How to Become a Personal Concierge
For people who have a knack for providing personalized customer care, Personal Concierge is a good option. It is a growing field and there are many opportunities for a skilled Concierge. There are a number of factors that must be considered when training for this field. Here are a few examples.
Experience Is Vital
Being a Personal Concierge involves helping people with routine tasks that take up a great deal of time for them to perform. Because the Concierge takes on these tasks, the client is then free to concentrate on other matters. One of the best ways to break into this field is to first function as a Concierge in the hospitality industry. Spending a year or two as a Hotel Concierge teaches a great deal about the service industry. It is also a wonderful opportunity to build relationships with vendors and services in an area. Those relationships create an excellent resource bank when the time comes to go out on one’s own.
Common Sense Is Also Important
Providing support services to busy clients will often entail following basic instructions and the knowledge of how to successfully complete the task without a lot of assistance from the client. A successful Personal Concierge must be able to complete a task efficiently and quickly. A clear and concise way of thinking and approaching tasks, as well as planning and executing a reasonable schedule, is vital if the client is going to remain happy with the level of service provided. In addition, confidentiality is an important component of the process. Personal Concierge’s are often privy to information that a client would not want to have broadcast about.
Creative Thinking Helps As Well
At some point, a client is likely to hand a perplexing problem to a Personal Concierge and expect him or her to handle it with ease and finesse. This means thinking outside the box sometimes, and coming up with a creative solution that is outside the ordinary. The ability to look at a situation from different angles and still handle the situation in a timely manner will build a good reputation as well as promote customer loyalty.
Don’t Forget To Network
Like any business professional, a Personal Concierge needs to have connections in the community. This will include vendors and resource people that can be called upon if needed, as well as business associates that provide references to interested potential clients. Knowing how to network within the community is essential for the Personal Concierge, both as a business tool with existing customers as well as a means of obtaining additional clients.