If anyone can… the concierge can

Concierges - where would hotel guests be without them? When it comes to customer service, it's the concierge that's usually there on the front line, not batting an eyelid at even the most bizarre request. And let's face it, requests can be pretty bizarre.

"As long as it's legal and moral we'll do pretty much anything," says Robert Watson, head concierge at the Landmark hotel, in London's Marylebone. "It could be the simplest things, like getting replacement shoelaces. Then you go to the other extreme, like having to book a private plane in five minutes." A US guest once asked Francis Spiteri, head concierge at London's Dorchester, to send her 150 empty marmalade jars. Spiteri duly obliged, buying, emptying and cleaning the jars before sending them on.

It seems a good concierge is limited only by their imagination when it comes to keeping guests happy - a dedication to customer service that is implicit in the word's etymology, being derived from the Latin word conservus, from servus, or slave.

The concierge and the internet

Concierges are fonts of local knowledge and hotel service information. They deal with guests' problems and queries, carrying out tasks such as organising travel arrangements and booking theatre tickets and restaurants. While you could be forgiven for saying that a large number of the aforementioned tasks could be done by a lackey using the internet, be sure not to mention it within earshot of a concierge.

"The internet will never replace the concierge - never, ever, ever," says Claudie Dussouillez, head concierge at the recently opened Bentley hotel in London. "It won't greet you, won't welcome you. It's people that make a property really wonderful and give it character." Dussouillez stresses that good concierges have contacts all over the world and a mass of knowledge, and can recommend places they - or someone they know - has seen or visited. It is the knowledge built up over years that makes for a top-notch concierge, and much like good wines or cheeses they improve with age. Continuity is also important. Spiteri, for example, has been at the Dorchester since 1990 and his predecessor was there for 42 years.

To have a concierge or to have not

Some hotels, however, have chosen to do away with the concierge role in recent years, much to the chagrin of the profession and its official organisation, Les Clefs d'Or ("the golden keys").

"We feel it's a mistake," says Watson, who is the UK's international representative for Les Clefs d'Or. "When guests have a problem, who do they go to? Doing away with concierges affects service." Watson's thoughts are echoed by Spiteri, president of the UK branch of Les Clefs d'Or, who adds that concierges can boost revenue by encouraging guests to come back and recommend the hotel to friends. "The management don't realise how important the concierge is," adds Dussouillez, who says getting rid of the concierge role is "ludicrous".

What makes a good concierge?

As the role is highly visible and the concierge desk is often the first and last department guests see, Spiteri emphasises the importance of being well turned out and "carrying oneself properly". As the head of a 30-strong team, he also stresses the importance of being a team player. "I can't be there 24 hours a day or in two places at once," he says, adding that "the sign of a good concierge is that the desk runs the same if they are there or not".

Other important qualities include discretion - "one of our major attributes is diplomacy," says Watson - patience, good people skills and a "computer brain" for remembering names and faces. The job also requires bags of initiative and the ability to juggle tasks and keep cool under pressure.

"We are all human and sometimes the pressure will get to you, but you mustn't show it," says Spiteri, who, when the going gets tough, goes downstairs, washes his face and has a coffee.

How do you get started?

"At Les Clefs d'Or we encourage people at age 16 to start at the bottom, but you can't teach someone to be a concierge - you have to have it within you," says Spiteri, who, like Watson, started out as a 16-year-old page boy. The same advice is given by Johanna Cuss, a client support manager at recruitment firm Berkeley Scott, who adds that news of vacancies is often spread by word of mouth - especially among Les Clefs d'Or members - and not many are advertised or filled by recruitment consultants.

Being in the right place at the right time helps. Dussouillez got her first taste of the job as junior concierge at the Millennium Gloucester in London after attending hotel management school in France. Although she started out as a front-office assistant, she was encouraged to learn other duties and got her chance when a concierge there resigned. She stayed for four years before taking a concierge position at the Radisson Hampshire. She became head concierge the following year, aged 27.

What's the gender split like?

