Originally Posted by
BENLEE
...The best concierge I have experienced so far is at the Pen Tokyo, a very nice young lady and she was wonderful. It was my first time to Tokyo and her restaurants recommendations were spot on. She even went down to the nearby subway to buy a PASMO card for me and show me how to use it. Unfortunately, I have never seen her again in my subsequent stays.
This is the problem, most hotels seem to have no system for concierge service, rather it is up to the individual concierge, so some have great connections, are smart at reading people (to understand what you are really wanting them to do) and have initiative and conscientiousness. The only role hotels seem to play in this is staffing levels (how much time they are allowed to spend with a customer). When a great concierge leaves a hotel, the service often suffers and even collapses. Strange when it is an advertised service, even the key differentiator. A few hotels do pull off having more than individually good concierges. After all most of the requests are repetitive -- even the great example of hiring a pianist, that happens dozens of times a year at the Waldorf. Personally I'd have insisted that my guests sing for their supper instead
