Service Professionalism in Dialogues of Airline Cabin English Textbooks

The purpose of this study is to suggest the design of improved English dialogues as a remedy for the shortcomings of airline cabin English textbooks. For this purpose, a total of 11 dialogues about problems relating to cabin service were analyzed according to the ‘Five Steps in Customer Complaint Recovery.’ As a result, by applying ‘Step 1 Appreciation,’ the cabin crew in the new dialogues became more positive, viewing passengers’ complaints as an opportunity to improve their service. Next, by adding ‘Step 2 Sympathy,’ the crew became more warm-hearted, showing passengers that the crew sincerely cared about them. Lastly, by utilizing ‘Step 3 Promise,’ ‘Step 4 Information or Suggestion,’ and ‘Step 5 Satisfaction Check,’ the crew became more active, eager to resolve any complaints. In conclusion, this paper proposes that if these results are reflected in the relevant textbooks, then pre- and in-service cabin crew will have the opportunity to improve not only their English abilities but also their service professionalism.