Episode 868 - The Grand Concierge

0:04 Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of performance through strong human relations, team building, and goal achieving. This is the 7-Minute Leadership Podcast with your host, Paul Falafelito.

0:22 Hello, everyone, and welcome to the 7-Minute Leadership Podcast. It's episode 868. I want you to picture walking into a great hotel Not an average hotel where you check in, get a room key, and somebody points you towards the elevators. I mean, a great hotel. You walk through the lobby, and there's somebody standing behind a desk whose entire job seems almost impossible to define. The concierge. Do you need dinner reservations tonight? They know where to send you. Do you need transportation to the airport tomorrow morning? They can arrange it. Are you looking for something to do with your family because it started raining? They have ideas. And do you need a pharmacy at 1130 at night? They probably know exactly where one is. And what has always

1:13 fascinated me about a great concierge is that they rarely seem surprised by the question. They don't know everything. They know how to get you to the answer. And that's a completely different skill. And I think there's an incredible business and leadership philosophy hidden inside that little desk in the hotel lobby. I'll call it the Grand Concierge. The idea is simple. What would happen if everyone in your organization started thinking like a concierge? Think about what the concierge actually represents. Accessibility, resourcefulness, knowledge, ownership. They are a human connection point between a customer and and whatever that customer needs next. And that philosophy can work almost anywhere.

2:03 I've spent part of my career in hospitality, along with EMS, emergency management, and leadership education. Those different environments have shaped how I look at leadership because they all teach you something about people, service, and performance. Hospitality especially teaches you to pay attention to to the experience happening around the transaction because there is always a transaction. You book the room, you order dinner, you bought the ticket, you scheduled the appointment, you called the company. But people remember the experience surrounding that transaction. And that's where the grand concierge philosophy becomes powerful.

2:47 Imagine walking into a business and asking an employee a question. And they say, I don't know. That's one experience. Now imagine asking the same question and hearing, I'm not sure, but let me find out for you. Completely different experience. The employee didn't suddenly become smarter. They became responsible for helping you get to the next step. That's concierge thinking.

3:14 And I believe businesses need a lot more of it because Somewhere along the way, we started building organizations where people became responsible for departments instead of customers. That's not my department. You'll have to call somebody else. I don't handle that. They're gone for the day. You'll need to go online. Think about how ridiculous some of those statements would sound coming from a great hotel concierge. Imagine walking up and saying, I'm looking for a good Italian restaurant nearby.

3:46 And the concierge says, I don't work in food. Technically correct, completely useless. The concierge understands something every business needs to understand. The customer doesn't care about your organizational chart. They care about getting help. Your customer doesn't know that billing works on the second floor. Operations is down the hallway. HR is in another building and customer service closes at five.

4:16 That's your structure. That's your problem. The person standing in front of you has a need. So here's the leadership question. Have you trained your employees to complete their individual job responsibilities or have you trained them to help people? Those are not always the same thing. We spend enormous amounts of time teaching employees procedures. Click here, fill this out, send this there, call this person, follow this policy. And then a customer asks something that falls one inch outside the procedure and the employee freezes. That's where the concierge mentality takes over. A great concierge thinks, what does this person actually need? Who can help? What resources do I have?

5:07 How can I move this forward? That's business intelligence at the frontline level, and it doesn't require a management title. Think about a hospital. Someone walks up to an employee and says, excuse me, I'm trying to find the ICU. The grand concierge mentality doesn't say, there's a directory over there.

5:28 It says, absolutely, I'll show you where you need to go. Think about a restaurant. A customer says they have a dietary restriction. The grand concierge mentality doesn't say, I don't know what's in it. It says, let me check with the kitchen and make sure we get you the right answer. And think about my world in EMS, a family member standing there scared and confused while their loved one is being loaded into the ambulance. They may have questions that have nothing to do with the clinical treatment we're providing.

5:58 Where are you taking them? Where should I go? What entrance should I use? Can I follow you? The grand concierge mindset recognizes that helping that person understand what happens next is all part of the experience. And here's where leaders need to pay attention. Your employees will rarely deliver this kind of service consistently if you punish them every time they step outside of a narrow job description. You cannot tell employees to take ownership and then criticize them for trying to solve a problem. You have to give people reasonable freedom to help. You also have to give them information. A concierge is valuable because they know the environment.

6:44 They know the hotel. They know the neighborhood. They know the restaurants. They know transportation. They know who to call when they don't know something. So ask yourself this. How well do your employees understand your business beyond their immediate workstation? Could the person answering your phone explain what your company actually does? Could an employee direct someone to the right person without transferring them five times? Does your frontline staff know enough about your organization to solve basic problems? And could a new employee explain the customer experience from beginning to end? If the answer is no, you don't have an employee problem. You have a training problem. And I would take this concept even further. Every leader should become

7:35 the grand concierge for their employees because your people come to you with questions too. Sometimes they need a decision. Sometimes they need information. Sometimes they need help navigating the organization. Sometimes they're trying to solve a problem and don't know where to begin. The weak leader says, figure it out.

7:56 The grand concierge leader says, let's get you pointed in the right direction. That doesn't mean doing everyone's work for them. It means being a resource. I think some leaders have confused being unavailable with being important. They make people jump through hoops to get an answer. Emails go unanswered. Questions sit unresolved. Decisions get delayed. Employees eventually stop asking. And then leadership wonders why communication is terrible. Be the person who knows how to get people moving again. And there is another part of concierge service that matters. Anticipation. The very best hospitality professionals notice what you're going to need before you ask. That skill is incredibly valuable in leadership.

8:48 Your employees shouldn't always have to tell you they're overwhelmed before you notice. Your customers shouldn't always have to complain before you recognize a reoccurring problem. Your team shouldn't always have to remind you that equipment needs replaced, training needs scheduled, or a process isn't working. Pay attention. Look ahead. Listen.

9:12 Know your environment. That is what the best concierge does. And I want you to try something this week. Walk into your business as if you've never been there before. Forget your title. Forget what you already know. Pretend you're the customer. Ask questions. Where do I go? Who do I talk to? What happens next? What happens if something goes wrong? And then watch what happens. Every confusing answer is an opportunity. Every unnecessary handoff is an opportunity. Every that's not my job is an opportunity. And every moment where somebody feels lost is an opportunity because customer service isn't always about giving people more. Sometimes it's about making it easier for them to navigate what you already have.

10:03 Your organization may never have marble floors. You may never have a beautiful hotel lobby. You may never have somebody standing behind a desk with a little gold sign that says concierge. You don't need any of that. You can build the philosophy anywhere. A pizza shop, an ambulance service, a hospital, a manufacturing plant, a non-profit, a corporate office.

10:29 The grand concierge isn't a position. It's a way of thinking. How can I help? What do you need? Where are you trying to go? And how can I help you get there? Those questions can completely change the way people experience your business. Your customers don't need everyone in your company to know everything. They need confidence that whoever they encounter will care enough to help them find the answer.

10:56 That is a standard worth building into your culture. So tomorrow, when somebody asks you a question that technically isn't your responsibility, resist the temptation to to point them somewhere else and walk away. Become the grand concierge. Own the moment. Help them find the answer because people may forget the desk, the building, the uniform, and the process. They'll remember the person who made things easier when they needed help. This has been the 7-Minute Leadership Podcast, and I thank you for listening.

11:39 For more Paul Falavolito podcasts, visit paulfalavolito.com.