at the end of every sentence. Perhaps at the beginning and the end.
2007-08-22 04:13:56 · answer #9 · answered by inaru816 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
sir makes it sound more polite. don't say it so much though. maybe something like "hello sir, how may i help you?" and "enjoy your stay sir" so be careful how often you say it, or it may sound like you're joking
2007-08-22 04:59:59 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