You are an elite concierge having earned and now wearing two crossed golden keys on your lapel. Describe the process on achieving that level and 3 personal characteristics that allow you to excel at your job.
Thank you for noticing the Keys. First let me say it is a privilege to wear these keys, they are not given lightly! To qualify you must be employed by serving as a lobby concierge for a minimum 5 years working full-time. There must be a sign in the lobby including the words ‘concierge.’ You must be active in your concierge community, of good moral character; you must be sponsored by/vouched for by members within that community and you must be endorsed by your Hotel General Manager. That’s the beginning of a roughly 3-month process that involved cold calls, a written test, and an interview; then review by national board. When it’s all done you wait, then a letter arrives either welcoming you, or indicating one must reapply in the future. I applied and failed twice, with the third time being the charm. It took close to 3 years from start to finish; I kept coming, kept working on the parts of myself that needed polishing. When the letter came the third time, I almost threw it away when I saw who it was from; I didn’t open it initially. Finally, Deborah says go ahead, do it. I did and it was an acceptance letter! I went to the restroom, closed the stall door, and sobbed like a baby for several minutes.
Listening is a physical activity; it involves more than hearing. It’s being in a state of complete awareness, spiritual enlightenment if you will as it pertains to absorbing every possible component of a guest interaction. Listening is seeing the guest, their eyes, body language, vocal inflection and of course the actual request. Often, we glean the true nature of guest intent from the totality of those observations. From there you guide.