The Concierges of Baja Provide Service Through Friendship
It’s no secret to travelers the world over that when you visit Los Cabos, the customer service meter goes up a notch, if not more. Great customer service at the tip of the Baja Peninsula doesn’t just happen on its own. A concerted effort goes into honing the finite skills necessary to accommodate the customer’s every request, and oftentimes anticipate those requests. Leading by example, a select group of concierges at various high-end resorts throughout Los Cabos have turned to Les Clefs d’Or (French for The Golden Keys) for training and guidance to improve their skills. Les Clefs d’Or is a name familiar to any national or international traveler accustomed to staying at the grand hotels in the world. These select concierges who are Les Clefs d’Or members are recognized by wearing crossed golden keys on each lapel.
Sharing his thoughts on Les Clefs d’Or, Ricardo Rico is concierge at The Resort at Pedregal in Cabos San Lucas, a Les Clefs d’Or member, and also director for the Baja California Region of Les Clefs d’Or Mexico. “In Los Cabos, we have 73 concierges in 19 different hotels,” he said. “The direct benefit to the guest is that this group maintains and updates all the community social and cultural events, restaurant updates, and anything of interest to the guest. We also coordinate educational workshops to keep our concierges focused on service.”
FINE-TUNING THEIR SKILLS
To that end, the Los Cabos Les Clefs d’Or chapter recently invited longtime Les Clefs d’Or USA member Michael Romei to share his educational training seminar on “Creating Service Magic.” Over the last three years, Michael has delivered this seminar a few dozen times throughout the world, energizing his colleagues to give even more of themselves when it comes to customer service. During the 4-5 hour seminar, he discussed a variety of topics, including The Philosophy and Understanding of Service, The History of the Concierge Profession, The Dynamics of Les Clefs d’Or International, Social Media Etiquette, Attention to Detail, Verbal and Written Communication, Telephone Etiquette, Grooming; Posture and Personal Presentation including The Perfect Handshake, Name Recognition, Pre and Post Arrival Process, among many other topics.
Michael shared that, “The training seminar ‘Creating Service Magic’ is a way of giving back to our concierge community. It is offered complimentary to our members, colleagues, and regions of the world to assist in the development of concierge as well as a refresher and instruction for current members both junior and senior. In many ways it is an outreach program that assists the particular location and concierge community directly.”
Past president of the Baja California Region of Les Clefs d’Or Mexico, Angelina Garcia said of Michael Romei’s presentation on creating service magic, “It was simply amazing! The course is designed to provide comprehensive training and an insider’s view into world-class concierge service skills. This course is one of the most comprehensive concierge training programs in the nation.”
With customer service being universal, Angelina added, “The global environment of today’s business world demands that concierges be able to converse with all travelers from Albania to Zaire. Many Les Clefs d’Or members are multilingual, and most are well-versed in many cultures. I learned in Los Cabos that we can provide a great level of service equally in Europe, the Middle East, North America, or any part of the globe, continuing with our service education.”
QUALITY OF SERVICE
SEMINAR TOPICS: The Philosophy and Understanding of Service, The Dynamics of Les Clefs d’Or Intl., Social Media Etiquette, Attention to Detail, Telephone Etiquette, Posture & Personal Presentation
WORKING TOGETHER
Paula Riopa, a Les Clefs d’Or member since 2012, is the head concierge at Playa Grande Resort and Grand Spa, and current secretary of the local chapter. “Michael’s seminar was very interesting from the point that it took us back to the basic principles of service but with a different perspective, comparing service to a feeling; service is the way you make people feel.” One of the key elements she feels is paramount with Los Cabos concierges is that they all willingly share information for the benefit of the customer, no matter what property the customer is at. “As a local group, we share information and organize different activities and go on site inspections in order to stay informed,” she said. “The goal is to be the experts in the area, anticipate the guests’ needs, and provide continuous outstanding customer service.”
Ricardo Rico echoed those sentiments. “One of the things that most impresses me about Les Clefs d’Or is that even though our respective resorts are competing against one another, we concierges are always congenial, and eager to help one another.”
The Les Clefs d’Or motto is always at the forefront of every Los Cabos concierge: “In service through friendship.”