52 Ways to Use a Concierge by Katharine C. Giovanni, CCS

May 17, 2014

Concierge services are no longer only for the rich and famous.  Also, they are no longer used strictly in hotels.  Concierge services are available to everyday people like you and I who need more TIME in our day.  A Single Ray of Hope's clients can focus their time and energy on doing what they truly want and need to do....and very simply delegating the rest to us.  Some people may wonder how they could utilize a concierge to make their lives more manageable.  Katharine Giovanni of Triangle Concierge has written an excellent article below outlining 52 ways to use a concierge.  Read on and ponder how you could have more balance in your life by utilizing a concierge.  Mary Beth

 

52 Ways to use a Concierge                         By Katharine C. Giovanni, CCS                     www.triangleconcierge.com

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.

1. Obtaining tickets to concerts, special events and sporting events
2. Transportation Services - train, plane or automobiles … concierge can get it!
3. Travel and Vacation Planning
4. Business Referral Service - need a landscaper or a plumber?
5. Restaurant Recommendations and/or Reservations
6. Pet services
7. Internet Research - need research done and you don’t have the time to do it?
8. Personalized shopping and delivery
9. Running to the post office
10. Dry cleaning pick-up and/or delivery
11. Grocery shopping
12. Running to the hardware store
13. Senior care
14. Modified house sitting - need someone to wait for the service technician while you’re at work?
15. Picking up or returning a gift
16. Meal Delivery
17. Home Inventory - video the contents of your home and keep it in your safe deposit box
18. Bill paying
19. Auto Maintenance
20. Home Organization
21. Notary Services - many concierge area a traveling notary and can actually come to you.
22. House Cleaning Services
23. Courier/Delivery Services
24. Delivering lunch to nurses and doctors at the hospital
25. Delivering a Meal - breakfast, lunch or dinner
26. Prescription Pick-up and delivery
27. Repair and Service Calls
28. Returning a library book or a video
29. 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
30. New Mommy Services
31. Meeting and Event Planning; private parties
32. Personal Chef Services
33. Single Parent Helper
34. Employee Relocation Services
35. Gift baskets and Flower Delivery
36. Landscaping Services
37. Special Day Reminder Service
38. Charter a Private Jet, Yachts or Helicopter
39. Hire a concierge to assist you at your event, wedding or conference - also called “event concierge” and “wedding concierge”
40. Need Security?  They’ll hire a security company to assist you.
41. Day Spa Services
42. Fashion and/or Stylist Consultant
43. Nanny Services
44. Estate Planning
45. Arrange for your Tee Time at the golf club
46. Book your appointments for you
47. Hire a Butler
48. New to the area?  A concierge will give you a tour of the town
49. Catering Services
50. Get Away Weekends
51. Office help
52. 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.

For people who are looking to be a concierge, please visit www.triangleconcierge.com

Until next time!

Katharine

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.

If you wish to re-print this article, that’s fine. Just include the biography at the end of the article. Thank you!

copyright © 2010 by Katharine C. Giovanni

 

 

A Single Ray of Hope celebrates 16 years of being in business in July 2022!  How is this even possible? It is an amazing milestone for me and I am extremely proud and a veteran and woman-owned business.

Where did the idea come from to open a Concierge Service in Portage, Michigan? Well, myself and two dear friends would gather over frozen strawberry dacquiri's and making jewelry while brainstorming businesses to go into. My friends chose other routes and were equally as successful in their career paths, while I pursued opening A Single Ray of Hope's Personal Assistant & Concierge Service. 

Still today, I love being of service to people. I am blessed to meet and work for a wide variety of clients. Individuals of all walks of life....some working professionals both with and without families, retired seniors and their adult children, various businesses and more. I love getting to know people and hearing about their fascinating lives. My reward is knowing that my service is giving them the ability to focus on what is most important to them. It's about the value of time and how they choose to spend it while handing of their TO DO List to a trusted business.

I started my business as a way of giving back to others. My youngest son has special needs and many family and friends helped guide us over the years, providing respite, words of encouragement, providing helpful information of where to go for services and assistance. The term...it takes a village is true. Others helped us and I wanted to help others in return.

Another reason for my business is I saw my mother who raised thirteen children end up struggling later in life with Alzheimers. I'd visit her in her nursing home and think...is this really how life should be for a women who worked so hard to put her children through catholic school by donating her artistic time & talents, staying up late at night just to have a little peace & quiet, stretching a dollar beyond belief, and raising a good family? Mom's put themselves last, we do it willingly but in the end, we are doing a dis-service to ourselves and our families. I thought life shouldn't have to be this hard. How about a providing a service so that people could enjoy life more instead of running in a hundred directions?

Many times, I don't see a lot of my clients....I'm in and out of their home during the day while they are at work. Shopping is done, errands done, dry cleaning is hanging in their closet, meals prepped or cooked, prescriptions picked up, library books returned, service people have been to the home such as plumbers, etc. My business gives my clients some breathing room and that is how life should be lived. 

You get the picture. It's about work life balance and peace of mind....for both myself and my clients.  Life is short....take time to smell the flowers.