Doing research is never quick and easy, especially when vetting a person or company that you are inviting into your home or place of work. There are a million different things you can look at, ask for, or research. For choosing a great company to invite into your home/office, we suggest using the following as a starting point. This is not specific to only finding a concierge, as this may help you with anyone you may look to hire.
To get started we will break up into two categories, Personal Skills and Business Policies. Both are extremely important when dealing with any company or service provider. These are not listed in any particular order, as each could be argued as to why they are more important than the rest.
PERSONAL SKILLS
Ability to get in contact.
There seems to be nothing more frustrating than trying to get a hold of someone when you are busy. As a company that is competing to earn your business, they should offer several methods to get a hold of a representative in their organization. Not everyone is able to be available 24/7, but that leads into our next topic.
Response time.
Most small businesses operate under a tight budget, not allowing for multiple people to be staffed to just answer phones. However, they should have a policy or practice in place to allow the potential customer to leave a message and they should always have a quick response time. In most cases, I would personally allow a 1 day or 24-hour timeframe for them to call me back. If I do not hear back, I move on. I once called a company, and it took them 4 business days to return my call. When they did, they were upset that I chose their competitor over them. If I cannot trust them to call me back, I can’t trust them to care enough about doing a great job.
Professional.
We all have our horror stories about employees not being professional. I remember a cable installer was going over a project and asked if we could step outside for a cigarette while he went over the details. It seems small, but I was baffled. If I asked you here to do a job, and after 15 minutes of being there you want to take a cigarette break, then you are not the provider I am looking for. If the service provider you are looking for is not professional, look elsewhere.
Knowledgeable of the service they provide.
Are the representatives knowledgeable about their products and services? Can they tell you what the offer, provide examples, or tell you what their competitive advantage is? If not, the person you are dealing with may be there just to make a quick buck and will not care about you or the service after you sign the dotted line.
Building relationships.
There are probably thousands of quotes that talk about building relationships with employees and their bosses. That is true when you need to lead a team, but more importantly, if a company is looking to earn your business, they must be able to build a great relationship. Building great relationships helps companies expand by word of mouth, get better reviews, and it keeps them in your mind if you need their service again in the future. If they do not build a great relationship with you, you will likely move to another company in the future.
BUSINESS SKILLS
Rates.
Everything costs something. When searching for a company, you should always compare rates. Are the rates fair? Are they competitive? If it cost more, why? In most cases the ‘You get what you pay for’ quote is accurate. If someone is charging less than normal, what are they missing or not doing? Also, Rates should never be confusing. You should know what you are paying for, what you get for that price, and how it is calculated. You should never be surprised by an invoice. Lastly, the company should be transparent with their pricing. If you have to jump through hoops to get a quote from someone, you should probably look for another company. They should provide you with how much each line item costs, or how they get to a total, if they cannot, ask them why.
Licensed, Insured, Bonded.
Simple and easy to verify, as a client you can ask if they are licensed, insured, and/or bonded. Not all companies are required to be licensed, insured, or bonded, however, if they are required to by any city, county, state, or federal authority, then they should be able to provide you with a copy. As well, ask to review their insurance. Make sure you are comfortable with the limits of their insurance or bond policy. Quick side note, there is a difference between being insured and having a bond. There is a lot of legalities, but in short, insurance protects the company, and a bond protects the person the company is working for.
Convenience of billing and billing options.
This is going to continue as we move more away from cash and checks. The company should be able to provide you with convenient ways of paying for their services without having to inconvenience you. That could be a link in an email or text message to their credit card processor, digital methods like Paypal or Venmo, or even the simple, old fashion, take your credit card over the phone. This part should not be difficult for you.
Research on employees.
Does the company you are hiring conduct any research on employees, such as background checks, or online searches? You have the right to know who you are inviting into your house or business.
As a reminder, this serves as a starting point when you are looking to hire a person or company. There may be other things that are specific to you or things on the list that may not something you are concerned with. However, I would suggest making sure you know who you are dealing with and being comfortable with that.
When you are ready to decide on hiring a concierge, we will be happy to provide you all of the items you need to make an informed choice.
