We have already covered the definition of concierge service and gave a description of a concierge job. Also, we have discovered what professional skills you need to succeed in the industry. MeetnGreetMe keeps on revealing the secrets of concierge service and today we will speak about different concierge services you may be asked to perform by your clients.
We can divide concierge services into several categories:
1. Personal and domestic services
2. Shopping services
3. Entertainment arrangements
4. Travel arrangements
Personal and domestic services
Time is the most precious gift we have in our life. We wait for the right moment, for a free hour to do all the household chores we’ve been putting off for weeks (if not months) and when this free hour comes, we do everything in a rush instead of relaxing and spending time with family or friends. So, time is the best gift you can make to your clients and this is your biggest value.
Basic service of this category is running errands – picking up the dry cleaning, going to specialty shops, paying bills… The main point of running errands is being efficient both in terms of time and money. Think of better routes how to get to a special shop, where to park your car, which services can be delivered to you with a discount. Time is money, especially, in the world of concierge!
Then come repair and maintenance. Do you remember the saying that what can go wrong, will go wrong? This is quite pessimistic, but it’s better to be prepared for unexpected situations. Just as you are putting off repair of a broken machine or arranging engineer visit, your client may need help with the same issues. You can perform some of them yourself (if you are skilled enough), but for sometimes you’ll need to have it solved by a specialist.
Organizing is a very commonly requested concierge service. You will be asked to help with organizing trouble areas in a house – kitchen, closet, basement, garage, to help with filing documents and bills, or anything of this kind.
Childcare, pet sitting, online research, holiday preparations, transportation service paperwork, meals delivery, reminder services and booking appointments represent personal concierge services, as well.
Shopping services
Delivering shopping services may be a fun and pleasant job to perform if you love shopping. Your client may be pressed for time or require a rare item to purchase and here you are, a personal assistant who takes care of a client’s needs.
This may be either regular (weekly or daily) grocery shopping with a prepared list of products you’ll need to buy. Make sure to ask about food preferences, special diets, food allergies, preferred shops and favorite dishes to do the service at your best. Make a questionnaire for your client to answer or draft what dishes they would like to have during the week to figure out which products to buy.
Or it will be shopping for holiday gifts, expensive interior objects, art pieces, gadgets, etc. The main task is to understand client’s needs, tastes, preferences and budget and to choose the best options. If you are required to shop for gifts, you can make a list of great gift ideas to suggest the best variants.
Entertainment arrangements
When providing entertainment arrangements service, always adjust to client’s age, hobbies, preferences and budget. One person will be happy to have a list of posh restaurants, another one is interested in hanging out in a bar with local people, and a third person wants to relax in a spa center. You should understand and feel the person, his/her needs and expectations. This concerns such requests as advising the best spots to try traditional cuisine, the nearest malls with brand-name clothing shops, sports centers to play golf, tennis or any other preferred sports activity. You should really know well every venue to recommend and tell about their differences from one another.
Also, you as a concierge may be asked to plan an event – a dinner, birthday party, company party or romantic dinner, for instance. First of all, ask about and then think through the event’s theme and purpose, when and where the client wants the event to be held, how many guests will be present, any ideas for decorating. However, if you have no experience in event planning, it’s better to outsource a professional to make all the preparations and give the red carpet treatment to guests. Request a catering company to prepare food and drinks and inquire if some guests sit on a special diet. Prepare a music set or invite a live band and think through some entertainment.
Travel arrangements
Traveling is great, it always brings us new emotions, unforgettable experiences, unexpected discoveries and pleasant meetings. Since your target audience has more money than time, they will be happy if you helped with arranging travel.
This will include mapping a route with indications of what cities to visit, where to stay, where to eat out and what attractions to see. Again, to do the concierge service excellently, ask your client about what their expectations and budget are. Maybe they want to relax on a beach or to mount Everest, maybe they have always dreamed of visiting Africa or prefer cozy and comfortable 5star hotels in Central Europe. Tastes differ, so you should pick up the best variants and be guided by your client’s preferences.
These are the concierge services. If you have decided to start your career with MeetnGreetMe travel concierge service, have a look at a wide variety of travel concierge services you can provide to international travelers in your city and stay tuned for more articles about concierge service on MeetnGreetMe blog!
I am grateful to you for sharing some great insights about the different types of concierge services. You talked about the various categories of concierge services namely personal/domestic services, shopping services, entertainment, and travel. As for me, I think it would benefit me a lot if I hire someone for my travel needs. It would definitely help me a lot if there is someone who could book hotel reservations and transport services for me. I would definitely consider hiring the services of a concierge if I’m given the opportunity to travel again.
Informative and accurate. Thank you for this content.
I like the idea of having someone to run errands and do some organizational work for me. I run a private practice counseling service and I don’t have much time in between seeing clients to get anything done. I will have to look into a concierge service nearby and see if it will be helpful to get extra tasks done.
Thanks for pointing out that a concierge service can help with things like childcare, transportation service paperwork, and meal delivery. My mom has been getting older and I am starting to worry about her ability to get everything done that she needs to by herself. I think that it might be smart to look into hiring a concierge service that could help her manage everything so that she could make sure to get the places that she needs to be and so that she can have someone looking out for her on a daily basis as well. Thanks for detailing the different types of concierge services.
I like that you said a concierge should adjust entertainment choices according to the client’s age, hobbies, preferences, and budget. My family wants to travel to New York for the holidays, but we’ll need help finding the best places to visit once we’re there. I’ll be sure to look for a concierge service that knows to do what you suggested.
Thank you for explaining that time is one of the biggest gifts we can give people and that a concierge can perform tasks we normally don’t have time to complete. My parents have been extremely busy and haven’t had time to do some of their most favorite things this week. I think they should look into getting a personal concierge that can help with their tasks so they have more leisure time.
It’s awesome that you talked about how concierge services come with local knowledge. Recently, my wife and I had to get back to our regular jobs, and now we feel like our time isn’t enough! We need to run some errands and get other things done, so we’ll be sure to check a concierge service out. Thanks for the information on personal concierge services and their time-saving benefits.