In a previous life, while I was putting myself through grad school in New York, I landed a job as a Concierge at the exclusive Four Seasons Hotel on 57^th Street in Manhattan. In the rarefied air of that demanding customer service envi­ron­ment, I learned a lot about service excel­lence.

The world’s most famous and wealth­i­est (and demanding) people came through our doors

For those unfa­mil­iar with the role of a concierge at a 5‑star hotel, our job is to make sure that the hotel’s pres­ti­gious guests get the best quality care the hotel—and the city—has to offer, and that they finish their stay feeling that the hotel once again exceeded their expec­ta­tions (which were already extremely high!). If a guest wanted a table at an exclusive restau­rant on short notice, it was up to me to use my con­nec­tions not just to book a table, but to book the best table in the house. Or, if a guest wanted tickets that evening to a sold-out Broadway show, I had to find a way to get them front-row center seats, or darn near close to it. My job descrip­tion was essen­tial­ly to make the impos­si­ble possible. To com­pli­cate matters, many of our guests were extremely famous and/or wealthy and used to getting what they wanted, when they wanted it.

Delivering on the promise

Sometimes things really weren’t possible. Not every restau­rant was able (or willing) to add a table at the last minute, no matter who the guest might be. Telling a guest something wasn’t possible was never an easy task and required a great deal of diplomacy. It meant providing alter­na­tives that might delight the guest as much as or even more so than the original ask. That’s when mind reading, con­nec­tions all around town, and a good under­stand­ing of what a guest liked — and didn’t like — really came in handy.

The over­whelm­ing majority of our guests were absolute­ly lovely, including many very famous people. As for the others… well we’ll just leave it there (I could write a book, but that’s not what concierges do!).

Fast forward to the present

I was wondering if the skills I learned while at the Four Seasons Hotel would transfer to my daily work at CONTENTI (let’s be very clear, all of our customers are in the ‘absolute­ly lovely’ category!). Here are my thoughts:

Make the impos­si­ble possible 

Yes, but only when it’s possible! Rather than catering to last-minute changes, I try to make the impos­si­ble possible through antic­i­pa­tion, planning and out­stand­ing execution.

Say no when it isn’t possible

This is extremely important. And it’s reflected in how I put together a project timeline. No detail is left out. Of course, there can be pressure to cut corners. I use my expe­ri­ence to propose realistic project plans, steering the whole team towards a suc­cess­ful outcome.

Be a mind reader

Definitely. Understanding what a client wants is crucial. I trust my mind-reading abilities and use them (when needed) to ensure that all asks are made explicit, agreed upon and met!

Be a diplomat

Very important. Many projects require that I come into contact with different stake­hold­ers, sometimes with varying per­spec­tives or goals. It takes under­stand­ing and diplomacy to help diverse voices achieve great outcomes.

Make every client feel we have met and exceeded their expec­ta­tions

That’s always the goal! I work hard to ensure that those expec­ta­tions are captured, so we can make a plan that meets them.

Keep clients coming back

Definitely! I aim to provide every client with 5‑star service so that together we can continue creating out­stand­ing and effective B2B content and com­mu­ni­ca­tions! Client rela­tion­ships that last turn into long-term com­mu­ni­ca­tions part­ner­ships.