This is a guest post from one of my favorites in the concierge industry, Katharine C. Giovanni. She is smart and full of life, and I’m so glad that I’ve had the chance to learn from her!
One of the questions I get asked by the media is what does a concierge do? The quick answer is that a concierge will do anything in the yellow pages as long as it’s legal, moral and ethical.
Everyone single one of us tries to squeeze 36 hours into a 24 hour day, and when you do that you inevitably don’t do it very well. You get stressed …
Which leads to tired …
Which leads to not eating healthy because you’re craving “comfort” food …
Which leads to sickness.
Not good!
A concierge is here to do the things that you have to, leaving you the time to do the things that you want to like spending more time with family and friends, putting more time in at the office, or relaxing with a good book!
That being said, below is a list of 52 ways you can use a concierge. Since the real list of what a concierge can do for you is endless, the list below is merely here to get you started.
- Obtaining tickets to concerts, special events and sporting events
- Transportation Services – train, plane or automobiles … a concierge can get it!
- Travel and Vacation Planning
- Business Referral Service – need a landscaper or a plumber?
- Restaurant Recommendations and/or Reservations
- Pet services
- Internet Research – need research done and you don’t have the time to do it?
- Personalized shopping and delivery
- Running to the post office
- Dry cleaning pick-up and/or delivery
- Grocery shopping
- Running to the hardware store
- Senior care
- Modified house sitting – need someone to wait for the service technician while you’re at work?
- Picking up or returning a gift
- Meal Delivery
- Home Inventory – video the contents of your home and keep it in your safe deposit box
- Bill paying
- Auto Maintenance
- Home Organization
- Notary Services – many concierge area a traveling notary and can actually come to you.
- House Cleaning Services
- Courier/Delivery Services
- Delivering lunch to nurses and doctors at the hospital
- Delivering a Meal – breakfast, lunch or dinner
- Prescription Pick-up and delivery
- Repair and Service Calls
- Returning a library book or a video
- Sick Care – sick in bed? Call a concierge and they’ll do your errands, arrange for dinner to be delivered and can be on hand to help your family out
- New Mommy Services
- Meeting and Event Planning; private parties
- Personal Chef Services
- Single Parent Helper
- Employee Relocation Services
- Gift baskets and Flower Delivery
- Landscaping Services
- Special Day Reminder Service
- Charter a Private Jet, Yachts or Helicopter
- Hire a concierge to assist you at your event, wedding or conference – also called “event concierge” and “wedding concierge”
- Need Security? They’ll hire a security company to assist you.
- Day Spa Services
- Fashion and/or Stylist Consultant
- Nanny Services
- Estate Planning
- Arrange for your Tee Time at the golf club
- Book your appointments for you
- Hire a Butler
- New to the area? A concierge will give you a tour of the town
- Catering Services
- Get Away Weekends
- Office help
- Moving assistance – let your concierge unpack those boxes and put it all away!! All you’ll need to unpack is your toothbrush.
If you are looking to hire a concierge, then I suggest you visit www.ICLMA.org and check out our international concierge directory. We have members from all over the world who can assist you.
Good Luck!
About the Author: Katharine is an award-winning author and the world’s leading concierge trainer and consultant as well as a Certified Concierge Specialist (CCS) and Speaker. She is one of the founders of Triangle Concierge and is the Chairman of the Board and Founder of the International Concierge and Lifestyle Management Association (ICLMA) as well as the author of several business books including her award-winning book Going Above and Beyond and The Concierge Manual.
