Oha-konbanwa!
It's Seigo & Bren's Seigo!
Todays video was a request from a subscriber!
The request was,
I am working in America,
and I would like to share some of the English phrases that I use at work.
It's been a while since we have done one of these English lesson videos, hasn't it?
These might not all be completely accurate,
and there are probably many other ways you could say these phrases.
It might be fun to look up some of the other ways people may say these phrases after watching this video!
I thought it would be easy to understand if I described the customer service procedure form start to finish.
I am going to speak from my experiences
from when the customer comes into the restaurant, until they are finished checking out.
Like roleplaying, but not quite!
But I hope you'll get the gist of it.
So the customer just came through the door, and is waiting for the register.
At that time, I would personally say
"Hi!"
or, "Hello!"
That's what i usually say.
Well, the place that I work is a Japanese restaurant,
so we say "Irasshaimase!" first.
But just in case the customer doesn't know what that means, we also say "Hi!", "Hello", etc.
There is a place before coming up to the register,
where the customers can look over the menu and decide what the want to eat.
When it looks like they might be ready to order,
I usually say "I can help who's next!"
I CAN HELP WHO'S
(WHO IS)
NEXT
WHO'S NEXT
In Japanese it means "次の方どうぞ！"
It just means the next person who is ready to order may do so at this time.
Then the customer comes forward.
I usually say "Hi/Hello" again at that time.
Or, the famous one that everyone knows, "How are you?"
It means "How is your day?/How do you feel today?"
The customers might say "Not too bad"
or I'm fine, thank you!"
Or sometimes they will be the first to ask!
They ask me "How are you?"
and I always say "I'm good, how are you?"
When they ask me, that is.
And when that formality is done,
and I want to ask them what the want,
I say "How can I help you?"
HOW CAN I HELP YOU
All together it sounds like "How can I help you?"
"How can I help you?" Just means "What would you like to have today?"
Or if you directly translate it: "What can I do to help you?"
And then the customer looks at the menu like this.
And then they will say "I'll have this, this, and this, please!"
This isn't necessarily an "English tip", but this is something I like to do so that I don't make any mistakes.
I'm sure everyone does it in Japan as well,
I always repeat the customer's order back to them.
For example, the customer might say "I want this noodle", or "This curry rice"
I would repeat their order and say "Oh, so you want these noodles and curry rice?"
While pointing like this.
I always point and confirm that they want this, on this menu, this size, etc.
I'm still not that confident of my English skills,
and I'm scared if making a mistake, is I always make sure to confirm everything.
So even if you only speak a little bit of English,
I think that sometimes you can get your point across just with gestures!
Sometimes there are customers like me,
people who came from another country, and still don't speak English very well.
I sometimes have to do everything just with gestures.
You can really do a lot just with gestures and repeating the customers orders!
So don't be afraid to try by yourself!
If you do it with kindness, the customer won't get upset with you.
I'm sure you will be fine.
So the customer tells me what they want to eat,
and when It seems like they are done,
before ringing them up,
I ask them "Anything else?" to make sure they are done ordering.
Then they might think for a little bit, and say "Oh, then I'll have some water and this too, please."
Or the might just say "I'm good!"
Meaning that the don't need anything else.
And after all of that is when they pay.
As for what I say at that time,
I asked a lot of people what I should say,
and everyone says something different.
My coworkers say it in their own unique way.
So I heard all of that,
and I would like to tell you about the ones that I thought suited me,
those that are simple and easy for me.
The way I say how much their purchase is, is
"The total is__________.
"The total is__________.
I think it's pretty easy.
It's simple. Total = ???
"The total is__________.
Another one that I thought was easy to say, is
"It's gonna be_____."
"It's gonna be_____ dollars."
"It's gonna be_____."
This is also easy for me to say so I use it a lot.
If you're wondering about how to say how much it is,
for $20.00 I would say "It's gonna be $20."
If it is $20.05.
When there is small change involved,
you have to say the cents as well.
5 cents is .05
20.05
I say Twenty O five
That's what my friend told me at work.
Twenty O five = 20.05
When it is 20.10,
I say twenty ten.
I don't usually say dollars, or cents.
It's too much of a mouthful.
It's easier just to say twenty ten.
or twenty eleven.
twenty seventy,
twenty seventeen,
and I leave out saying dollars and cents.
After the payment is finished,
the rest is easy!
I hand them their change or credit card, and say "Thank you"
When I'm in a rush I just say "Thank you!"
If you work at a restaurant, you can say "Thank you, enjoy the meal!"
I just say "Enjoy the meal!"
"Enjoy the meal!"
Enjoy the meal!"
I think it's friendly to say that.
It's nicer to say "Enjoy the meal!" rather then just "Thank you"
I think I said this in an English video before,
but another thing you can say is "Have a good day!"
"Have a good evening!"
"Have a good night!"
It depends on the time of day.
"Have a good day!" is probably the easiest.
So why not say "Thank you, have a good day!"?
I think gives good impression!
Well,
that's about it for my English video today!
What did you think?
All of the phrases I said today are phrases that I am successfully using to communicate with customers at work!
I can assure you that people will understand them, so don't be afraid to use them yourself!
There may be some fine details about these phrases
where a native speaker may say that this may be better, or that may be better.
You can choose the phrases that are easiest for you to use and understand.
Whether you are in Japan, or abroad.
When I first started working in the US, I was so nervous!
I didn't know any "work English",
and I was looking up work phrases and stuff on my phone all the time.
I looked it up, but
but you don't really know if you can trust everything that you read online!
Plus you don't know when to use those phrases unless you actually use them or hear them being used.
When I first started working I was always listening intently to what my coworkers were saying.
I would ask them what I should say.
Or when I wouldn't understand what the customer was saying, I would rush over and ask them to help me understand.
I would ask them to teach me what to say.
I asked
a lot!
I'm sure that it is hard for everyone at first!
But overtime you will realize what phrases are right, and which ones are wrong.
And then you decide which phrases you are going to use!
And then you figure out your system.
Well, that's all for my English video this time!
If you liked this video,
or if it helped you with your English,
please leave a thumbs up, and subscribe!
If you have any other useful English phrases, or any questions, please leave them in the comments!
We use an app called SHOWROOM, so you can find us there as well!
I think that we will already be in Tennessee for the holidays by the time this video is uploaded!
So you can see what we are up to on instagram and twitter!
See you in our next video!
Bye bye!
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