The job is very male dominated but Cuss believes the situation is improving. "I don't think there were any female concierges in London when I was working on a desk back in 1987," she says. "It's definitively seen as quite a masculine profession, although I loved it."

Dussouillez, whose deputy is also a woman, says there are eight female head concierges in London, three of whom - Madeleine Jones, concierge manager at the Berkeley; Jennifer Steane, concierge at the St Martins Lane hotel; and herself - are members of Les Clefs d'Or. While she admits the profession is "very traditional", she doesn't think the lack of women is down to male chauvinism. "There are lots of ladies who wouldn't consider doing it, but I'm sure if they did consider it they would be welcome," she says.

Pros and cons of the job

One thing concierges love about their job is the variety. "You don't have a routine like in other departments," Dussouillez says. "You learn every day and it can be quite exciting and challenging, and that's what's really rewarding." Concierges also receive free tickets to events and invitations to restaurants so they can better advise their guests. But the main buzz comes from helping people and turning around situations.

"Personally that's my job satisfaction because I know that person will come back tomorrow," Watson says. Dussouillez agrees. "It's so nice when guests leave the hotel and say, ‘Thanks, Claudie, you've made our stay and we'll be back next year."

On the negative side the job is high pressured, and being on the front line dealing with guests all day can take its toll. Another common gripe is that the role of the concierge is not as highly regarded as it should be. And then there are the long hours.

Dussouillez, whose fianc‚, Lionel Gabay, is a concierge at London's Savoy, starts at eight and finishes "whenever she can". Spiteri is in work for 6am and is sometimes there till 8pm, although he may be gone at 3pm on a quiet day. "On average I'd say concierges work 55 hours a work, head concierges at least that," Spiteri says.

Despite the negatives, Spiteri says he is "very proud" of being a concierge, and Watson insists, "it's fun". Still not sure you've got what it takes? In that case, the final word goes to Dussouillez. "If you like contact with people and you like a challenge, go for it," she says.

the job: pros and cons

Pros

• Free tickets to events and restaurant meals
• The variety of the role and lack of routine
• It's challenging and exciting
• Ability to meet interesting people and forge lasting friendships
• Meeting requests can be rewarding

Cons

• Long hours
• Guests can be difficult and demanding
• Dealing with strange or difficult requests
• The role is highly visible and highly pressured

Les Clefs D'Or

Les Clefs d'Or, the official organisation of the concierge profession, was started more than 50 years ago as a vehicle for concierges to share information, help each other and promote best practice. It has 36 member countries, each with its own president, and there are 230 members in the UK.

Members - identifiable by the gold lapel badge they wear showing the organisation's crossed keys emblem - can have reservations and bookings made anywhere in the world and have access to a global network of peers and support. A website is in development.

"Being a member definitely helps in the job," says Claudie Dussouillez, head concierge at London's Bentley hotel, who joined Les Clefs d'Or six years ago. "It's wonderful to be part of a society like that and to wear the golden keys. And because it's international it's very good for networking. To be able to pick up the phone and know you have a friend ready to help you on the other side of the world is exciting and a great tool."

But to its members it is more than just a support network. "When I was coming up my ambition was to become a member and earn those keys and I worked my butt off," says Robert Watson, head concierge at the Landmark hotel, in London's Marylebone, and the UK's international representative for Les Clefs d'Or. "A lot of people feel that that's when their career as a concierge starts."

Watson's words are echoed by Francis Spiteri, head concierge at the Dorchester and president of Les Clefs d'Or in the UK. "Once I became a member of the Golden Keys I'd arrived - I felt like a real concierge," he says. "People see the keys as assurance that we're good at our job and anything for us is possible. Being a member of Les Clefs d'Or won't necessarily make you a better concierge but it will open doors."

To become a member and gain the right to wear the golden keys emblem you must be nominated by someone who has been a concierge for at least three years and spent a minimum of five years behind the desk. The nomination must be seconded and candidates are then interviewed and tested on job-related matters.

Watson stresses that the test is not an aptitude test and is more about knowledge and common sense. "The way they answer the questions and seeing that they know how to get the answers lets us know if they are a good candidate or not," he says.