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Concierges

Prostitutes, Pillows and the Life of a London Concierge

April 7, 2008 at 9:30 AM | 0 Comments

If you've ever wondered about the inside life of a concierge at a pricey five-star hotel, you'll be keen to hear about the day UK Times reporter Matt Rudd spent playing the role of a trainee concierge at London's exclusive Jumeirah Carlton Tower.

His pre-concierge-experience training was not much more than learning the phrase "Certainly, sir, I'll look into that and call you straight back." Rudd then watched the three experienced concierges in action, dealing with guest dramas like booking last minute tables at exclusive restaurants, arranging an urgent car to the airport and needing a pencil sharpener.

Probably Rudd's most interesting learning point was the code for ordering a prostitute: "Can I have another pillow?" He also met a regular guest who had a habit of asking strange questions and walking away. All part of the fun of a day's work.

If you're not the kind of person who's familiar with guests able to spend nearly £100,000 (US$200,000) on a hotel bill (and we're certainly not), then the life of a concierge at a place like this would definitely be pretty intriguing. But we're not sure we could handle the stress, or be able to tell the difference between a guest wanting an actual pillow and wanting something else.

[Photo: rosefirerising]